Foreign Born – ‘On The Wing Now’

admin on Feb 5th 2008

I’ve slowly grown into this album and it has already become one of my favourites in 2008. Okay, so it may have been released in October and the songs were originally recorded back in 2005, but I’m hoping it will be a big year for Foreign Born…because for the life of me, I can’t figure out why they haven’t already succeeded to the throne of Pitchfork darlings, their songs the toast of the Blogosphere.

[audio http://www.iol.ie/~pippen33/08 - Holy Splinter.mp3]

Foreign Born – ‘Holy Splinter’

Instead, you are far more likely to have heard of them through the passing praise of other musicians such as Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste, who considers himself “borderline obsessed” with the band and their debut EP, In The Remote Woods.

Yet after seven years of activity, how success has eluded them thus far remains somewhat of an enigma. When asked to explain it from his perspective, frontman Matt Popieluch sees it as being a result of the fact that Foreign Born:

“are not geared toward the concept of immediate gratification. Not enough pizazz? I don’t know. Our band is an investment. We are not going to be a phenomenon, or an overnight sensation (obviously). We are working through the world with our particular trunk of ideas, trying to communicate the things we’ve absorbed.” – interview with Bibabidi.com

[audio http://www.iol.ie/~pippen33/09 - Keep It All Inside.mp3]

Foreign Born – ‘Keep It All Inside’

It bother me when I hear of figures like Popieluch struggling to get work as a delivery guy or as someone who takes the trash out at movie theatres because the quality is evidently there. The strength of their music, much like Grizzly Bear’s, rests on a sweeping, dark dynamic that shifts effortlessly from one brilliantly understated melody to another. The lines in the verse of ‘Holy Splinter’, for instance, could be made up of any words with the same syllabic balance and it would sound just as affecting and expressive.

The weary but resolute plea of the sombre ‘Don’t Take Back Your Time’ is a clear highlight, while the rousing singalongs of ‘Union Hall’ and ‘Into yr Dream’ are songs that, one would expect, could easily be played on repeat over college radio broadcasts, shoved into the collective mouth quicker than you can say Tapes ‘n Tapes.

These things don’t always work out the way they should, but here’s hoping 2008 will be good to them.

Listen to more at Foreign Born’s MySpace or check out the band’s blog.