Afternoon, The

James Supercave: The Afternoon

A brand-new indie pop quintet from LA. Great use of all sorts of sounds (vocal sampling, piano, strings, guitar, horn) layered on top of some fairly catchy beats. The male voice annoyed me at times…it can slide up and down the scale, very disco-y. But cool stuff on the whole, and no one could find it boring or repetitive or safe. Track 2 in particular is really ambitious. Track 4 is darker and maybe a little catchier. Track 1 is cute if you’re in the mood for something cute. No FCCs.

1) * (3:42) “Old Robot”: Kind of a cute concept here. James tries to call someone, the person isn’t there, but that’s OK because there’s a robot on tape (answering machine) who can be his friend. Lots of wind instruments, piping. Great moment where we get to hear the robot’s voice. 2) ** (4:32) “The Right Thing”: Great vocal/sound range on this track. Can’t possibly get bored listening to it. James’ voice seems slightly less strained on this track, which is nice. String instruments, drums. 3) (3:48) “A Million Days”: James’s voice slides all the way up and down the scale here, which aggravated me. Quite a bit slower. Nice simple use of guitar. 4) * (4:09) “The Afternoon (As Bad as it Seems)”: Catchy syncopated piano. Lots of vocal sampling. Excels near the end when it begins distorting voices. Slightly darker note for this artist.

Mr. Tumnus