Princeton on MBE

Twin brothers Jesse and Matt Kivel grew up on Princeton Street in Santa Monica, blocks away from Ben Usen and David Kitz. They started playing music together while at Santa Monica High School and bonded with their fellow alum – MBE host Jason Bentley – this morning. It was fun watching them tell the story of their growth as musicians (The Kivel’s mother promised them guitars for doing well on their finals) and songwriters. They told Jason that the lyrics on their debut “Cocoon of Love” are related to the overwhelming feelings of adolescent love and longing.

Princeton performed a brand new song, “Clamoring For Your Heart,” which they’ve been playing live during their monthly residency at Spaceland this month, but haven’t committed to record as a full band. Also, they threw in a fantastic cover of Yo La Tengo’s “Sugarcube.”

I don’t know quite how to describe their music, but all I can say is that it makes me feel good. The band has toured with everyone from Vampire Weekend to the Ruby Suns and will head out to SXSW in March. If you’re in LA and want to catch their excellent live show, head to Spaceland tonight. It’s free, but I recommend getting there early!

Check out the set here

RR