That astoundingly clever bit of wordplay on his Orchestra, my obsession du jour, may or may not be irrelevant, but this music is good enough to stand out through the mess of my 8 am delirium. Straight out of Los Angeles, they're a little bit Ben Folds, a little bit Rufus Wainwright (sans annoying oversinging), a little bit The Magnetic Fields, and their debut album, Field Guide to the Wilds, is a feast for the senses...except mainly just the ears. The beautifully simple "Attached," features a smooth male vocal backed by a chirping chorus of ethereal female voices worthy of St. Vincent comparisons resting comfortably over a bouncy piano chord progression. The minor chords of "Black Coffin" recall Badly Drawn Boy as its cello and violin sections lend an eerie quality to the gorgeous, unassuming ballad that, in the right light, might give you a little shiver. "Hibernation," my personal favorite, sounds like the music that children's singer Raffi and Edward Scissorhands would make if Raffi had a smidgen of LSD and Edward Scissorhands didn't have scissors for hands. 100% organic 'aw, shucks' goodness.
