Two Words, One Answer.
Dispatch
 Silent Steeples $13.98 This is a fantastic album. Originally I was introduced to Dispatch several years ago when my cousins were visiting. They wanted to see this band that I had never heard of. There was a free concert at the hatch shell, and it turned out to be "The Last Dispatch." I could hardly hear any of the music being played, but I was interested enough to buy one of their albums ("Who Are We Living For?"). A year or so later, after I realized that all of my friends had already heard of Dispatch, I was introduced to their debut album, Silent Steeples. I have three of the four studio albums released by Dispatch, and this is definitely up their with their best work (but all of their work is really great, anyways). The album is almost entirely acoustic, but that isn't to say that it is all laid back and/or boring. Dispatch is fantastic at vocal harmonization; they all have good voices that complement each other exceptionally well. The songs have an intimate feel, as if they were singing and playing in your living room. Another fantastic element that I love about Dispatch is their percussion. They often use a standard drum set, but in addition, they have congos or bongos (I'm not good at telling the difference) which keep the organic feel. I guess I just really like the timbre of those percussive instruments, because I also adore Guster, who also utilizes them. They blend beautifully with the acoustic guitar. This is a lengthy album, but at no point does it fail to hold my attention. All 14 songs are long, nearly all at 4 minutes or more, but they all are clearly individual compositions. Some of my favorite Dispatch songs are on this album, including "Hey, Hey" which starts slowly, with just vocals and guitars, and eventually builds into a glorious chorus. The narrative "Flying Horses" is also fantastic, chronicling (I think) a trip to an old merry-go-round on Martha's Vineyard and a walk on the beach, seeing a beautiful girl. Two tracks also make great use of a flute, they are extremely relaxing to listen to ("Seasons: Movement III" and "Walk With You"). Finally, one of my all-time favorite songs, "Elias" is on this album, which was written after band member Chad Urmston went to Zimbabwe to live and teach. It has fantastic percussion, and is sung in a different (African?) language. I highly recommend this album to anyone and everyone. This is an album I doubt I will ever tire of in my life. Buy it!  Who Are We Living For? $13.98 Before I begin I might mention that this band is by far my favorite band -ever. Why? Because every song they write is good and their songwriting skills are surpassingly diverse (as all three members write songs.) This album especially reflects that diversity as it encompasses that chill acoustic feel of their first album (Silent Steeples) along with the reggae feel of songs like Bats in the Belfry from their 2nd album (Bang Bang). This album adds along to it some straight rock and roll and funk with songs like Time Served that just scream i just listend to a Rage album 50 times in a row. Its quite simply endless good music. Buy it and enjoy.  Bang Bang $9.49 got this for my brother for his bday. he loved it. product just like described. shipping took way too long though |
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