Man, the inner lyric sheet has a photo of these guys looking like true fashion rockers. They all have coats on and fantastic hairstyles. They are gazing at you, super-serious; personally, I just want to laugh. Like it's serious work playing rock n' roll in a pea-coat while a stylist does your hair.
But yeah, these cuties want you to take them serious. Their hazy dream-pop sounds are very challenging and very indie-rock. This is smarter than anything else you could have on your shelf. Unless of course you've been paying attention, then you can just shelf this in favor of about millions other albums that give you the same effect.
I just get caught up on the "Buzz" that surrounded this band when "Buildings & Mountains" was being played on the radio. The local station acted like it was hard to believe a band with Kansas City roots was really doing it. Like we just don't have the chops and didn't have anything going on in the 90's or help to define the emo scene in the 2000s.
Admidtly, the swirling keyboards and slow bass lines are "dreamy". The tunes are catchy and throw in a lot of ideas that stream together well. It's far better than other alterno-rockers disguised as indie-rockers such as the Killers or We Are Scientists or any band that heard Interpol and decided they could look cuter doing it. And, it's better than all the garbage that blasted alternative radio in the wake of the Get Up Kids "Something to Write Home About" album. I'd take this over handsome boy cry-alongs as sung by Fall Out Boy any day. And, while the dream pop the Republic Tigers push isn't completely their own, its not as overplayed as the previously mentioned alternative scenes, so it makes for an occasional spin or good track on a mix tape.
ROCK VIDEO!!!
