The Morning Benders

Let's just say, things get hectic. With that in mind, I've enlisted the assistance of Captain Safety to do some free lance work for the Company. He lives in a place that actually has a live music scene, hopefully we'll see more from him in the future.
Enjoy:

Something Old, Something New

Ah, the end of the year. Time for everybody to start dropping those highly-anticipated "Best Albums of the Year" lists. Rather than pollute the interwebs with another painfully subjective Top 50 or Top 10 list, I thought I would pare it down to two albums - one from the archives and one upcoming release.

The Morning Benders have been off the grid. The Bay Area quartet, lead by frontman Chris Chu, haven't really been touring. You probably haven't been hearing them on the radio or in the background of any trendy new car commercials either. Don't let that deter you, though. As a reknowned Doctor once said, "(they've) been in the lab with a pen and a pad." Their new album - Big Echo - drops March 9th and they will be out in full force touring this Spring. Yes, March is a long way away. To tide you over, you'll have to do what I've been doing all year and dig into their first album. Their debut album - Talking Through Tin Cans - dropped in 2008 and has been in heavy rotation for me ever since.

Talking Through Tin Cans immediately distinguishes itself as just that - an album. Refreshingly, there aren't just two or three standout tracks. Instead, the whole album flows from start to finish without any real throw-aways. At first listen, Chu's vocals draw immediate comparisons to James Mercer of the Shins, or perhaps Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend. But throughout the album, Chu begins to distinguish a more diverse style that's all his own. Yes, there is plenty of subtle, acoustic work on the album that pairs nicely with Chu's whiny-smooth vocals. But these guys aren't afraid to rock out, either. Album standouts like Heavy Hearts and Chasing A Ghost, also showcase some promising guitar work. Because these guys are so stylistically diverse, it's really anyone's guess as to what direction the band might head on the upcoming Big Echo. In any case, if the end result of their sophomore effort is anything like Talking Through Tin Cans, it will be worth the wait.

Captain Safety (on assignment for The Company)