Album Review

This split CD is a pleasant diversion for anyone sick of radio rock, American metal, mall punk, MTV "raps" or any of the other overdone trends out there blighting the musical landscape. As they‘ve done many times in the past, Louisiana label Lujo has exposed two unknown but skilled bands in Hidari Mae‘s soft, subdued chamber pop/acoustic folk and Speed Not Steel‘s bright, summery pop rock.

Hidari Mae start the proceedings with their six tracks, and to be honest, only the fifth, ‘The Richest, Sweetest Red‘ stands out to this listener with its heavenly harmonies and synthesizer, but any fan of American Football and their ilk will appreciate the yearning nature of Andy Myers‘ voice and the experimental instrumentation, including glockenspiel, autoharp, theremin and - woohoo! - a toy piano. Coldplay jumps to mind as a comparison point, as Hidari‘s tunes are longish, expansive songs that invite headphone listening and reflection. These songs sound like what Mae (ironic, yes?) might sound like if they were hustled into the studio in the early morning before the caffeine fix.

Speed Not Steel immediately pick up the pace with their first offering, the absolute gem ‘Anything Isn‘t Everything‘, a song that exudes everything great about pop music - in fact, months passed between my first listen to this song and then hearing it again this week, and the chorus came instantly back to mind. When a song maintains its subliminal hold after maybe two spins, months later, that‘s gold, kids. Great lead vocals and harmonies reminiscent of Aaron Sprinkle or Copeland‘s Aaron Marsh keep these songs anchored in breezy, solid rock mode, with deceptively simple melodies on the Sufjan Stevens soundalike ‘Losing You‘ and closer ‘Days Away‘, and SNS show ability to delve into other things on the rootsy, piano-driven ‘ I Lost The Battle‘.

Two good bands, one cheap CD. Pick this one up in your hip local indie shop or through the website.

- Mike Postma

[Speed Not Steel] [Lujo Records]

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