SOTD 1.6.10

Fanfarlo is what happens when Neutral Milk Hotel, Blind Pilot, and Noah and the Whale ménage and eight and a half months later, Arcade Fire's preemie cousin is born. And I mean this in the nicest way possible. While Fanfarlo certainly makes good music, I can't help but hear the component parts rather than the sum of them. This is not inherently bad, though; in fact, I'd consider their debut, Reservoir, within the top 50 albums of 2009. It's perfectly catchy, well-crafted music, but the pretentious critic in me just can't seem to take Fanfarlo completely seriously when their sound is more a live mash-up of styles rather than a unique musical offering. Overly simplified, Fanfarlo is to Arcade Fire as Blind Man's Colour is to Animal Collective. Undeniably enjoyable, but not earth-shatteringly original either.

Fanfarlo: "Luna"
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