Booms, squiggles, wails and reflections; less is certainly not more in the doe eyes of Van Stee and I applaud them for it.
With their debut album titled We Are, the band from Minneapolis deliver a recording that is not so much one of trial and error (even though it did take nearly a year to produce) but rather one which smacks of a sense of calculated experimentation and human imperfection.
Released earlier in the year via Humans Win! Records, We Are veers between foot-tapping indie pop (‘Color in the Paper Planes’) to cascading nostalgia-steeped ballads (‘String of Lights’) with a few novel trips off the beaten path on the way back.
Sun-kissed after just the right amount of time spent in the shade, everything on this album is damp and dripping with a colourful flair. While it all sounds pretty organic and kind of earthy, it somehow still hits like an album for sprawling city life. Go figure…
‘We Are’ on Soundcloud
The band formed when songwriter Charlie Van Stee originally teamed up with drummer Josh Kaplan. But with the input of Lance W Conrad (guitars, programming and backing vocals), Shawn Connelly (keyboards) and Jimmy Stofer (bass and backing vocals), this delightful 10 track album fizzes into a warm bubbling pool that I just can’t help but dive into time and time again.
Complete with swelling synths, warping time, borrowed melodies, a few bouts of psychedelia and hooks catchier than the common cold, this album would likely please fans of Doves, My Morning Jacket, Beta Band, Time and Energy or Eels.
Everything about this LP is relatively radio friendly (if that still qualifies as a benchmark worth mentioning) beyond a few brief time changes and a couple of wailing cats – but it’s not how clean and upbeat it is, but rather the charming little intricacies that make this album such an engaging and danceable debut.
Van SteeWe Are, the debut album by Van Stee is an engaging and danceable recording full of charming little intricacies and colourful flair.We AreWritten by: Damian BurkeDate Published: 07/29/2013We Are, the debut album by Van Stee is an engaging and danceable recording full of charming little intricacies and colourful flair.8 / 10 stars