Road trips are a great opportunity for “music roulette” – just grabbing a random CD out of a stack and throwing it in the player. My first pick on a recent road trip to Santa Barbara was so good that I listened to it twice in a row!
It’s from Hospitality, a band recently signed to Merge Records. I knew absolutely nothing about them, which was part of the fun.
The music had the twee pop qualities I love in Belle and Sebastian’s music and the female vocalist reminded me slightly of Frente. (a big compliment in my book! Remember Frente? Australian pop group from the early 90’s? I still have their cassette somewhere. ). It was the perfect album for driving down the coast on a beautiful sunny day.
Hospitality – Friends of Friends by MergeRecords
Once returning home I learned the band is a trio from Brooklyn and the singer in question in named Amber Papini (her accent is actually English, not Australian. English via Kansas City according to her bio). Their self-titled album is out on January 31 and I recommend checking it out!
RR
Frente flashback: