Yesterday, I went on a music-finding spree that basically included searching Amazon, what.cd and various other sources of their “related artists” tags. I don’t like to listen to internet radio of any kind, as I find their algorithms to be much worse than “other users also bought ____” when it all comes down to it. However, I will say that my experience with Rdio and Pandora were much better than, say, MySapce Radio, which thinks Slipknot, Justin Beiber and Keisha are of the same genre.
Anyway, I started with Ben Marwood, and I believe I finished at The Alabama Shakes, a band that I think is pretty big these days, but I’m not going to focus on. Right near the end, I clicked over to Dr. Dog, a band I know and love, and from there ended up on an album titled Delta Spirit by, naturally, Delta Spirit. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m easily gripped by a great album cover (I do and always have judged books by their cover), and this one caught my attention. So I went ahead and gave it a listen.
Rather than write out a full review, I’m just going to say that the “customers also bought …” algorithm worked very well, here. It’s equal parts Dr. Dog with a little bit of fun. thrown in – a lot more poppy than the former and possibly a lot less accessible than the latter. It’s a strong album of simple instrumentation and smooth, echoing vocals with great lyrics. It’s a bit too slow for me at times, and the high points are few and far between, but it’s a great addition to the genre at this point. I’m not sure what to call it at this point, given that it’s kind of the genre that’s “blowing up” but it’s hard to define outside of your normal indie/pop/rock.
At any rate, it’s nothing groundbreaking, and they’re probably not the next big thing, but it’s worth a couple spins, so check ‘em out when you get a chance. Listen if you like Dr. Dog, Dawes, White Rabbits and bands of that ilk!
