Style: indie rock reminiscent of Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Arcade Fire, and Cool Hand Luke
Top tracks: “Two Steps,” “Pillars and Pews,” “Whistler”
In a nutshell: The band’s founders spent many adolescent all-nighters in the church sanctuary; maybe that’s where this album’s cathedral-esque quality originated. The five-member set deftly uses group vocals and layering to serve a choral tone that ranges from hushed (“What’s Done Is Done”) to soaring and full (“Whistler”). Tones capture melancholy and exultation as the young band uses hypocrisy, infidelity, spiritual tension, and forgiveness to build ethereal snapshots. It’s a short record (seven songs) that leaves room for more future sonic variety—”Charlatan” hints at aggression waiting to be tapped. But overall this is a collection of indie gems that sparkles brilliantly at times.
Copyright © 2009 Andree Farias subject to licensing agreement with Christian Music Today. Click for reprint information.
