Cataldo 'Keepers' Review

Brian Anderson’s new record Keepers under the name Cataldo seems like something we’ve heard before only this time it’s different. Like listening to someone else read a book you’ve already read. It’s familiar but it’s also completely redone and original. Sitting somewhere between 80’s pop, Deathcab For Cutie, and the nostalgia of Jr. High dances, Keepers is all at once full of sadness, bright pop, and awkward slow dances with pretty people, and sweat palms on hips and shoulders.

Ben Gibbard of Deathcab fame sings on the album’s opener “Room Without A Flame” and the chord that connects both Anderson and the indie rock staple is both connected and severed. Yes there are great similarities between the two smart-indie rockers, but where Gibbard is subtle, shy, and soft, Anderson breaks through with a soft grit in the vein of Kristian Matsson’s The Tallest Man On Earth.

On the personal “Person You’d Be Proud Of” Anderson creates a beautiful and hopeful atmosphere drenched in teen movie, pop movements. Similar nostalgia stems from my personal favorite track, “Little Heartbeat.” The song is fun, playful, and it’s a time machine in song. A nervous fumbling of hands and lips in the school gymnasium, standing shy against the wall, moving closer in a crowd of friends, popular girls, sad lonely boys, and drunk chaperones. Fast pecks, a quick glance, a giggle, noticeable and unrecognizable. We are having fun here. 

That’s what makes Keepers so great. On “Your Love Has Got me Running Home (To You)” Anderson is restless but also on the line and settling down with love, and on “A Short Goodbye To No One In Particular” Anderson relives past memories and letting go among string arrangements and heartfelt vocals. Even through the heavier parts, Anderson keeps the record moving and it makes the darker parts feel like a passing breeze. It’s the small quirks and pieces that make the record. It’s the fun nostalgia. It’s the subtle build-ups. It’s the memories built and remembered. It’s the keepers.

Suburban Living "Come True" Track Review

Suburban Living just finished recording their sophomore record entitled Almost Paradise which will be out 10/07 via the great 6131 Records. The band released their first single "Come True" courtesy of Impose Magazine early last week.

The track kicks off in a synth daydream until the drums kick in followed by guitar. The song reminds me of something from Twin Peaks. It has that dreamy, white noise aspect to it, and the vocals have a far off quality to them and they sit pretty even with the rest of what's going on. Though sometimes they drift a little further and it gives the song some nice depth. All the different layers, from the synth and drums moving the song forward, to the guitars fluttering in and out, to the constant noise deep in the mix and the effected vocals make this a really solid first offering from this new record. There's lots here to get into and get lost in. Get to it.

Almost Paradise will be out 10/07
Stream "Come True" over at Impose Magazine.

They play 10/08 in Philly at The Foundry

Kindling "Everywhere Else" Review

Kindling is no stranger to this blog. The Easthampton, MA shoegaze behemoth is releasing their debut full length Everywhere Else via No Idea Records this Friday, August 12. What's so impressive about Kindling is their ability to take a genre of music where songs and bands can easily start to sound redundant and overused, and make it fresh. They have soaring guitars reminiscent of more post-rock bands, they have heavier riffy parts and constant driving bass like grunge bands, and they have times where the drums seem explosive, fast, and punk. Not to mention the haunting yet soothing vocals of Gretchen Williams and the 90's alt rock vocals of Stephen Pierce. Kindling is like a smorgasbord of grunge, shoegaze, and dream-pop, and it's so good!

Songs like the opener "Coma" and "Blinding Wave" are perfect examples of the soaring guitar shoegaze vibe mixed with the 90's alt rock vibe the band is absolutely nailing. The songs are dense and there's a lot there, but they aren't claustrophobic like some shoegaze acts. Then there are tracks like "Black Eye" and "Other Times" that are more heavy on the grunge side of things. Riffs, and hard hitting drums and bass, giving the record a nice contrast but one that isn't overly stark or out of place.

"Became" for me is the piece de resistance. I think it's the culmination of everything the record presents. Layers of heavy guitar, drum fills and steady moving bass, perfect vocals sitting just beyond full clarity, and high singing guitars. This is it.

Everywhere Else has the ability to play through and feel concise like a solid unit of work, but its individual tracks are dynamic and original, and can stand out on their own as well as within the whole. The record plays through so well, but the individual tracks have their own weight to them. They carry enough within them to stand on their own. I think this is what makes a perfect record. One that can play through as one solid piece of work, but can be looked back upon and specific pieces can be picked out. I think what I'm trying to say is: This record is really fucking good.

Kindling are playing two record release shows this week.
Stream the whole record on Spin.
Pre-order Everywhere Else from No Idea or go to a show and get it!