Cocoons

The band Princeton is named after Princeton Street in Santa Monica, not the poshy private Princeton University (which admittedly I thought that was where they met, complete with cardigan sweaters). When I first heard “Sadie & Andy”, from their forthcoming album, Cocoon of Love (out September 29^th on Kanine Records) I knew I would like them right away.

Their sound is formulaic Sarah Records indiepop, you know, music designed for you either close your eyes or look at your feet while you sway slowly under a non-aggressive 80s modern rock vocals. Sometime there’s even a break and the song goes from sleepy dreamy to catchy upbeat (see: “Show Some Love, When Your Man Gets Home” and “I Left My Love in Nagasaki”).

While many songwriters write about themselves, I don’t get that feeling with this band as their subjects are all over the place: Asians (Korea, Japan), small-town love stories (“Sadie & Andy”), suburban couple in Germany (“Martina and Clive Krantz”), and Dear John letters (“Sylvie”). Story-wise, it’s very diverse and interesting, and I also get the impression that the songwriters, Jesse & Matt Kivel, are also well-read and well-traveled, collecting little stories for their songs.

So, while “Shout it Out”, the preceding single, is pretty much a love song, I felt “Sadie & Andy” is a better love song. Actually, the love song is on Andy’s part, who longs for Sadie. Sadie, on the other hand, evolved and moved on, while Andy is stuck as a grocery stockboy. The same theme is recycled on “Sylvie”, about said-girl who went away, although on this song, there’s a hint of humor on the song, especially about the gift of “socks”.

While these are sad songs, but I think this song would be great to be heard life – especially with surprise female guest vocalist – such as Amy from Ice Palace (the studio version features Meredith Metcalf on girl-vocals).

If you see the band live, yes, they are touring with Ra Ra Riot, you may get confused about the band members – that’s because singer Jesse Kivel is a twin brother of bassist Matt. I am assuming you can pick up their album at one of their shows, if not, you’ll have to wait until September 29^th to get Cocoon of Love.

I have previously mentioned many times that I love Minty Fresh, and without exception, their latest release for the French duo Mark Daumail and Morgane Imbeaud as Cocoon. What they offered is from their 2007 album, My Friends All Died In A Plane Crash, and I believe their latest record is Back To Panda Mountains (which to be honest, I’m not even sure if Minty Fresh is selling the latest album, as I’m reading “their U.S. debut, “My Friends All Died In A Plane Crash”, Cocoon is ready for the American indie-rock scene.“).

So what’s interesting, right off the top, is that the folk-ish band writes and sings in English. I believe most of the songs are written by Daumail, so he also sings on most of the song. His voice is very unique, almost nasally, but you get used to it after a few songs. There are some vocals from Imbeaud, which often sounds very melodic, but unfortunately she’s mostly used as backup.

Daumail seems very obsessed with flying – particularly birds (owls, hummingbirds, and vultures). He later sings, “I hate birds” on “Tell Me”. Even their poppiest, and I think their best song, is about queen “Owl”. The song doesn’t really make sense to me, but I know at some point there is a missing treasure in the forest and a bear hunter.

If you like that LSD-ness, combined with what people are comparing the band to other artists like Sufjan Stevens and Nick Drake, then you definitely need to check out Cocoon. Apparently, they have a huge buzz in the UK, having selling out shows across Europe. They are playing some tiny venues in the US, so if you’re lucky enough to live in those major cities, check them out.

If you can get around the flash-y Minty Fresh website, I’m sure there are instructions on how to buy My Friends All Died In A Plane Crash. Looking at amazon, I see that it’s priced ridiculously at import cost of $38 (hint: used is only $12).