the murmur of crazy rhythms

October 25, 2006 by
Filed under: Uncategorized 

Like a mist rolling through an early morning meadow the journey through the new album from The Shrinking Islands begins. Native Light is awash in cymbals and subtle guitar parts that set a perfect opening tone, just like the calm before the first light of day. Then the real trip begins, seven more songs filled with chiming guitars, melodic bass lines and earnest vocals interwoven into jangling pop gems. Wander through State Fair as the song slowly builds to a an alternating dance of guitar and bass counterpoints. Try not to sing along to my personal favorite at the moment, the hypercatchy Swallowed In Grace, a song that will stick in your head for days.

Shades of the Byrds meets Velvet Underground sound that kickstarted a revolution on college radio back in the eighties are evident all around. But much like those bands – REM, Yo La Tengo, The Feelies, Let’s Active,The Db’s, Dumptruck and many others, Kyle Bittinger and Andy Tefft have crafted a brilliant pop record that takes their influences and molds them into their own distinct sound. Hailing from Cambridge, Massachusetts, they recorded In The Black Carpet at MIT’s WMBR live studio where Kyle is an engineer, and the sound of the record is beautiful – pristine, shimmering, and timeless.

Don’t let this become one of the overlooked gems of 2006, it deserves to be heard. Get it today, get it right now.

In The Black Carpet by The Shrinking Islands, is the newest release on the Sort of Records label, home to many other great artists as well. Be sure check out some of them too while you’re there.

Sort Of Records : website myspace
The Shrinking Islands : website myspace

MP3: State Fair
STREAM : Swallowed In Grace via www.shrinkingislands.com

be sure to check out their myspace page for a few more songs too

BUY IT: itunes sort of records

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