The Case of the Disappearing Indie Band

Not much is more personally fulfilling than discovering an obscure indie band all on your own. You may pride yourself on the find and make it your life’s goal to spread the word around about your new band. But, as with anything obscure, there is a high tendency that the band will completely disappear from your life without a moment’s notice.

Let’s examine some prime examples of the phenomenon.

The Virgins released their first EP back in 2007 and automatically shot to the top of countless buzz lists. That entire EP served as the soundtrack to an early episode of Gossip Girl, which increased their exposure tenfold. Before the pop-skewing indie rock band put out their debut album in mid-2008, they even played BU Central as the openers for Ra Ra Riot. Here’s the band playing one of my top favorite songs in the history of ever, “Fernando Pando,” which is straight off their debut.

For about a year after the album’s release, The Virgins toured around the country and hit up a bunch of festivals. They seemed to really be building upon their success and then….well, they disappeared. According to Wikipedia, the band is hard at work in Manhattan on a second LP, but I’ll believe it when I see a press release or a blog post or a new song or ANYTHING. I just want to know if the band is still alive. I’d really like to know that.

The Clik Clik was a short-lived UK band that defied conventions. They infused their music with hip-hop, funk, pop, and indie. Every single one of the very few they released oozed youthful catchiness, especially this should-be classic, “Did You Wrong.” Again, this is one of my favorite songs. Ever.

Six months after the video’s release, the band had broken up. I was devastated. Frontman Stefan Abingdon eventually went on to massive success with his music/comedy trio, The Midnight Beast (a band I’ll probably write about soon). Frontwoman Maya Yianni went on to virtually nothing music-related, as far the Internet can tell. A band with so much promise calling it quits before they achieve world domination. Truly tragic.

 

Lazy Monday

So I don’t know about you but when Boston drops below the 45 degree mark and rains for what seems to be an eternity I want to do nothing more than sit down with a cup of coffee and listen to some tunes that remind me of summer. That being said there are few albums I listened to more than Princeton’s debut full length, Cocoon of Love.

With airy tunes of disfunctional relationships Princeton shouts messy, summer romance to me. Headed by twins, Matt and Jesse Kivel from Los Angeles, Princeton has left a permanent stamp on me with dazzling live performances and their fantastic album. Beginning with “Sadie and Andy” a duet featuring Meredith Metcalf, Princeton sets the tone for a series of poppy-heartbreaks.

While their album isn’t particularly energetic, that does not translate to their live shows. I was lucky enough to see them twice last year, opening for completely different bands. The first was Ra Ra Riot with whom they collaborated with late in the show, as both have fairly similar sounds. However, the second was Art Brut, a disjointed, British rock band. In both cases Princeton came out with tons of energy thanks to frontmen Matt and Jesse.

Whether you’re a concert goer or just the type of person to sit down with an album Princeton will provide you with a lovely escape from this biting weather.

Princeton-Sadie and Andy

Download: watch?v=ZHFqFjzuqno

Princeton-Show Some Love, When Your Man Gets Home

Download: watch?v=0Eq3muOjDsI

Built to Spill at the Paradise

Last Friday night was my 3rd time venturing out to the Paradise Rock Club. My first two shows featured the likes of Girls and Ra Ra Riot with incredible opening acts including Princeton and Maps & Atlases. I arrived at the show just as the second band on the bill, Revolt Revolt, got started. Unfortunately, the lead singer reminded me of a fourth grade geometry teacher and the drummer, who was front and center, was quite the frightening fellow. Their Pixies inspired garage rock bored most of the crowd  as each and every song meandered and lasted several minutes too long.

Lucky for us, Built to Spill finally came to the stage and reminded everyone what a good band sounded like! Frontman Doug Martsch ruled the show with his incredible guitar solos and distinctive lyrics. Every song was separated by a quick “Thanks” from Martsch and then about a minute of tuning, which would have been a burden if their guitar riffs weren’t so intricately laced together. After a short break at “the end” of the show Built to Spill returned to the stage for an encore laced with their hits “The Plan”, “Car” and “Carry the Zero”. So in the end, once again, The Paradise delivered yet again with a fantastic show, even if Revolt Revolt is haunting my nightmares.

Built to Spill-The Plan(Live)

Download: watch?v=-Dxc1h99oFo

Built to Spill-Car(Live)

Download: watch?v=6omZ5GsuGrI

Built to Spill-Carry the Zero

Download: c8G3I