Pleased To Hear You – New Music for 3/15/2013

Media | Mar 15th, 2013

It is Ska Week here at Pleased To Hear You. Celebrating the genre we all love, this week features 3 up and coming ska bands from the US. Enjoy my friends!

Band: Pinstripes
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Latest Release: The Pinstripes / I on Collective Culture
Site: www.thepinstripes.net
Sound Description: Soulful Traditional Ska
My Take: The Pinstripes are one of the most talented bands to hit the scene in the last number of years. The band plays super tight traditional ska and reggae with soulful vocals. It is so great to find new bands that carry the torch of bands like Hepcat and Westbound Train. After listening to these guys for a few days, I fully expect them to lead the way as one of the great new bands in the ska scene. I also love the way their latest release was recorded. Sonically it feels very true to the genre. There is a certain warmth over top of the music that gives it a smoothness yet it still feels very urgent. I would love to hear these guys get into a studio with Vic Rice or King Django for their next record. The band is currently on tour and will also be supporting the Slackers on an upcoming Midwest jaunt.

Band: Young Costello
Location: Austin, TX
Latest Release: Maladies and Melodies on Lost Records
Site: www.facebook.com/YoungCostello
Sound Description: Upbeat 3rd Wave Ska with dark edged punk roots
My Take: I had no idea who this band was until I did a search on Bandcamp and came across them. Their sound caught me immediately. The band has such a maturity for being a young band. Their song structures and instrumentation do not waste any moments. There aren’t solos for solos sake. Every last piece of music feels crucial to the song as a whole and fits seamlessly. The band also has somewhat of a minor key/dark edge to them. The songs Misfortunate Son and An Altered State Of Mind fall into that camp. This is where I think they truly shine as the vocals over top of that dark sound are quite melodic where you want to sing along with the band. I am truly impressed with some of the vocal abilities of a number of new bands and Young Costello is no exception. Fantastic!

Band: Save The Swim Team
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Latest Release: New 7” coming out on May 14 on Not Punk Records
Site: www.facebook.com/SaveTheSwimTeam
Sound Description: Ska/Punk/early 2000s Emo
My Take: I have been waiting for a band to meld these sounds for a while and here they are. Listening to this, the best way I could describe it is if you mixed 3rd Wave Ska-Punk with early 2000s Drive Thru Records bands. I hear very distinct New Found Glory and Early November influences. I am super digging this song and can’t wait to hear what the band has next. I think it is truly a unique sound that not many are doing…yet. The kids are gonna love this!

If you are in a band and think you may have something we may enjoy, feel free to pass it along. Hit me up on Twitter at @stevenrbauer or email me here.

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