This Music Moment- Belle and Sebastian (2007)

When I mentioned Belle and Sebastian in my post on Two Door Cinema Club, I recalled this particular Music Moment very vividly and instantaneously; I believe I compared Two Door to them because of the instant perking of ears that occurred in both cases when I heard a particular song of theirs.

Belle and Sebastian was a band name I was familiar with, but at the time I could not honestly put a sound to the impression I had of then from their name. Naturally, I thought they were a duo, playing who knows what kind of music. But in summer 2007, I was living in New Hampshire and commuting 70 minutes to Boston to paint the interiors of vacant apartments with my two roommates, Jacob and Claytor. It was a grueling, tough day for us, and I was exhausted for our long drive home. I put on some college radio station to add a little variation to the usual sounds of NPR we listened to most of the time, both driving or working; I just wanted to hear some tunes. After a few songs went by, this one track popped on and I instantly woke up, befuddled and excited, wondering who the hell was making this great, harmonic, classic sounding pop music. The broadcaster didn't mention the band after the song ended, so I had to go home, check the radio stations website and their playlist timeline, and after a long while I finally found what I was looking for. Wrapped Up In Books, track 8 off their 2003 release, Dear Catastrope Waitress:



Naturally, I picked up Dear Catastrophe Waitress, and I was not disappointed. Linkage: It starts off hilariously with a Zombies-style ode to sex with Step Into My Office; they follow that up with the superbly produced title track, a love song to people working dead end jobs with high hopes; their first single from the album, I'm A Cuckoo, is neat but, to me, Wrapped Up In Books is the lynch pin of the album. Further listening comes from their follow up studio album (after a singles and eps collection and a live album), 2006's The Life Pursuit: Act of the Apostle starts it off great; Funny Little Frog is just classic, wonderful, happy go lucky pop song about the idolization of romance. Enjoy, Slingers.



dear catastrophe waitress

the life pursuit

Two Door Cinema Club- Tourist History (2010)

As you well know by now, I am a huge sucker for pop. Today, I was watching videos of two bands I had read good reviews of; the results were not as promising as I had hoped for, but in the related videos for a song by The Henry Clay People, I saw a link to a video that I instantly remembered hearing about six months ago, then promptly forgetting. I checked in on it, and as a fiend for well written pop music, I was very happy. Soon I snagged the album, and now that I am a few songs deep I am even more pleased by this band I randomly rediscovered.

Two Door Cinema Club are a young Irish pop group that kick out some upbeat, catchy dance music with decent skills and a huge talent for feel-good hooks. I have seen a few live videos of theirs, and it seems that their strength really lays in the studio. They are a trio of multi-instrumentalists, and their songs usually feature a full band sound that is hard for them to properly replicate live. Its not to say they don't try, or that this fact should be a deterrent; they are young and there is always time for expansion, and their abilities at writing a great studio album are still very strong.

Tourist History is their 2010 studio debut. It is reminding me of a mix of the styles of Postal Service, Bloc Party, Belle and Sebastian and the best parts of Vampire Weekend. Simple, melodic lead guitar melodies that harmonize with the upbeat vocals, guitars, bass, drums and assorted electronica. After hearing only their singles, Cigarettes in the Theatre really surprised me as an opening track; It shares so many flavors with Bloc Partys debut album opener, Like Eating Glass, and I love that stuff soo much. I was quite excited for what was to come after it, and what kind of progression would lead into the two songs I had heard, which appear in the later parts of this album with such an unexpected beginning. Something Good Can Work is on the uber-catchy side of their spectrum, and comes in at track 5; the song that brought up the memories I had of these guys, What You Know, comes in at track 8. It is just so darned accessible. Great rhythms, melodies, and quality catchiness. I am enjoying; maybe you will too. Blam:



tourist history