| |
|
|
|
album: Let Me Introduce My Friends
artist: I'm From Barcelona
label: Mute U.S. / 2007
score: 75
< click to learn more
by Tim Mathiesen
The members of the group, I'm From Barcelona, are actually from Sweden. That's just the first quirk within this very large collection of musicians (numbering in the high 20's). With so many members one would expect a thick wall of sound coming out of the speakers when hitting the play button, but this group prides itself on youthful simplicity, reminiscent of the simple melodies of The Boy Least Likely To or the purposefully amateur sound of The Polyphonic Spree.
The album is full of songs about the simple things in life like oversleeping, collecting stamps or building a tree house. The lyrics are sweet, nostalgic and personal, avoiding any possibility of sounding like they're trying too hard to be cute and relatable. Some listeners may be turned off by the group's amateur sound, but at the same time it compliments the youthful enthusiasm of the band. Taking their cues from 60's folk-rock while building the sound on current alternative pop, they mix the two to create a unique sound on the cutting edge.
|
|
|
