RIYL: The Dodos, The Dirty Projectors, Atlas Sound, Blitzen Trapper
Sounds Like: Art rock you can dance to.
A Few Words: Despite their somewhat awkward name, Here Is What Is sounds and performs like musicians bound for larger venues. Their short EP (Done Before it Starts) is the musical equivalent of stuffing a watermelon into your back pocket, yet they accomplish the feat with ease. While just over 30 minutes long, the EP is filled with ethereal harmonies floating over lyrics as tight and punctuated as the underlying, danceable grooves.
I had the good fortune of catching their CD release party at Vancouver's Media Club, which only reinforces my earlier melon-in-back-pocket analogy. For those who've been, you know how small the stage is; fitting four musicians up there is a challenge, on a good day--let alone five. But up they went--the entire quintet--and launched into their set as though there was enough room to contain their massive sound.
The pace and structure of the EP changes as much within each track as it does between songs. Employing slides, keyboard harmonies, and extraordinary guitar solos (just wait for the second half of "Final Fantasy"), HIWI takes half and hour and makes you wonder where the day has gone.
Comments
=D