Album Review: Savoir Adore - Our Nature

Album Rating: A-

Savoir Adore kicked off their musical career with one rule, straight-forward enough - in recording their debut EP, they decided to place a 48-hour deadline on its completion, and furthermore, resolved that there’d be no acoustic guitar in the mix. A challenge to foster creativity? Perhaps. If creativity wasn't a part of the group's humble beginning, though, it's certainly a part of the formula in 2012. What we have here is an album with delectable indie songs, traditional in structure but unique in terms of styling. “Dreamers,” for instance, reveres the dance hooks of the ‘80s by channeling them into a distinctly modern energy. And overall, Our Nature gives the impression of having been around the block and back - the album treads a surprising amount of indie-pop ground, each new interpretation of the genre much more of a success than anyone expected it to be.

Artist Of The Day: Savoir Adore

With lush arrangements of both natural instruments and plenty of synthesizers combined with insanely catchy pop hooks, how don't you know about Savoir Adore? The band's new album Our Nature comes out in a week, and it should win over plenty of new fans. The 1-2-3 punch on top of the album is the strongest representation of their accessible, yet sophisticated sound. They're all varying degrees of bouncy pop, but their construction is leaps and bounds above the majority of similar music around. "Sparrows" may be the best of those three, with Deidre Muro putting together her sweetest vocal performance above ambient electronics and various other beeps and bloops. Paul Hammer also sounds far better than in some of the band's other tracks, and his harmonies with Deidre propel the chorus to new levels. The album is out on October 16, and you can follow the band and listen to some music on their Facebook page.

Live Review: Jukebox The Ghost, 9:30 Club (6/29/12)

Fans don't just go to live shows to listen to music, as they could just as easily do so on record. Live shows carry a multitude of other characteristics that separate them from just a simple recording, such as stage presence and crowd interaction. It's a rare quality these days to be as charismatic and warm as Jukebox The Ghost is in their live set. They noticeably try their best to put on a fantastic show and engulf fans in their set by making them feel like part of the show. It becomes more than just a show, it's a gathering of friends, all there to experience Jukebox The Ghost's quirky piano rock in all its glory.