"Excuses" - The Morning Benders

via SF Weekly
I had a hard time falling asleep last night, because the first three tracks of the Morning Benders' forthcoming full-length Big Echo kept on playing in my head. I'm taking this as a sign that I need to blog. I think the first time that I've ever heard the Morning Benders was when Musical Pairings wrote about them and speculated that their sophomore album would be very good. But, I'm going to have to credit my roommate for putting the Morning Benders back on my radar. And also this video by Yours Truly.

Although the older stuff hasn't really spoken to me, I can't stop listening to Big Echo, especially "Excuses." "Excuses" has been all up in my Google Reader this week, and it rightfully deserves to be heard by as many people as humanly possible. There are so many things that I love about this song. The big, full sound of the backing instruments and the beautiful string arrangements could make anyone swoon. If I were to pinpoint the dealmaker component, I would have to say that it's Christopher Chu's unforgettable voice, which is surprisingly very versatile on Big Echo.

If you listen to Big Echo, it won't surprise you that Chris Taylor had a hand in the production of the album (and it also explains why the Morning Benders played at Class Actress' record release show). I currently like more than half the album (not a bad rate), and we'll see if the rest of it will grow on me. Until then, let's hope I don't continue to have trouble falling asleep.

Excuses - The Morning Benders

Promises - The Morning Benders