I, Us & We "Mono"

Is it odd to anyone else that this band name includes every pronoun of the sort except for "me"?   Is it just me?   Okay then, I'll move on.    These are four songs from I, Us & We- which reminds me of "Me, Myself & I" but isn't.     They have a low-key vibe to them, churning out the softer side of electronic pop.   With piano keys and vocals that can remind me of Muse these are carefully crafted between Blue October and the more redeeming qualities of U2.

In some ways, this reminds me of something more on the electronic side of the coin, such as Twin Shadow or one of those producer types who creates all these beats and uses keyboard and synth.    But then there are enough guitar riffs in here, slow and cutting, that I'm hesitant to put an electric tag on it.     This is especially apparent in the song "Free", in which he can really sing so beautifully about how he is free.

"Lanterns" is a good example of the somewhat electronic side of these songs as it reminds me of Stabbing Westward without all of the teenage angst.     This also somehow brings out hints of a slowed down Duran Duran, which is never really a bad name to find popping up in your head when listening to music.

       As "Lanterns" sings about love being the cruelest game to play and being for dreamers, he ends with "I would say that love brought me to you".    An email, followed by a link I opened, a file I streamed and then a .ZIP folder I chose to download based upon the fact that I liked the first song I heard was what brought me to I, Use & We.    If I am to be what brings you to this wonderful music then so be it, but whatever path you should take I hope you do find this one.   

SBSR: Tape Runs Out "Friends / Flowers" (Ear to Ear Records)

[http://www.taperunsout.co.uk/ // http://www.eartoearrecords.com/]

<1> "Friends" -  We begin with quiet whirrs that seem to be building to something big.   Guitar notes like FNL now and we're going into full on dreampop/bliss mode.   There is a certain rhythm to this, as it is rock and post-punk and other sounds all combined.   The vocals are somewhat monotone and bass-filled.   They are complemented rather nicely by the backing of the female vocals, adding more of just sounds than words.    There is certainly a nice rhythm to this and I can't quite place what it sounds like in terms of other bands but that's okay.   It goes into this verse that ends with the line "I was not your friend" and the song just ends right there as well.   To say that it cuts off somewhat abruptly would be an understatement but I can pull out any number of cliches about leaving them wanting more and how less is more sometimes, etc. so I don't mind that it does that because then I usually just hit play again if I don't have it on repeat already.    I'm stuck between thinking of something from the 1980's or early 1990's to compare this with and then something more modern, like you would have heard on the radio within the past five or so years.    It's got me thinking Men Without Hats and The Killers, but neither of those seem fitting.   Perhaps the best compromise vocally at least is Interpol but even then you need to hear this song still.

<2> "Flowers" - Our second f-song begins with something like an audio clip and piano notes.  I can't tell if it's birds or people talking only sped up.    It's an interesting effect that Blue October might have used.   The drums come in next with the rest of the band but the drums still stick out the most here.    The words are a cross between singing and speaking, which brings my mind of musical influences back to Blue October again.    It's very solemn, very serious feeling.   When it kicks in I hear something between post-punk and shoegaze.   Is there a comparison point for this with another direct band?   Probably not.    The guitar note pattern cuts at me as the vocals hypnotize.   The background female vocals seem to be luring you to sleep, or at least furthering the hypnotic state this puts me in.    The music reminds me a bit of Thursday in that post-punk way but the vocals don't match it so it does create a rather unique sound.    It's slowing down, back to where we started and it has a definite FNL sound to it now.    I can't peg it down still, but these are two most excellent songs which will certainly lead to more awesomeness from Tape Runs Out.   I also feel like they might have been living up to their name at the end of this song here.

Danny Darko ft. Julien Kelland "Say Goodbye" (Original Mix) [single]

[https://soundcloud.com/dannydarko1/danny-darko-ft-julien-kelland-saygoodbye]

It's hard for me to describe the music going on within this song.   It's not full on "pop" in the way that you would think of something being on the radio and thus becoming obnoxious to me because the vibe is a lot more chill.   It's also not really rock, as there are beats and tones of bliss, but yet somehow I want to call this "pop rock" in the way that Blue October would make one of their songs (see: "Approaching Normal") rather than the more traditional route.    The vocals remind me a bit of Polly Scattergood but they do stand out as something unique and for that I do want to listen to anything with Julien Kelland in it now.

There are guitars but not in the sense that you might think of as being upbeat and annoying.   They're strummed along to the synth bass and this is just all around chill.   I'd call it chillwave but it might not be quite that but rather a combination of that, pop, rock and something else I cannot quite place.    Still, this song is a lot of fun and I'd put it on my mixed tape for sure so you should be listening to it as well.    Volume up, windows down.