As I said there several bands that I was unfamiliar with that my friend Eric recently introduced me to and these are five of them: Crystal Skulls, Dolorean, Two Gallants, Islands. I’ll write about the other four another day.
The Crystal Skulls are another Seattle area band, however, this is the first I’ve heard of them. They are an indie band with a 70s pop sound. This particular album is Blocked Numbers (2005). My favorite tracks so far are “Hussy,” “Count Your Gold,” and “Hard Party.”Dolorean has NW connections as well, hailing from Oregon. Not Exotic (2003), is one of the great discoveries for me. They have a really haunting, evocative acoustic sound. They stood out amongst the other bands immediately to me. My favorite tracks are “Sleeperhold” and “Morning Watch,” but I think the whole album is pretty strong. It is rife with confessional songs of heartbreak and struggle.
Two Gallants are an indie low-fi folk duo from San Francisco. To be honest I probably haven’t listen to their album The Throes (2004) enough to comment authoritatively, except to say that the song that stands out most for me is “The Train That Stole My Man.”
Islands is an indie rock band from Montreal that includes Woody Guthrie’s son Jim Guthrie. They have one album to date Return To The Sea (2006). It seems pretty cool, but I haven’t listened to it enough to comment authoritatively enough as well. However, I like the songs “Rough Gem” and “Swans (Life After Death).”
The Kings of Convenience are an indie-pop duo from Norway. I’ve only listened to Quiet Is The New Loud (2001) a couple of times, so I haven't made up my mind. It might actually be too mellow for me, but the jury’s still out.
I'm glad you are liking the disc. I agree, the Dolorean is excellent. I can't remember, but I hope I gave you the Tapes n Tapes, because I think that was my favorite record of last year.
Posted by: Eric | January 23, 2007 at 01:55 PM
Yes, I'm diggin' the new music, but you didn't include Tapes n Tapes on the compilation. Guess I'll have to track it down on my own.
Posted by: MC | January 24, 2007 at 08:35 AM