Loving: Precious, Minipop
Update below!
Let’s be honest: even with all the music-discovery assistance we have access to here on the ol’ interweb, it still feels like we end up trudging through a decent amount of fair, mediocre or downright awful music before we eventually find something that really resonates within us that creates a fan. Or maybe that’s just me being characteristically difficult and picky?
At any rate, it’s refreshing when a band reels you in at first listen, and Minipop is one of those bands. As of this writing, I am still waiting for their only recording, the Precious EP, to be come in the mail (it’s only been a couple days since I ordered it). It’s fun to be excited about what may be coming in the mail on any given day, and Precious is one of the few CDs I’ve bought in recent months that I’ve been genuinely excited about getting my hands on. Ever since I heard them on SomaFM (thanks once again, Elise!) I’ve been streaming the 3 songs off their website for hours each day. Yes, the same 3 songs (hope that hasn’t caused any bandwidth issues, guys!).
In their own words, “We are Minipop, 2 girls and 3 guys creating dream-pop music with an emotional vision.” On a more terrestrial level, Minipop strikes me as the unlikely offspring of shoegazer and girl-pop—- and I mean that in the most complementary of ways. Unlikely mashup? Not really. Minipop’s lead singer really does sound like one of the lost Dupree sisters, and the backing vocal style, while certainly not exclusively associated with Eisley, certainly will find commonality with Eisley fans. The band is known to have a much heavier, louder sound live which only sort of translates into their recorded material (though such is true for many bands). With drums, bass, two guitars and a keyboard, this quintet creates a layered, often etherial sound that could drawn sonic lineage to bands like Lush and My Bloody Valentine as easily as to Stars or Denali.
Varied? You bet. Listen to Minipop at Independent Artists and their myspace page.
UPDATE
Minipop have been kind enough to grant permission to post an MP3. “Generator” is one of my favorite songs. Hope you like it, too! And if you do, be a champ and purchase the Precious EP. It’s well worth the price!
Listen: Minipop – Generator (expires 5/6/06)