The Murmurs of Tension 'Awkward Aura' e.p. The Murmurs... describe themselves as 'psychedelic pop' which I can
totally agree with having not heard anything like this in a while,
basically this means a whole bunch of really likable songs lead by
jangly guitars and over the top bass playing, a lot of rhythmic randomness
and big harmonies topped off with an organ and an attitude that throws
convention to the wind. The Murmurs... have got that slight weirdness to their sound to them which keeps their music far from the middle of the road. In fact this should sound messy but it actually sounds full and orchestrated and incredibly clever. The lyrical nonsense/brilliance of 'Showdown' for example that contains the line "I sold my shoes to a man on the moon and gave away my last cigarette. I bet my life on a three legged horse, something I would later regret" is just brilliant, there's something so charming about how this band write songs that you can't help but be suckered in.
The whole package could easily could be improved tenfold
by a better recording because the songs are brilliantly written and
musically fit to burst but it just lacks the depth that would allow
you to appreciate this but I'm guessing this is more the fault of their
budget and not their talent but as they seem to wrap themselves in a
bit of an enigma hiding behind their fantastic artwork we can't know
for sure. I could easily name drop or compare them to someone else but they don't sound enough like anyone but themselves. Check them out - Im going to listen to it again. http://www.myspace.com/themurmursoftension Matthew Turner
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