Schooner

If you've been reading EAR FARM for a while you've no doubt seen mention before of Schooner. Certain bands tend to scratch you in all of the right places and Schooner's been working that magic on me for a while now. Yet I've never properly given them the EF treatment and I haven't had a chance to have them play an EAR FARM Presents... show, but all of that's about to change. Take a moment to read the following and then come on out to see them tomorrow at Bickett Gallery.

Schooner is an American indie pop-rock centric band that fits very nicely into the family tree of bands from Raleigh/Chapel Hill music history. At times they'll have you thinking of Silver Jews, or their peers The Rosebuds, (or maybe Cracker) but the songs they write also drift towards experimentation. They refuse to put fences around themselves and their melodic yet melancholic songs always come across both interesting and catchy. Isn't that, like, everything you look for in a song/band? I know, I know, yep - yeah you too.

Take the song "Normal Day" for example. It starts out Sonic Youth-y and then wastes no time moving into a twist on something Dylanesque...it's kind of...it's nearly all things to everyone and that's no simple feat. I love it. And their song "Trains And Parades"? That was one of my most played songs of late 2005. As soon as I hear that bouncing organ I smile. The song almost feels like a favorite song by The Smiths as interpreted by Wilco...or something. At least, that's the kind of warm comfort feeling I get when I hear it. It's quite an achievement, really, to have written even one song as good as "Trains And Parades" and from what I've heard thus far, Schooner is not content to stop there. What lies ahead for this band as they near the completion of their second LP is nothing but good things. Good things Mikey.

Listen:
"Make Me Mad"
"Normal Day"
"Trains And Parades"

Visit Schooner on MySpace

See them live on December 27th @ the EAR FARM Presents... show @ Bickett Gallery.