Le Loup's Family
Taylor Smith
Issue date: 11/2/09 Section: Entertainment
Most indie bands have some quaint story of origin about how 3-5 high school outcasts organically stumble into the same garage one summer and make beautiful music from that point forward. When singer-songwriter Sam Simkoff wanted to bring his music to a live audience, he turned to Craigslist to find a group of backing musicians.
In 2007 Simkoff and company released The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nation's Millennium General Assembly as Le Loup, french for 'the wolf.' Two years later the group has finally settled into its current lineup and on September 22 released Family.
Le Loup's debut was mostly a solo effort of Simkoff. In contrast, Family was both written and recorded as a cohesive group. While Simkoff still takes center stage, all five members play an active role, both instrumentally and vocally. This new band dynamic gives the record a live off the floor feel. Songs filled with the ideas and creativity of five minds tend to be more spontaneous.
Both the songwriting and production on Family are top notch. Each song is unique yet still manages to flow into the next flawlessly. This makes for a great album; the experience of each track is far less than that of the record as a whole. A lush mix of acoustic melodies and electronic atmospheres gives the album a warm soothing feel.
Rhythmically the album stays fresh and uses a wide array of percussive instruments. Vocals tend to be light and airy and rise in and out of the music beautifully.
Le Loup doesn't break much musical ground on Family, however justice is done to their influences. The banjo driven folk of Sufjan Stevens, the trance-pop of Animal Collective, the choral harmonies of the Fleet Foxes, and the art-rock format of Grizzly Bear are all present here and with warm welcome.
Even the gorgeous album art looks as if it could be some combination of the aforementioned artists' most recent record covers. Emulation of these bands is a solid foundation for Le Loup, if they can began to build their own identity, they have the potential to become a phenomenal act.
In 2007 Simkoff and company released The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nation's Millennium General Assembly as Le Loup, french for 'the wolf.' Two years later the group has finally settled into its current lineup and on September 22 released Family.
Le Loup's debut was mostly a solo effort of Simkoff. In contrast, Family was both written and recorded as a cohesive group. While Simkoff still takes center stage, all five members play an active role, both instrumentally and vocally. This new band dynamic gives the record a live off the floor feel. Songs filled with the ideas and creativity of five minds tend to be more spontaneous.
Both the songwriting and production on Family are top notch. Each song is unique yet still manages to flow into the next flawlessly. This makes for a great album; the experience of each track is far less than that of the record as a whole. A lush mix of acoustic melodies and electronic atmospheres gives the album a warm soothing feel.
Rhythmically the album stays fresh and uses a wide array of percussive instruments. Vocals tend to be light and airy and rise in and out of the music beautifully.
Le Loup doesn't break much musical ground on Family, however justice is done to their influences. The banjo driven folk of Sufjan Stevens, the trance-pop of Animal Collective, the choral harmonies of the Fleet Foxes, and the art-rock format of Grizzly Bear are all present here and with warm welcome.
Even the gorgeous album art looks as if it could be some combination of the aforementioned artists' most recent record covers. Emulation of these bands is a solid foundation for Le Loup, if they can began to build their own identity, they have the potential to become a phenomenal act.
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