I
was sitting around today, trying to think who I should write about
today. Sometimes I feel like there's no one I can write about and
then a second later I find myself lost in the amount of choices in
front of me. There's honestly innumerable youtube artists out there
who I could write about for one reason or another. But, for some
reason today, a band by the name of "Local Natives"
jumped into my mind. When I started doing gigs with a friend of mine
back in 2010, we covered a bunch of Simon & Garfunkel songs, and
I always insisted that we do "Cecilia". Unfortunately, this
friend of mine wasn't interested in the song, so we let it go. So,
when I picked up guitar I decided I'd do the song on my own. I looked
up "Cecilia Acoustic Covers" on Youtube and found a bunch
of great sounding covers. But, the one that stood out to me for a
whole lot of reasons was by Local Natives. It blew my mind and
continues to do so each time I watch it. Every time I need a good
mind blowing, I go back to this video. Do you want to get your mind
blown? Watch this video and get lost in those harmonies, amongst
other things.
Mind-blowing
right? I absolutely love their cover of Simon & Garfunkel's
masterpiece. It's been a little while since they uploaded that video,
and since then they've done a bunch of great originals, that I've
taken a liking to. As was the case with Mike Massé,
I never subscribed to their Youtube channel, because their name stuck
in my head, and I didn't forget them. So, before you make the same
mistake, you'd better go ahead and subscribe to their channel
(localnativesband).
I'm not too sure who is who in that video but the band's Facebook page states that there are four current members to the band: Taylor Rice on vocals and guitar, Kelcey Ayer also on vocals, keys and percussion, Ryan Hahn on vocals and guitar and last but not least Matt Frazier on drums. I wish I knew who was who in the particular video, since each one of them did such a phenomenal job.
The band's most recent upload fascinated me. An original piece of theirs entitled "Breakers" takes twists and turns for the unexpected at various points of the song. While its predominant sound is indie rock, an experimental sound that sounds like Thom Yorke having a good day seeps out of the vocals. I personally felt a similar sound to the Fleet Foxes eponymous debut studio album, released in 2008, that included songs such as "White Winter Hymnal" and "Mykonos". Nevertheless, the song hints at something unique, that I am quite fond of. I only hope the band continues to evolve in time, and continues to produce such gripping tracks. Listen to "Breakers" and decide for yourself.
Aside from that recent upload, the band has a good deal of other great sounding tracks. One that stood out to my ear was uploaded some time in 2010, and is called "Wide Eyes". Once again, the song is reminiscent of the Fleet Foxes' album "Fleet Foxes" but carries an original sound that I quite like. Strangely, the particular song reminds of Fun.'s sound. It's also quite curious that both bands started out around the same time. I like both bands but wish that Local Natives would get more recognition for the fantastic work they've been doing. I think they're a fantastic band and here's their song "Wide Eyes"! Check back tomorrow for another fantastic artist.
Alex Hamel
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