Starling
Sustainer
Time Bomb
Yes, they’re Canadian… but don’t let that fool you. These guys push out some well-crafted country-touched tunes. A slight alternative edge, when the guitars kick in all desert-harsh and crashing, but the additions of sometimes cello and sometimes violin can bring the mood sunset down. Sometimes the vocals remind me of the mellower side of the Old 97’s, but the lyrics are more… pondering. A little pop music slips in, like a strange Ben Folds Five flashback, but it’s not really all that bad. Not a real rave-up record, though the harmonies can get your heart beating faster.
Time Bomb Recordings, 6 West 57th St., New York, NY 10019; http://www.timebombrecordings.com
