Back in the States

So I just got back from a whirlwind trip of Europe, which was quite an experience. I ate lots of strange yet delicious food, did some sauna, slept in an airport, threw up once, drank copious amounts of strange and familiar beers, and saw lots of old friends from my year abroad. What does this have to do with music? Well, I had to travel to all of these places, and my favorite CD to listen to on the plane rides/in the airport was this one.

The band is Dear and the Headlights, the CD is Small Steps Heavy Hooves. They play a brand of music that is hard to be classified as pop or indie or rock really. It has the voice that is a bit strong and difficult to get used to for some (indie-esque), it has some verse-chorus-verse-chorus-break-chorus tunes (pop-esque), and you get some guitar solos and rockin out (rock-esque). I think that they blend it together pretty well, and put forth quite a few compelling songs and a very solid album. It's one that as I listened to it for the first time, I had my finger on the 'next track' button after the first 10 seconds of pretty much every song, but never pressed it because all of the songs somehow got interesting to me in the next 5 seconds.

Here are a few that I didn't even lay my finger on the 'next track' button for. The first, called 'Sweet Talk', opens up showcasing their rock-ish side. It switches between emotional and strained rock segments, with indie breaks throughout the song which provide a nice contrast the whole way. Then in the end they are combined in a real nice break, where he holds his notes much longer and ends the tune. The second is called 'I'm Bored, You're Amourous.' This one will get your leg bouncing right from the start. When you hear the first chorus you may be a bit turned off...but give it a shot, it's an addicting tune. The last is "Run in the Front', which is a Third Eye Blind-esque pop tune. It's probably the easiest one to get into, and a fun one to cruise along to in the car (most preferably in autumn).

Dear and the Headlights - Sweet Talk

Dear and the Headlights - I'm Bored, You're Amorous

Dear and the Headlights - Run In the Front

Saved you from Alec at last.

-Kyle