Whoa! No Way! Two Songs of the Day!!??!??!
I know. It's unheard of. Seeing that it's the long weekend, let's double the aural pleasure and kick it American Independence style! Or in the words of Ari J. Gass "Stylee".
The Oranges Band "White Ride" from The World & Everything In It (Lookout)
I was able to see Baltimore's The Oranges Band open for Spoon a few years ago, and that time Lookout! was having a tremendous rebirth. Ted Leo's Tyranny of Distance was thriving and Chris Appelgren's garage outift The Pattern were generating buzz nationwide. The Oranges Band were signed and it was joyous time.
Here we have a band, crafty with the pop hook, unique in the Roman Kuebler's vocal delivery and of course, bringing the rock with two fantastic releases in On TV EP and full-length All Around. Fast forward 3 years. The Lookout! boom has died down, Ted Leo remains the one true gem (with a few Lookout! sparkles here and there, but nothing substantial), but returning is The Oranges Band.
I find it insulting that I didn't know about this album's release until a couple days before. Yeah, insulting. The press was pathetic, cementing my belief that The Oranges Band is one of the most underrated rock bands in the circuit. On top of that, I found out through Pitchforkmedia.com who claimed it was the Lookout!'s answer to The Shins.
Has it really gotten to this? Can I say that I'm officially more adept at band comparisons than those high and mighty reviewers at Pitchfork? I laughed and laughed until I actually heard The World & Everything In It. It was long fall down from that tower. I would not go so far to say Shins-esque, but softer, more delicate. The rough edges of Kuebler's voice has been sanded down. The arrangements have punch. The songs are still there ("Ride the Wild Wave" is an especially beautiful melody) but the bite is gone for the most part.
But there are flashes of old glory and "White Ride" is one of them. The Chuck berry guitar riffs with Strokes buzziness drive a hook filled pop delight. Kuebler is still understated with his voice, calm but extremely confident. He's complimented by catchy-as-fuck backup vox, doo-doo-doos in full effect. It can be a dance strut down the street song and also be a waving your arm out of convertable on a sunny day by the water song. It's versatile and universally appealing (and clearly the hit track).
"White Ride" is like the once strawberry Starburst resting in bowl of lemon Starbursts. Sure, there is nothing wrong with lemon Starburst, you kind of like them, just as the rest of The World & Everything In It is a perfectly fine album. But you savor the strawberry Starburst, it's the undoubted favorite and the one you fight for. "White Ride" is that good.
The Oranges Band: http://www.theorangesband.com/
The Oranges Band "White Ride" from The World & Everything In It (Lookout)
I was able to see Baltimore's The Oranges Band open for Spoon a few years ago, and that time Lookout! was having a tremendous rebirth. Ted Leo's Tyranny of Distance was thriving and Chris Appelgren's garage outift The Pattern were generating buzz nationwide. The Oranges Band were signed and it was joyous time.
Here we have a band, crafty with the pop hook, unique in the Roman Kuebler's vocal delivery and of course, bringing the rock with two fantastic releases in On TV EP and full-length All Around. Fast forward 3 years. The Lookout! boom has died down, Ted Leo remains the one true gem (with a few Lookout! sparkles here and there, but nothing substantial), but returning is The Oranges Band.
I find it insulting that I didn't know about this album's release until a couple days before. Yeah, insulting. The press was pathetic, cementing my belief that The Oranges Band is one of the most underrated rock bands in the circuit. On top of that, I found out through Pitchforkmedia.com who claimed it was the Lookout!'s answer to The Shins.
Has it really gotten to this? Can I say that I'm officially more adept at band comparisons than those high and mighty reviewers at Pitchfork? I laughed and laughed until I actually heard The World & Everything In It. It was long fall down from that tower. I would not go so far to say Shins-esque, but softer, more delicate. The rough edges of Kuebler's voice has been sanded down. The arrangements have punch. The songs are still there ("Ride the Wild Wave" is an especially beautiful melody) but the bite is gone for the most part.
But there are flashes of old glory and "White Ride" is one of them. The Chuck berry guitar riffs with Strokes buzziness drive a hook filled pop delight. Kuebler is still understated with his voice, calm but extremely confident. He's complimented by catchy-as-fuck backup vox, doo-doo-doos in full effect. It can be a dance strut down the street song and also be a waving your arm out of convertable on a sunny day by the water song. It's versatile and universally appealing (and clearly the hit track).
"White Ride" is like the once strawberry Starburst resting in bowl of lemon Starbursts. Sure, there is nothing wrong with lemon Starburst, you kind of like them, just as the rest of The World & Everything In It is a perfectly fine album. But you savor the strawberry Starburst, it's the undoubted favorite and the one you fight for. "White Ride" is that good.
The Oranges Band: http://www.theorangesband.com/
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