Monday, November 5, 2007

The Sampler - Tracks of the Week (Week 6)

First of all, the Mountain Goats concert was amazing. John Darnielle is a brilliant performer, and one can tell how much he enjoys playing for audiences. If you ever get the chance to catch them live, I’d highly recommend it. Now, for the songs I can’t stop listening to.

Maritime – Tearing Up the Oxygen

Maritime is a band formed by remnants of The Promise Ring (Davey von Bohlen) and The Dismemberment Plan (Eric Axelson). Now, God knows I have nothing but good words for The Dismemberment Plan, with their albums Emergency and I and Change being tied for my number two albums of all time (second only to Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea), but I am also an avid fan of The Promise Ring. Now, now, you might say, they’re nothing but a washed-up emo band. Let me be the first to tell you, I hate emo music. Absolutely despise it, but these so-called “inventors of emo” sound nothing of the sort. Anyway, I digress. Tearing Up the Oxygen comes from the band’s sophomore (and superior) album We, the Vehicles. The song retains that old Promise Ring feel, but takes the harmonies further, and creates an addicting post-pop number. For some reason, the song feels perfect in the month of October (although that has passed) reminding me of lying in a giant pile of leaves, but I think that’s just von Bohlen’s voice. I’d recommend the entire album, but at least this song.

Rogue Wave – Love’s Lost Guarantee

I don’t know much about the band Rogue Wave, but I know that this song is immediately likable. I first heard the song on the trailer for the new film Wristcutters: A Love Story (which, I think, looks hilarious, and I can’t wait to see it), and after I did some research to find out what the song was, obtained the album immediately. When the song began, I wasn’t sure if I had done my research correctly, as it sounded like a very sad number, but was presently surprised by the end of it, when it builds into a giant celebration, filled with energy and shouting, and I couldn’t help but sing along with my first listen, without knowing the words.

And those are this week’s tracks, hope you enjoy.

1 comment:

Miles Rausch said...

Maritime – Tearing Up the Oxygen

You know, I had something written for this, and my browser crashed.

The gist of what I said was that this song isn't quite as interesting as others that you've reviewed. I found the song to be fairly insubstantial. While a good song, it was like a quiet stranger that you only notice immediately after they've left.

I couldn't find the other song to give it a listen.