The Mumlers

2007 saw the explosion of the group Beirut onto the musical scene with their much praised release The Flying Club Cup. Critics loved their indie and folk roots combined with their creative use of instrumentation to construct a simple yet complex sound. Hooray. But if you're like me, it was hard to grasp onto frontman Zach Condon's rigid singing style, it was just not expressive enough for me, which is often my downfall when trying to get into a lot of indie stuff.

So instead today I'm presenting the poor man's Beirut, a little group out of San Jose known as The Mumlers, who just released their debut album Thickets and Stitches last week. In a way they're very similar to Beirut, but a little more soulful. They present the same broad use of instruements (including a horn section which I believe is a french horn and a trombone) and folky roots. But what really gets me with these guys is frontman ______'s voice(I couldn't find his name anywhere). He has such a rich and toneful voice that adds so much character to the songs, especially when he slows down and sings in a lower range like on "The Hinge's Lament". His style features a very laid back approach that often finds him singing behind the beat (a la the singer from Cake), something that I think adds to the down home, folky, and almost melancholy sound.

To be honest, there are some things that bug me about this group as well. They have a bit of "Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos" syndrome in that they seem to incorporate too many parts at once, especially that damn french horn. There's a couple rather weak tracks on the album as well, but overall I think it's an interesting album that has a very unique sound but still manages to be easily liked.

The first track Shack That Medication was the song that first got me onto the group, and its a great upbeat one with a funky, jazzy side; they sound almost like a whiter version of G Love.

The Mumlers - Shake That Medication

Other than that the album remains pretty mellow, but still entertaining.

The Mumlers - Red River Hustle

The Mumlers - The Hinge's Lament


Enjoy

- Alec