CD Review: Audible

By Russ Starke on Jun 3, 2009 in Music | Comments

Now THIS is the type of recording that usually grabs me around this time of year — full of great pop sensibility, layered guy/girl harmonies, and chiming guitars with just the right amount of grit on them. I’m talking about the first self-released recording by Philly’s own Audible — including local scene breakout Mike Kennedy (Matt Pond PA, Mazarin, Lefty’s Deceiver), his wife Kristine (currently incubating some twins — congrats, guys!), and another veteran of a favorite band of Used Wigs — Ed Hogarty of the Bigger Lovers. And let’s go right ahead and shout out vocalist Mary Garito, guitarist Jim Kehoe, and drummer Steve Cawley — because they’re all integral to this great musical layer cake I’ve been listening to the past few weeks.

“In Simple Intervals” has been out since May 19th and is available for download right from Audible’s website — where you can quickly get yourself a copy of these 10 little indie gems. If you’re planning on attending the first Used Wigs LIVE event in Ardmore PA on 6/12, I wouldn’t waste any time — you want to be able to sing along, don’t you?

The set kicks off in a way that seems to be making a statement — “we’re here, we’re doing this, we’re doing this right, and we’re doing it on our own terms”. How else would you accomplish that but with a dramatic intro chord reminiscent of the intro to ELO’s "Evil Woman," giving way to a hazy vocal with watery guitar strumming, and then capping it off with a head fake into a poppy upbeat groove punctuated by glockenspiel? Correct. There is no better way.

Hazy is a good word to use — many of the songs sound like they are pouring out of a pleasantly yellowed Polaroid snapshot of a summer day, restrained in their execution with lots of great arrangements and musical dexterity bobbing in the waves (the odd-time turnaround 3/4 of the way through April is Real is a great example).

Hours Ago (Sad Mac) has a great little guitar hook that reminds me of one my favorite pop songs from the recent years , the Weepies' "Hideaway," the layered harmonies on “Dust From a Broom” (with some “in the round” action) are fantastic, and when they appear on “By Decision” it has that eerie/pretty quality that made the vocals on A Charlie Brown Christmas so affecting — this is what those kids would have sounded like on a heartstring-pulling indie track after they aged 20 years.

Then you’ve got my two personal favorites — the clicking-clacking joy of “Miles to Minutes” and channeling a bit of Tilly and The Wall and The Go! Team on “Like a Code”. A great outing and a firm first step down a new path for Audible. Looking forward to seeing them live on the 12th!

More: www.myspace.com/audibleband

- Russ Starke

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