Death Cab for Cutie, Dog & Panther, Falcon [monday Threesome]

Welcome to Monday Threesome, where we bring you a delectable grouping of music for your weekly fix. This round. we’re trafficking in some achingly pretty indie pop music.  These honey-voiced tenors will match the melancholy that Fall tends to stir in all of us.

Have you heard of these guys?  They are definitely going to be a thing!  All kidding aside, this band has been putting out reliably lovely music for an impressively long time, and their last several albums have been severely underrated. My personal favorite piece of free music from Death Cab for Cutie, though, is located on their NPR page. There’s a link to a concert from 2005 when Plans had just been released. The concert has a great number of highlights from that point in the band’s history, which may be when they were at their best. Playing great songs from as far back as We Have the Facts, it is a beautiful, rousing performance.

Dog & Panther describe themselves as an indie/electronic folk band and seem to be masters of self-reflection. Check out their Facebook page and read their biography and influences to see what I mean. The music itself blends perfectly with this week’s Death Cab motif — heartbreaking pop songs sung by a sweet-voiced young man. They have more variety in their sound, though, layering instruments in complex ways and bringing a healthy dose of psychedelic sounds and electronic instrumentation.  Their BandCamp features a free download of their newest song as well as their previous album available for purchase and free streaming. They also have a YouTube channel, which features a pretty fascinating behind the scenes video of them recording “Giant Hands”.

Hailing from Brooklyn, Falcon are probably the most art-pop or avant of the bands listed today (imagine if Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Death Cab collided). Their use of synth is particularly imaginative, and Neil Rosen’s simultaneous yelping and sweet vocals are the perfect match for such grand pop sensibility. There’s also some excellent instrumental interplay that brings an extra bit of drive and excitement to the songs.  Their bandcamp has their newest full length and their prior EP available for purchase as well as free streaming.