Steel Phantoms :: "Bedouin"

The first thought is, "Close To Me". It's not your fault either, the first ten seconds of Steel Phantoms' "Bedouin" are an absolute dead ringer for the Cure original. Of the next nearly five minutes the easiest comparison is last year's Hooded Fang record, an amalgam of string pizzicato building to a sprawling plateau of a chorus and the instantly memorable, "Everybody goes away." The path from the first refrain to the last is circuitous, featuring what feels like two straight bridges laid back to back. You will return to the warmth of the guitars - very nearly out of the Vampire Weekend catalog - in the last chorus, this one imbued with a sense of urgency that trumps even the languid vocals and all the lazy progress it took to get here. After all, this is song about getting a little bit lost.

Listen :: Steel Phantoms - "Bedouin"

Hooded Fang :: "Laughing" and "Promise Land"

Ontario's Hooded Fang drive straight to the heart of indie pop with warm horns, chimes, and boy-girl vocals. Some commentators compare them to a slow-drive version of the Strokes - this is solidly and obviously not useful - and  some European critics seem to find relatability to Belle and Sebastian. There is even a moment in "Promise Land" where the baroque peel off evokes a rougher version of the harpsichord in Vampire Weekend's 2007 contribution "M79." Hell, the male vocals are nearly identical to Throw Me The Statue. An important to mention self-indictment: This is just a small band from Canada and such grandiose telomeres do little to perfectly frame their debut self-titled LP which is, by this report, fantastic. So for just a minute allow yourself to just listen to two songs off that debut record. They are, quite obviously, impressive.


"Laughing"


"Promise Land"