Digging for Diamonds at the Bottom of the Sea
April 20, 2008
The War On Drugs - Taking The Farm
Hailing from Philadelphia, The War On Drugs blend the harmonic rhythm of Arcade Fire with the hippy/happy leanings of Animal Collective and look set to gain a much wider following by the end of the year, in the US at least. Their debut album ‘Wagonwheel Blues’ is not out until June but several tracks can be found on their myspace and are well worth checking out.
Much of The War On Drugs’ music conjures up images of 1970s-era America with folky song structures inspired by the likes of The Eagles and Bob Dylan. ‘Taking the Farm’ may even be a nod to Dylan’s performance of ‘Maggies Farm’ at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival when he famously went electric.
The track ebbs and flows as it rides the crest of a wave of distorted guitars and filtered effects, similar to 2007s ‘Bros’ from Panda Bear. It’s an ode to standing on your own two feet, a call-to-arms and a modern-day anthem for the American Dream; Fievel goes west and lives happily ever after.
The Quiet of the Nighttime
March 9, 2008
Death may not be the rosiest of titles for an indie pop song but new boys White Lies are steadily building a following with hits to their myspace page gathering pace, setting things up nicely for the April release of their debut single ‘Unfinished Business’. They’ll undoubtedly be popular with moping students plus 30-somethings hankering after sounds from their youth.
White Lies tap into that vein of epic emotive songwriting popular in the UK during the post-punk period before Britpop reared its head. This influence actually results in it sounding a bit dated (’Death’ could have been plucked straight from Joy Division or Echo and the Bunnymen’s stables) yet when it’s as well crafted as this, the lack of originality doesn’t do much harm at all. Bands that wear influences on their sleeve are always more interesting than those who hide them.
Whether White Lies build on their early promise remains to be seen but if they can move away from dirge-filled anthems they’ll start appealing to a lot more than the student crowd and hangers-on from the Hacienda days.
