Sweet Escape

Wesley Bunch may come from Norfolk, Virginia, but the dream pop he’s written with the help of Elliott Malvas and Jon Reynolds sounds distinctly Scandinavian. The friends’ casual jamming has produced some very easy pop tunes that have a pretty, delicate softness to their ’80s new wave influence. They recorded mini-EP Favorite Friend with Brad Rosenberg a while ago now but the songs still stand up as strong and enchanting. Named ‘Summer Breeze’ and ‘Attractive Smile’, the charmingly simple tunes definitely show a fairly positive outlook and the many layers keep it interesting.

Favorite Friend is available for pay-as-you-like via bandcamp. Below, check out ‘Attractive Smile’ and new track ‘Give Up’, which was released a couple of weeks ago and comes from Suburban Living’s second EP, which is due out next year.

Suburban Living on Facebook

Posted by Sarah Gooding under U.S.A, Virginia
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Naked On The Wave

Right now the sun is flooding in through my bedroom window and We Are Trees is providing the perfect soundtrack. If you haven’t heard We Are Trees’ latest EP it’s probably because James Nee is a bit of a master of disguise, having done little to push what could become one of the hits of the US summer. Girlfriend, released digitally on March 3 is the follow up to last year’s beautifully delivered Boyfriend EP, and going by the strength of both he’s a star in the making. While derivative comparisons to Department of Eagles and Grizzly Bear are his only stumbling block, Nee deserves credit for forging ahead with his ambition, continuing to do what he knows best, manufacturing some of the finest pop music the world has heard over the past 18 months. His vocals provide a relentless rhythm, somewhat reversing Grizzly Bear’s portrayal of pop art, that is structured more around complex instrumentation and key time changes. Nee’s music sounds more influenced by Phil Spector’s song book, with similar walls of ‘woos’ and ‘wahs’ that were the staple of many Crystals hits throughout the late ’50s/early ’60s.  We Are Trees doesn’t quite achieve the wall of sound, but still creates a big sound using a minimal array of instruments. The acoustic guitar, drum combination creates a grand symphonic sound delivered in a series of booming pop arrangements. Like Boyfriend, it’s hard to find fault with Girlfriend’s five flawless pop songs.

Both Boyfriend and Girlfriend are available for streaming on Bandcamp and can both be purchased digitally from i-tunes. A vinyl pressing of Girlfriend will be made available at a later, still unknown date.

We Are Trees- I Don’t Believe in Love: MP3

Posted by Nick Fulton under U.S.A, Virginia
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Young Grizzly

It’s easy to accuse James Nee of ripping off Grizzly Bear, but he’s probably going to be the next big thing in indie music because of it. His debut EP, titled Boyfriend, is full of the same joyous harmonies that found Grizzly Bear fame with Veckatimest, and his voice shares similar characteristics to Daniel Rossen. Like Grizzly Bear or Rossen’s other band Department Of Eagles, We Are Trees’ music similarly builds through cascading strings (violin and cello), docile guitar picking and heavy tom drums to form a bed for Nee’s perfectly delivered, husky vocals. Whether Nee consciously wanted to sound like Grizzly Bear or DOE is difficult to maintain,  but he has certainly created a near replica, if only differentiating slightly on Boyfriend’s forth (and last) track ‘Final Round’. The song shares similar elements with Scandinavian pop bands like The Raveonettes and The Radio Dept; in the up/down chords that form the main guitar melody and the use of a simple plodding drum beat. While sounding like two well-established bands dogs listening to We Are Trees, it’s still very clear that they’re a band to take seriously, especially if they can overcome the constant comparison currently bestowed upon them.

We Are Trees’ debut EP, Boyfriend, is available via Bandcamp as a free digital download.

Visit the band’s Myspace page to hear their cover of Best Coast’s ‘When I’m With You’.

 We Are Trees- Dear Chan Marshall: MP3

We Are Trees- Final Round: MP3

We Are Trees- Myspace

Posted by Nick Fulton under U.S.A, Virginia
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