Most everything I know about new Baltimore band Corduroy is from this review. I also know that Paul from Expert Alterations has now joined the line-up and, seeing as how I loved everything that trio put out, I felt like I had to check out Corduroy. And I was definitely not disappointed by the group's self-titled EP.
The members here -- Blake Douglas (vocals and guitar) comes from GLOOP, Erik Wagner (bass) is in Mess and Boat Water, while Nathan O'Dell (drums) is in Wildhoney. He's since departed to be replaced by Paul Krolian of Expert Alterations. -- make this music special, with flashes of the economical and brisk songwriting of the C86 generation's bands peeking through the seams here. If opener "Malt Disney" recalls any number of Sarah Records bands, or even The June Brides, the superb "Portico" is, perhaps, the closest any Americans have ever gotten to sounding like Felt. Elsewhere, the propulsive "Potted Plant" sounds a tiny bit like early Primal Scream, the guitar-line skipping forward with real vigor, while the title cut is similarly spry. While all of Corduroy is exemplary, my favorite cut is the languid "Seventh Season", the closer that echoes bits of VU and lots of The Pastels.
This first EP is, naturally, just a start for this band. And one can envision these musicians really expanding on this, especially with a member of Expert Alterations on the kit. Corduroy seem like the sort of group who might end up on Slumberland Records, and that makes perfect sense, especially since Corduroy just did a brief tour with Business of Dreams from that seminal label.
For now, buy the new Corduroy EP via the link below, and find out more on the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Uncredited photo from group's FB page]