Strange, Okay, Not Too Pretentious

Artist: A Scribe amidst the Lions

Song: “Wet Bird” (from the CD Sunken Cities)

Heard By: Richie Lauridsen, Golden Hill

It’s not my cup of tea; however, the band is technically proficient. That song kind of lacked some direction. The emphasis on dynamics kind of hurt them as far as producing a coherent track, but then again maybe that’s not what they are trying to do. The song begins with this strange musical introduction with ambient noises that someone like J. Spaceman or Brian Eno would get stoked on. Then all of sudden you’re in the middle of the ’90s with Appleseed Cast, Jimmy Eat World, Planes Mistaken for Stars, and other bands with similarly sounding long names. The guy has a really high voice that got me thinking about Rush or homeboy from Mars Volta. It’s a little bit unintelligible.

Artist: Architect Sketch

Song: “Bulgarian Robbery” (from the CD Communication in Cases for Which No Other Form Is Applicable)

Heard By: Amanda Brinkman, Golden Hill

I thought it was okay. I would say it was definitely influenced by Pinback and that college rock sort of stuff. I thought of Head on the Door by the Cure when I heard it, so maybe a mixture of that and Pinback. It was strictly instrumental. I think that with vocals it would have become more mainstream, but because it didn’t have vocals it was a little bit more unique. There weren’t any weird instruments in the mix — it was pretty standard and very repetitive. It was kind of spacey and jammy. I think it sounded like [Tetris] video-game music. For awhile I was trying to think of how to rearrange furniture in my house so it would disappear bar by bar.

Artist: Charlie Imes

Song: “On an Island” (from the CD On an Island)

Heard By: Corey Wallace, San Francisco

It’s not anything that I would generally listen to, but for what it is, I dug it. I’m on vacation, and it’s good vacation music. It’s better than other crap that’s out there today. I think he sings about the same themes as Jimmy Buffett. Jimmy Buffett is probably a lot better [of a] songwriter, but I think this guy has got a good voice. I wouldn’t say Jimmy Buffett has an especially good voice. Basically, it’s just guitar and a dude singing. He’s not trying to be tough or too pretentious or anything. Lyrically, it’s about leaving the city and just getting away from everyday life: “You and me, that’s where we’ll be, on an island out in the sea.”