I often wonder how new bands have a prayer of getting discovered in today's highly fractured marketplace. With radio being overrun by American Idol and bad pop music and no real major print outlets left (sorry but Rolling Stone just ain't what it used to be), it seems that it takes a major alignment of the stars to get a band any sort of exposure. Even the blogosphere is so vast that it would take a huge serendipitous chain of events and postings to get the exposure necessary to be found. Now, that's not to say it doesn't happen. Bands like FRIGHTENED RABBIT, THE ARCADE FIRE, and BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE have all found a modicum of success without the traditional methods of exposure to the listening audience. But in most cases, all a band can do is plug away and hope for the best.I bring this up due in large part to a weekly e-mail I get from Insound. I signed up for their free mp3 of the week ages ago and on most weeks I ignore it. I have no real reason for playing this week's submission other than I was bored with what is currently on my playlist and needed to hear something new. So color me shocked with the sample track from Wellington, New Zealand's Glass Vaults. "Forget Me Not" inhabits the space occupied by m83, loopier RADIOHEAD tracks, and ANIMAL COLLECTIVE (which I swear is what I heard prior to reading their bio which name checked those exact bands.) Although the rest of their ep is a bit spacier and tends to find it's way into the SIGUR ROS territory, it still is a very intriguing listen (particularly late at night in headphones). Will GLASS VAULTS be a big success and sell loads of records? Probably not. But do the deserve to be heard? Very much so and you should take time to listen to what they have created...you won't be sorry.
Visit the bands bandcamp site for more of their stuff
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