Interview with Chris Chu of the Morning Benders
source: http://ronebreak.com/2010/03/13/album-review-the-morning-benders-big-echo-rough-trade-2010/
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Here's a review of their new album Big Echo. The interview can be found below it at the link.
For The Morning Benders, the comparisons of their newest album, Big Echo, to the whimsical sounds of Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest will be inevitable. After all, it was co-produced by GB’s, Chris Taylor, but the pacing of Big Echo demonstrates a Grizzly Bear like patience in regards to creating the emotional texture of a song. While Talking Through Tin Cans (TMB’s previous release) was a brisk, to-the-point album, Big Echo understands the value of time management.
Each song builds slowly—patiently—moving along like a person caught up in deep thoughts. Chris Chu and The Benders seem to know life’s little secret that anything worth getting to often takes diligence and the will power to avoid rushing it. In the case of Big Echo, the next song never feels like it came on too prematurely as the previous song always seemed to create a sense of completion.
The one word that sticks out most when trying to concisely describe Big Echo is soothing. From the very first track, “Excuses,” the album puts the listener at ease as a result of the soaring 50’s pop styled melody created by taking an orchestral approach to the song’s composition. It’s a breezy recreation of those nostalgic love songs that our generation’s grandparents probably remember from when they conceived our parents in the back of a Studebaker—too much? My bad.
Nevertheless, The Morning Benders certainly have a knack for taking the older pop styles and modernizing them, meshing them in with the current trends. It is this trait, which not only makes them appealing to the newer generations, but the older ones as well, who probably are in need of some fresh music. For an album that is only 38 minutes long, it’s incredible how complete and full the record feels.
Percussively powerful, vocally harmonious, and in terms of creating a rich melodic texture, Big Echo is the audible equivalent to a Jackson Pollock painting as it is multi-layered, with some parts not as noticeable but equally crucial to the overall product. While Talking Through Tin Cans felt like an album that was about moving on, Big Echo is one about moving forward. And for a sophomore release, The Morning Benders have put out an exciting indicator of what’s to come and what they’re capable of.
For The Morning Benders, the comparisons of their newest album, Big Echo, to the whimsical sounds of Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest will be inevitable. After all, it was co-produced by GB’s, Chris Taylor, but the pacing of Big Echo demonstrates a Grizzly Bear like patience in regards to creating the emotional texture of a song. While Talking Through Tin Cans (TMB’s previous release) was a brisk, to-the-point album, Big Echo understands the value of time management.
Each song builds slowly—patiently—moving along like a person caught up in deep thoughts. Chris Chu and The Benders seem to know life’s little secret that anything worth getting to often takes diligence and the will power to avoid rushing it. In the case of Big Echo, the next song never feels like it came on too prematurely as the previous song always seemed to create a sense of completion.
The one word that sticks out most when trying to concisely describe Big Echo is soothing. From the very first track, “Excuses,” the album puts the listener at ease as a result of the soaring 50’s pop styled melody created by taking an orchestral approach to the song’s composition. It’s a breezy recreation of those nostalgic love songs that our generation’s grandparents probably remember from when they conceived our parents in the back of a Studebaker—too much? My bad.
Nevertheless, The Morning Benders certainly have a knack for taking the older pop styles and modernizing them, meshing them in with the current trends. It is this trait, which not only makes them appealing to the newer generations, but the older ones as well, who probably are in need of some fresh music. For an album that is only 38 minutes long, it’s incredible how complete and full the record feels.
Percussively powerful, vocally harmonious, and in terms of creating a rich melodic texture, Big Echo is the audible equivalent to a Jackson Pollock painting as it is multi-layered, with some parts not as noticeable but equally crucial to the overall product. While Talking Through Tin Cans felt like an album that was about moving on, Big Echo is one about moving forward. And for a sophomore release, The Morning Benders have put out an exciting indicator of what’s to come and what they’re capable of.
