In a totally unoriginal anecdote, I'll admit when I first heard singer Ben Bridwell, I was drawn to compare him to My Morning Jacket's Jim James. This has subsequently passed; while both of them generally favor high-register delivery, echoey production and a similar litany of influences (Neil Young, Brian Wilson etc), they pretty easily distinguishable. James has a little froggier thing going on, a penchant for falsetto singing and a bizarre, seemingly off-key charm. Bridwell on the other hand is bit cleaner and just exceptionally earnest sounding. Further, MMJ has largely shed the shared space of the bands' musical Venn Diagram with a shift towards more orchestrated and epic arrangements and occasional forays into spacey-monster funk. Coincidentally, MMJ will also be playing at the Fest.
But today, we're diggin' Band of Horses and this is a great way to start off:
Band of Horses really define the hell out of charming indie rock, belying an obvious appreciation for musical Americana and they look like their having a great time doing it. Influences range from the aforementioned Mr. Young and Brian Wilson's best Beach Boys efforts to Band-esque country rock and piano-driven romping Beatles pop. Off-beat hooks, punchy drumming and simply layered guitars, combined with Bridwell's delivery really drive their tunes into your noggin. With a new album due out this year, Band of Horses will add to two very good efforts out on Sub-Pop. I would start with their most recent release, "Cease to Begin" and if you are not hooked by the second or third listen to "Is There A Ghost" and "the General Specific", I will eat crow (iTunes links below). Their first release, Everything All the Time is slightly less accessible at the outset but rewarding nonetheless. Both discs are full of quirky tunes you'll be humming before you know it.
While we're on the topic:
Check out Lissie (with whom some Horses are musically associated) and the Heartless Bastards to hear two unique female-fronted groups working through some similarly charming material. Both were recorded by Fat Possum Records at various points, who have also worked to popularize the George Mitchell field recordings, RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and eventually the Black Keys. Lissie really channels 60's California pop but presumably without the heroin. She even has the freckly, down-to-earth M.O. to match. The Heartless Bastards sound a bit like the Pretenders married Veruca Salt and had rockin' song babies.
Enjoy!
Lissie
The Heartless Bastards
(For the non-cognoscenti, the pass is "purchased" via donation to WWOZ and gets you into the festival everyday, allows you to go in and out and access a shady, private bathroom, fresh fruit and iced-mocha-laden nirvana.)
New Orleans Jazz Festival
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