Maybe it’s because the band’s from California, where the sun always shines (except for, like, earthquakes and stuff), but the music of The Morning Benders is just the epitome of summer. The band’s songs are almost uniformly catchy, often built around an acoustic / electric guitar combination with bits of piano and organ thrown in for variance. All that, along with singer Christopher Chu’s voice, can lead to a noticeable (and very welcome) resemblance to The Shins.
The Morning Benders know how to change up their formula, though, to avoid any easy pigeonholing. “Dammit Anna” is a blink-and-you-miss it, ridiculously catchy pop ditty, while the two song suite “Wasted Time” and “Chasing a Ghost” take a more rocking approach, with a bout of tremolo picking, stabs of electric guitar, and an epic solo to bring the song towards its end.
All in all, these songs are damn fun and damn catchy. Now that the temperature is starting to get up there (at least in New York; sorry, Greenland), and Summer is well on its way, you’d be remiss not to give them a spin.
And, last thing! The guys have a new CD coming out at some point in the future called Big Echo, so keep your eyes peeled.
The Morning Benders – “Dammit Anna” [MP3]
The Morning Benders – “Waiting for a War” [MP3]
I simply love this band, their debut is pure sunshine and happiness indeed (except for those two darker tracks you mentioned, which strike a nice balance)
yay Berkeley!