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Pela
Forget all of this "All American Rock Band" nonsense that Pela spouts somewhere on a one-sheet -- that's probably the phrase that bothered me the most when I first heard of this Brooklyn-based band. And it's probably the reason why I avoided them for so long. Well, no longer. At the urging of "the blogs" over and over, I've finally sat down and given Pela a good listen and I must say, I've been missing out this whole time.
Pela are the magical combination of chiming guitars, atmospheric rock, ringing vocals, the occasional guitar solor, and a healthy love of U2 ("Lost To The Lonesome" sounds particularly Bono-ish). There's a decided British bent in the way that they approach structuring their layered songs, with driving bass and drums, and the desperate, emotional inflections of lead singer Billy McCarthy, who aims to sound larger than life.
McCarthy's voice has the rawness of a punk rock singer going for the deep baritone of Matt Berninger of The National, but with more hope than catharsis. And like the National, Pela mines the territory of dark, brooding songs mixing beautifully with moody backgrounds, particularly in the instrumental passages of "Trouble With River Cities," but add their own special crunch and soaring riffs. Nearly every Pela song is an anthem, destined for a giant arena. Their very smart Anytown Graffiti looks to be permanently stuck in my iPod and it won't go away soon.
Pela - Trouble With River Cities
Pela - Lost To The Lonesome
Visit Pela's official site. Buy Anytown Graffiti from Amazon.
Posted by Queen of the Front Row at 03.08.07 at 6:32 PM
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