A couple years ago, in my post collegial search for employment, I interviewed for a PR job with Yep Roc Records. I didn't get it (no hard feelings, I was completely unqualified), but I was given a quick tour of the label's office and warehouse, during which I was given an album by a band called American Princes, whose new album Less and Less Yep Roc was about to release. I ended up really liking it: I went in expecting countryish indie rock, which was certainly there, but the band had some major post-punk influences too, and stylistically the album was all over the place: "The Replacements meets the Dismemberment Plan in My Morning Jacket's grain silo"I think I wrote in an email to Yep Roc further imploring them to hire me (they still didn't). In short, Less and Less was a pretty great record, and definitely one that has stood up fairly well, and that I return to pretty often.
Anyway, American Princes just put out a new album, Other People. I was psyched to see the band heartily endorsed in Noel Murray's great Popless column on the AV Club, but beyond that, they've been pretty ignored critically (at least where I'm looking). I was even more distressed to find that I couldn't find this record at a couple of different local independent record stores. Perhaps somebody at Yep Roc isn't doing their job so well . . . (call me guys!).
Its too bad, because Other People is pretty great. Its not quite as diverse as Less and Less, and their slight alt-country vibe has been scaled back some, instead with the focus now being on a more New Wave meets southern rock sound. Still, the band has three songwriters and singers, so things never get samey, and their execution remains excellent.
I highly recommend it.
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