Blips: Four Under the Radar Bands

Fleet Foxes

Say you stripped away the reverb and crunchy guitar riffs of My Morning Jacket and Band of Horses and instead substituted in Beach Boys-esque harmonies and added a healthy dose of gospel and Americana you’d probably end up with a band that would sound exactly like Seattle’s Fleet Foxes. These recent Sup Pop signees produce a hauntingly, beautiful sound akin to campfire spirituals which can be heard all throughout their debut EP Sun Giant. Fleet Foxes are currently in the midst of a lengthy national tour – their first – with label mates Blitzen Trapper, so get in early and go see them. – Some Dude

Quintus

Website / MySpace

This isn’t the first time Quintus has graced the pages of the HT and I assure you, it won’t be the last. You might be surprised to hear that I have easily seen more Quintus shows in the past year than any other band. It’s definitely largely warranted fanaticism based on their sound, but also because my friends are so obsessed that they hired Quintus to play their rehearsal dinner last year. Quintus is a young, energetic band that is overflowing with talent – particularly of the songwriting kind. They have a real knack for intermixing mass-appeal catchiness with blistering, concise solos, sharp tempo shifts, and clever lyrics. Quintus is a role model for how to play pop music that is musically sophisticated and new. – Rupert

Alby Cohen

MySpace

Alby Cohen’s been around the block in the music industry. The 29-year old singer/songwriter honed his skills as the drummer for Ithaca jamband Damn Brandy in the early ’00s. More recently Alby spent his time behind the board at Rough Magic Studios, where he is also a partner. After playing with many different musicians Cohen is stepping out in front of the mic for his first solo gig. Alby plans to debut a number of alt-country leaning tunes at Piano’s in NYC on April 4 backed by a band of super-talented musicians. Check out Alby’s MySpace for a taste of what you can expect on the 4th. – Scott Bernstein