New music proliferates the Internet and the music-store shelves. Peeling back the snappy album cover to judge by the quality of the music itself can be an overwhelming investment. It doesn't help that so many newer acts seem to be copying the musical styles of their own favorite bands. Finding innovative new music in the face of so much imitation can seem an insurmountable task.
New Bands Gain Success Through Imitation
It was once considered a death-knell for a new musical act who sounded too much like another artist. While it was generally easy to distinguish a British Invasion band, for example, the voices and musical styles of each group were generally distinguishable. While it's great to be inspired by another band's successful tracks, copycatting those same tracks to further one's own career used to be seen as cheating.
Today, it seems almost the norm. Even in the last decade, Stone Temple Pilots mined success by sounding almost indistinguishable from Pearl Jam, at least in their early career. In today's musical times, you find bands that sound disturbingly like Belle and Sebastian, or bands that deliberately proclaim themselves the "21st Century Beach Boys."
Imitation, beyond being the sincerest form of flattery, has become a formula for musical success. The challenge for today's music lover is in looking beyond the sound-alikes, cover bands, and knockoffs to find the true creative talent in today's musical field.
Recommended Albums from Recommended Bands
Here, then, are a few great albums that may elude your searching, if you don’t know where to look. Each for its own reasons, they all bring something unexpected to their musical expression that sets them apart from the cattle-drive of mainstream music.
1. The Good, the Bad & the Queen The Good, the Bad & the Queen
The band that recorded “The Good, The Bad & the Queen” actually has no name, but is comprised of four musical artists that hail from existing bands. The album is misconstrued as being self-titled, but the confusion doesn’t stand in the way of its brilliance.
All the songs are themed around modern life in London, and indeed the feeling the album gives definitely invokes a stroll through Picadilly Circus or the Strand. Mellow vocals and smooth guitar, with vibrating ambient synth, provide an unintrusive feel-good that goes well with English ale or a cup of tea. It's New British Invasion metropolitan groove.
2Grizzly Bear Yellow House
Don’t mistake this band’s sound for ambient, or gratuitously mellow. Grizzly Bear’s surreal guitars and gentle percussion is a slow and steady trip through an otherworldly landscape. It evokes autumn, road trips, and putting your feet up on an orange crate on the back porch. This album, simultaneously haunting, soothing, and inspiring, will keep the listener company no matter the activity.
3. Noah and the Whale Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down
The single from this album, “5 Years’ Time,” has your toe tapping almost before you know the song has begun. New British Invasion group Noah and the Whale pulls together folk and rock, weaves in some brass and strings, and asks their friends to contribute supporting vocals, seemingly on a whim. The result is a fun, thoughtful exploration, both of the simple things in life and the questions that move us.
4. The Hush Sound Like Vines
It’s hard to describe what makes this band so good. It’s a standard formula, with a keyboard, two guitars and a drum kit. The music is light, easy to listen to, and creative in its lyrics. Perhaps that’s their secret, the poetry and effortlessness of their lyrics, creating an image that the music slides through like a wet paintbrush through a watercolor.
The female keyboardist and the male lead guitarist trade off providing lead vocals in “Like Vines,” depending on whose voice will best suit the song. The partnership provides a level of variety to an album that already sports a diverse array of songs. Overall, plain and simply, this is a well crafted album, recommended to anyone who likes art in their music.
5. Mates of State Re-Arrange Us
This husband and wife duo is living proof that you don’t have to understand a song to get it – and certainly not to enjoy it. A perfect example is “Get Better,” a poppy pseudo-anthem that gets you thinking about the state of things in the world, despite – or perhaps because of – lyrics like “I propose a less serious boat / Don’t mistake for a party of jokes.”
Wife Kori on the keyboard and husband/drummer Jason weave tight harmonies that fit right on top of the music to provide an easy listen. On a side note, their website and blog is an interesting trip through the lives of a touring couple trying to make great music and raise two children at the same time.
Hopefully these standout bands will continue to stand out for themselves, rather than inspiring a new generation of "sounds-like" musical acts. Even if that happens, however, these bands are to be lauded for developing a unique and creative sound that has made a dent in one music lover's cynicism toward a copycat industry.
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