Soundtrack of Our Lives

One of the things I miss most about living in a dorm is the free exchange of new music. Hearing a song wafting in from the other room and walking in to find out who and what it is. If I were still living in the dorms, the song you'd be hearing more than any other right now is a great pop piece called "Artists Are Boring" by the Kingdom Flying Club.

Seemingly owing equal debts to the low-fi sound of Guided By Voices and Pavement and the polished power pop of bands like Material Issue and Weezer, Kingdom Flying Club comes to us from Columbia, MO. For you Chicago area kiddies out there, the band actually reminds me a lot of Kleenex Girl Wonder. Great pop sensibilities, but not afraid to get down and dirty (and fuzzy with their guitar sound).

"Artists Are Boring" is a fun slice of the band at their most polished. Think Kinks circa "Village Green Preservation Society." The song starts with an irresistable piano intro and holds on to your ears 'til the very end. The band even writes a great bridge, a lost art these days, with what I believe to be mandolin carrying the melody. "Hate Shirt," the first track of the album, goes the other direction with crunching guitar riffs and a thundering bass line. Production is fairly clean and complements the band's sound nicely -- kind of like Ric Ocasek if he didn't suck.

If you order the album, Emergency Umbrella will even throw in free buttons and stickers. Can't beat a deal like that.