National Beekeepers Society – “Pawn Shop Etiquette”
Album Reviews | Nov 16th, 2008
Record Label: S/R
Genre: Indie Pop
Band Link: link
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I like bands that are appealingly poppy and yet different-sounding. NBS is a jangle-rock band from Wisconsin that is as catchy as they are charmingly weird.
The opening track “Look At Me” manages to be a fun jangle rocker while also sounding like a cross between Pere Ubu and Weezer (with tambourine). “Lazy” begins like an alt-country song until the Polynesian melodies and flugelhorn kick in. “So Hardcore” isn’t hardcore at all, but sounds like a garage-indie version of The Knack. And so forth. I won’t go through them all because each tune is so very distinct.
This isn’t silly eclecticism – the album is coherent through well-written and often outrageously catchy tunes. A good comparison, at least in terms of successfully being off-kilter but well-grounded, would be the Starlight Mints.
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