“On March 25, when Lawrence English brought Cruel Optimism to New York venue The Knockdown Center, located on the blurred edge where Brooklyn and Queens meet, for its American debut, he opened the concert with an instruction. He asked everyone to lie flat. ‘Don’t just sit down — lie down. It may be a little cold, but you need to feel it all.'”
–Sasha Frere-Jones, WUXM