Brooklyn indie pop quartet Modern Rivals premiere a new song from their forthcoming album today via Pitchfork. The track, "Pins and Stitches" is culled from the band's lush and charming 10-song full length Cemetery Dares out this spring and is available to listen/share HERE.
The band previously shared the album track "The Dead Leaves" via PopMatters and it's available to listen/share HERE.
Modern Rivals seem somewhat fittingly named for their transcendent psychedelic pop that both evokes antique 60s mod optimism, while also sounding defiantly current with their experimental edge.
Modern Rivals' ethereal and dextrous songs share the buttoned-up charm of 60s psych-pop bands like The Zombies, mixed with more technically crafty contemporary artists like Minus The Bear and TTNG. Then, all of the elements are given the Nigel Godrich dreamscape approach in which no single sound is exactly what it seems. There is a delicate warmth to Modern Rivals' songs emanating from every meticulously placed note.
Album opener "Angel Bones" opens with a simple melody of synth pipe organ notes as vocalist/guitarist Erick Lee softly sings a nearly falsetto harmony over the top as keyboardist/vocalist Alex Schiff, guitarist Mickey Novak, drummer Alex Raderman and bassist Patrick Smith carefully settle into the groove until a brief pause explodes into a frenzy of wailing guitars, cascading keyboard notes and pounding drums. "The Dead Leaves" kicks off with harmonized vocals interwoven with effected guitar notes akin to latter day Flaming Lips that quickly flit into warm, yet threadbare vocals/drums verse reminiscent of the breathy, emotional dynamics of The Beach Boys. Elsewhere, tracks like "Pins and Stitches" and "Yvaine" veer into Beach House dreampop territory, but the band's stellar musicianship is never lost in the reverb-soaked haze. And, songs like "Dig Up The Sunset" and "In Tuxedo" remind us of the slippery and elusive melodies The Shins once had.
Modern Rivals first formed because there was a plague of skinny-necked young men in collared shirts strumming acoustic guitars everywhere they looked and listened in their hometown of St Louis, MO. So they began plotting and playing together in a spacious apartment, trying to think of better ways to use electricity and strings and sticks and skin to make sounds that could beat back this plague. Sometimes they drank outrageously and did their best impressions of Spencer Krug, sometimes they fought vigorously and bare-fisted in a concrete basement, sometimes they split their fingers open on instruments - but eventually they won.
To celebrate, Modern Rivals moved to New York. They made enough noise and moved enough hearts that some nice things were written about them. More and more people came to watch them sing and dance, and some of these people could even sing and dance along. To increase the ease of singing and dancing along, Modern Rivals spent a dozen days in a freezing recording studio filled with rare books and a sonic wizard named Slick. Immediately afterwards, they survived tuberculosis, bed bugs, and Derrick Rose exploding his second knee. But now, their mental and physical fortitude reformed, Modern Rivals will begin sharing their music with anyone who wants to listen and performing it for anyone who wants to watch. Cemetery Dares is Modern Rivals' first album, and the culmination of the aforementioned triumphs and tribulations.
Cemetery Dares will be available on LP, CD and download on April 22nd, 2014.
MODERN RIVALS LIVE:
02/26 Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory
04/22 Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands (album release show)
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Artist: Modern Rivals
Album: Cemetery Dares
Label: Muy Guapo
Release Date: April 22nd, 2014
01. Angel Bones
02. Dead Leaves (Danse Macabre Midnight) (MP3)
03. Dig Up The Sunset
04. Yvaine
05. The Ice
06. Somnipath
07. Moon Dust
08. A Shade Hesitating
09. In Tuxedo
10. Pins and Stitches (STREAM)
On The Web:
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