The Somnambulants – Take It On
I had never heard of the band ,The Somnambulants until about a month ago when Vu passed on their cd to me, let alone did I know that their current cd, Paper Trail, is their third, just released on August 21, 2007. Originally from Brooklyn, the now San Francisco based duo has been creating their unique blend of indie/electronic/synth-pop since 2000.
The Somnambulants are Joseph White – producer, lead singer, bass player , synth, and programming, and Channing Sargent on vocals and keyboards. According to their history, Joseph White built the first Somnambulants songs from music soundtrack pieces while he was a film student. No wonder their name was taken from the somnambulist character – Cesare- in the 1920 German film “ The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”.
White’s echoed voice reminded me of a haunting Moby or Ian Curtis vibe on many of the tracks on Paper Trail. It was really hard to choose one song to review, because they all had something memorable to offer with their perfect blend of electronic synth. While every song sounded different than the next, a few were beautiful and melodic while the majority very dark with more electronic , harder synthethics in a way that works for them. Listening to this album it sounded very indie, and very addicting.
“Take It On” samples a tad mellower White’s vocals with a nice blend of Channing’s as well, with their collaboration of keyboards and sythnpop. Their website: somnambulants.com surprised me with their video for this song, which is a little more pop than indie, yet quite pleasant on the ears.
September 18, 2007 4:11 AM kristine my♥posts kristine@weheartmusic.com www.somnambulants.com