Check out this track. It’s called “Sun Hand” and its by Local Natives.
I first saw this band open up for one of my favorite bands, Facing New York at the Troubadour in West Hollywood. That was in October 2008. Phew, that sounds like a longgg time ago.
Anyway, one of the openers was a group called Local Natives, who true to the name, looked like a bunch of barefoot hobbits bouncing around on stage playing guitar, jumping, stomping, screaming and singing. It was a spectacle.
My friend Jon was even more blown away than I was.
I never got around to listening to them because I was so infatuated with FNY’s new release, “Get Hot.”
Which, by the way, was hot.
Now, the Natives are buzzworthy, receiving rave reviews from NPR and coverage on Pitchfork.
The five-piece has an eclectic, energetic folk-heavy indie rock sound with a roots in the ground kind of feel. They were just signed onto Frenchkiss Records, the same label as Passion Pit. Now there’s a winning combination.
I chose “Sun Hands” because right around 2:55 into the song, shit starts getting really good. Right at the breakdown, I’m jolted awake. It’s not hard to fall asleep to the shimmery guitars and airy vocals of a lot of indie, but as soon as the stomping and clapping kicks in, it turns the song into something much stronger. I just wish they could have a whole song like that. So I didn’t have to wait three minutes just to get to the good part.
The Natives’ debut album “Gorilla Manor” isn’t actually “out” until Tuesday February 16, but I’ve had it for a couple weeks now. (Don’t tell the RIAA!)
And it’s sounding real good. “Airplanes” is the single-ready track, which I’m sure will blow up in exactly six months until this band becomes revered along the lines of Yeasayer, Passion Pit and maybe even MGMT.
KCRW is all over these guys, so catch on while it’s hot. You’ll thank me later.
Catch an acoustic version of “Airplanes” below:
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