Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Mikey-Mike's Indie Music Corner: Head Low, But You've Gotta Let it Sway...

A good friend of mine once told me that I only like songs about girls and crushes. I laughed, but he might have been right. This would go a long way towards explaining why I like Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin so much. They often sing about falling in and out of love and that wonderful rush that you get when you meet someone new.

Their first big break came in 2006, when the producers of The O.C. included their song Oregon Girl in one of the episodes. While I didn't often watch the show, I generally respected the music chosen. After all, I, like many, fell in love with the theme song upon first listen.

Their second break came when Chris Walla, famed producer and guitarist for indie-band Death Cab for Cutie, caught wind of the previously mentioned Oregon Girl. Legend has it that it soon became him and his girlfriends song, leading the Seattle native to reach out to the boys from Missouri, and they soon became pen pals.

Sidebar: To those of you familiar with Death Cab, the only song the band performs that wasn't written by lead singer Ben Gibbard is called Brothers on a Hotel Bed, and it was written by @JUMEX. It's hauntingly beautiful, right down to the title, exploring the idea of growing old with a companion, and fearing that you might not have what it takes to maintain the burning desire that you had when it began. Listen to it below...

Deathcab For Cutie - Brothers on a Hotel Bed
|Download

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin's debut record, Broom, was self-produced and released in 2005 . Very low-fi and full of potential, it was well received in the indie community. The previously mentioned Oregon Girl might have been the most popular song on the album, but it was I am Warm + Powerful that stood out the most. It's a song about relying too much on alcohol to foster your social life. A downer I know, (no pun intended), but its melodies and chorus showcase their ability to craft catchy pop songs, regardless of topic.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - I am Warm & Powerful
|Download

Their second record, Pershing, also self-produced, blew me away. I couldn't believe that a band so young could create such a strong record from start to finish, Oceanographer aside.

I gave the record an A-, as song after song kept me wanting more. Think I Wanna Die would have to be my favorite, as it combines a Van Morrison reference, dreams about sex with tigers, and the use of the word twee to emphasize an unrequited love, and none of it seems out of place. And Glue Girls, Heers, and Dead Right are all equally fantastic.

The guys just released their third record in August, titled Let it Sway, this time produced by Chris Walla, and I'm still trying to digest it. Their first single, titled Sink/Let it Sway, showed a ton of promise leading into the album. The lyrics keep in line with my boys Yeasayer with the positive message, stating, "head low, but you've gotta let it sway, no miracle is gonna happen when you feel that way." I love it, and I try my best to live it. Bad things are gonna happen to you; you can't control that, but you have complete control as to how you respond.

While the record didn't quite live up to expectations, Sink is fantastic, Made to Last and Bended both make it worth my while. I still have great hopes for these boys, and I firmly believe they could become a household name. That is, if their band name wasn't so damn hard to say...

1 comments:

Matthew Bradford October 6, 2010 at 6:24 PM  

You write so much better than I do.

Well done, Mook

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