squidpants

So I got an mp3 in my email by this new band, Illinois. I really like it.

The name of the band reminds me of Sufjan Stevens, as does the production - really lush and rich, a big sound. They have a debut EP coming out soon on Ace Fu Records, with 4 of the 7 songs on their Myspace. They play fuzzy, semi-poppy indie, superficially like Weezer crossed with the Arcade Fire, but on repeated listens a lot more influences and bits come out. They're pretty hard to pin down, the four songs on Myspace are all 2 to 3 minutes and super-listenable but all different, reminiscent of a dozen other good bands - the singer's voice reminds me a little of the guy from Placebo, there's a bit of Ash's grandiose power pop on "One on One," rumbling fuzz, sing alongs and a little Neutral Milk Hotel on "Screen Door," some doo-doos and woo-hoo-hoos, and slower post-rock on "Alone Again." I was happy to listen to them over and over to try to figure out what else it reminded me of. They'll be at SXSW and it's hard to say whether a band will get some buzz or not, but they deserve to.

MP3: "Screen Door"