Animal Names

Oh Yes You Better Do

Written by: TL on 10/10/2010 16:52:28

Next little indie-band up for review is Animal Names, a five-piece from Vancouver whose EP "Oh Yes You Better Do" has actually been out for over a year, but only found its way to us this year, and only found its way to the top of my promo-pile this week. A quick look at the band's myspace will reveal that they seem to be intentionally indie in nature, and hence it comes as no surprise to find that the sound of these four guys and one girl, resides somewhere in the old territory between the indie, grunge and emo waves of the 90's.

Listening to "Oh Yes You Better Do", Everyone Everywhere, Dear And The Headlights, Pavement and Paper The Operator all come to mind as likely references, except Animal Names are remarkably less energetic. The songs rumble away at mid-pace maximum, with Pavement-ish off-tune guitar-squeals and other silly shenanigans taking the pretense out of the otherwise rather traditional emo sound. It's the kind of ruckus it's easy to find sympathy for, especially while listening to the bouncy refrain of "Frogs In 2010" or the part of "My Friends For Mayor" that sounds like it's played on a comb.

Of course you could complain about a handful of moments that are perhaps a bit too traditionally and predictably emo (see for instance "Octavius Statue With Sneakers", but if you're the kind of person who enjoyed the recent album by Everyone Everywhere, then you'll likely be able to see around that and find a similar potential in these guys. I for one think there's something here, especially if Animal Names continue to allow room for bursts of light-heartedness in their music, like they do on "Frogs In 2010" and "Crunk Crunk Croatia".

7

Download: Frogs In 2010, My Friends For Mayor, Crunk Crunk Croatia
For The Fans Of: Everyone Everywhere, Dear And The Headlights, Pavement, Paper The Operator
Listen: myspace.com/animalnames

Release Date July 2009
Boat Dreams From The Hill/Sound As Language

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