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Spotlight

Grand Archives

Who? Mat Brooke, formerly of cultish favorite Carissa’s Wierd and the highly regarded Band of Horses, has reemerged with his new four-piece project, the vocal driven Grand Archives, who recently signed to Sub Pop. You may have seen them at Modest Mouse shows, opening alongside Love as Laughter.

What’s the Deal? Grand Archives offers airy, buoyant, yet remorseful and bittersweet indie rock certain to inspire personal nostalgia in listeners. With some songs sounding strangely like subdued Polyphonic Spree, the vocals are of primary importance in this band. “Southern Glass Home,” a swift dream melody, and perhaps one of the most accessible songs by the band, repeats, “Run back to your southern glass home,” with gentle determination and hopelessness. “Sleepdriving” is the most abstract and atmospheric of their tracks, and “Torn Blue Foam Couch” is a conceptual fantasy to remember. Mat Brooke promises the public that he will distance himself from the angst portrayed by his former bands, and although he does maintain a narrower scope of emotion with Grand Archives, the ghosts of his gloomy past occasionally appear in songs — in a good way.

Fun Fact: The song “George Kaminsky” was originally inspired by a convict that for a time held the record for being an owner of the largest four-leaf clover collection in the world. MICHELE KOURY

Now Hear This: Grand Archives – “Torn Blue Foam Couch” DOWNLOAD MP3

On the Web: Grand Archives at MySpace

Talk: Do you think this band is going to last, or will it just end up in the old archives of forgotten music?