Castles In Air : Mysterious Yet Familiar Sounds

I came across this soul searching band about a year and a half ago while looking up "Help!" (Beatles) covers on Youtube. Two of the band's members, Chris Picco and Taylor Haenny put together a laid back cover of the timeless song. A very steady, dry drumbeat suppled by Taylor, combined with Chris' "painful" vocals and shaky guitar line make the cover quite unique. What do I mean by "painful"? I mean, he's got that kind of voice that sounds as if its creeping out of the depths of his tortured soul. A little like Thom Yorke, except, Chris seems to be more fun to be around. Anyways, check this fantastic cover out and judge for yourselves. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLBu4s3Q68Y

The song never gets old, despite the amount of times I've heard it,  despite how many covers of it I've heard and despite the amount of times I've covered it myself. I must admit though, that Castles In Air do it ever so elegantly. It's much simpler and smoother than the original, but sticks to the original format, particularly with that "jangly" guitar playing. Once again, I must say, Chris' voice makes the cover very unique, and almost eery.

Hopefully, you've subscribed to their channel by now and listened to a couple of their covers. If not, make sure you subscribe and listen to their cover of Mutemath's "Typical". It's such a great song that so many people don't know, or forget, and Castles In Air do it beautifully. This time, with all four members of the band, which includes the previously unseen, unheard and unmentioned Joshua Dunn and Andrew Hock, the sound has a lot more edge to it. Despite the lack of an electric guitar in the cover, Chris is leading the jam with his haunting voice and "jangly" guitar playing. In essence, the cover's got a lot of energy to it, which seems to circle the band under the sun. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMYRXpw-Q44

Great stuff! Like most bands and artists I write about, these guys have got some real good original tracks. A couple live versions are available on Youtube, and if you dig them, you can buy their tunes on iTunes too. It's fantastic how many great artists/bands are out there, waiting to be discovered. Castles In Air is one of them. All they've got to do is keep it up and keep writing that stuff that gets people listening. One song that really caught my ear is called "Stars". With a deeply echoing guitar ringing throughout the song, and Chris' eccentric vocal style, the sound is almost reminiscent of U2, yet with a darker feel. It's almost as if Radiohead & U2 got together and had a child. Nevertheless, I must say there is something truly unique about the band's sound, and I'll definitely be keeping up to date with their music.Have a listen and don't forget to check out the band on Facebook, for updates! Check back tomorrow for another fantastic artist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biyitbda9kM

Alex Hamel