I
added Before Cars to my list of possible bands to review a few weeks ago,
reading about Rock and Roll Hall of Fame things. What really cemented the idea
has been some of my recent reading and listening where I am starting to appreciate
how a local music scene can grow, and influence and be influenced by its bands,
and I am very interested in the Northwest regarding that. So, when I ended up
not being able to cover one musician I was planning on, it just felt right to
listen to them, and I'm glad I did.
Based
in Washington, Before Cars consists of Chad Canning,
Paul Burback, Andy Miller, and Justine Jeanotte, with Canning composing,
singing, and on strings.
They
much lower key than you might expect, unless you consider that Jeanotte is
listed as both keyboards and violins. There are strong rock undertones in
"Listen To Me" and a fairly lively track in "Everything I
Do", but the album overall has a quiet feel. "Trip to Mars"
borders on anemic, though it conveys the right mood.
Normally
what you notice is that the songs are extraordinarily beautiful, and I think a
lot of that is the willingness to be quiet, and introspective, and maybe also
the regular presence of a violinist, instead of just bringing one in
periodically.
"Words"
starts out like the scent of a dream carried back on a breeze, so it changes
the way you listen to the song. "Green to Brown" also starts as if it
could be a completely instrumental, but then there are words. It's an
interesting feeling. It's not exactly folk, but there could be some influences
from the '60s. Vocally they remind me somewhat of The Byrds, though I think the
similarities stop there.
It
also occurs to me that this review may sound similar to yesterday's review of
The Slow Readers Club. There are similarities between the bands. For what it's
worth, I would describe The Slow Readers Club as more eerie, and Before Cars as
more ethereal. If that sounds like hair-splitting, talking about music can get
like that.
Music
for Before Cars is available via iTunes and the band's web site.
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