There's a Redemption, An Uplift!

And you ask, just why are Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (see previous post) so good?  Well,  there's a catchy joyousness in the tracks.  And there's a relaxed funkiness in the recording.  And there's some kind of infectious wackiness in the arrangements and the background vocals.  


It sounds like a group of folks who had a hell of a good time making a record.  There are strange turns and mad flights and there's soulfulness, and wisdom and a sense of falling and rising.  


"Up from Below."

It seems like it's about a journey to some kind of bottom and then there's a redemption, an uplift!


And just what does this band sound like?  Well, they sound like themselves.  I mean, they bring something of their own to the project, but yes, I can play that silly "what do they sound like game."


I mean, everyone has their precursors.  


I hear a little Arcade Fire, Harry Nilsson, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Ennio Morricone, Connor Oberst/Bright Eyes, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Neil Diamond,  Harry Chapin, and Burt Bacharach?!?  There's a sunny Sixties-ness that kind of hovers over the whole thing.  Yes, it's that wacky Hippie Spirit-Shit!  And I love it!


It works.  Completely!