So lately I've discovered how much I like Death Cab For Cutie. I've known about them for years but didn't really pay too much attention. Then of course when the hype machine got started with them a couple of years ago they were relegated to my Music Snob Blacklist. But I recently got Plans and have been playing it nonstop.
My love for this album of course has led me to read reviews about it and most are what I expected. Lots of people agree that it's good, but not as good as their last album. This is to be expected since it's their major label debut. But one thing that kept popping up in the reviews on Amazon is how they sound over-produced. And that reminded me of something I often think about when it comes to indie bands...
Is a large part of the appeal of the indie band the unpolished sound?
Think about it - most of the instrumentals of these groups don't hold a torch to what you'd get from a seasoned session musician. And none of these singers would get anywhere on American Idol, not that I'm advocated the manufacturing of pop stars. But they do write good songs with good pop sensibilities that retains a rough edge to it. But why would it be less appealing if they sounded more polished? And wouldn't their sound naturally evolve to that as they continued to produce music? After playing an instrument for so long you pretty much have to get better.
Comments (1)
All great points, but I think the longer you hone your craft the more creative you have to be to create original, never-been-done-before art. A band can go from a "I recorded this in my garage" sound to "studio session" quality and if they are playing the same sort of stuff they started out playing then yes, it just gets old... And wouldn't it get old for the musicians themselves? Does a top notch musician want to truey master their art or do they want to constantly be challenged?
The longer you've been around, the more you have to challenge yourself. I think that yes-- indie bands that go to a major label, get hours of studio time under their belt and sound more polished can cease having an "indie" type sound. But if they constantly strive to create something unique and brand new-- the "indie" sound will rear it's head whether that's the intention or not.
And isn't a unique sound what us music snobs are looking for anyway? :)
Posted by D | March 9, 2006 2:17 PM
Posted on March 9, 2006 14:17