I'm Listening To: The Commonwealth

Two music posts in a row? I hope you don't mind!

image from: http://thecommonwealth-music.bandcamp.com/

I went to high school with a very talented musician/artist, Andy Kuhar. His band, The Commonwealth, recently released a new album, Emerald City Blues, and I've been listening to it over the past week. They have been getting some radio-play in the Cleveland area and have been playing gigs there as well for some time now. Their sound has been compared to rock acts such as The National, Radiohead, the Black Keys, and Iron and Wine, but I think they also possess a very original sound. Their sound is reverb-heavy, including the vocals, which provides a sort of flowing, haunting, earthy aura. They also sound very gritty and raw, much like the Black Keys, which is refreshing as so much music these days comes across as over-processed and over-perfected. I have yet to see them live, as I live in Kentucky, but I hope to match up a Cleveland visit with a live show of theirs in the future. In the meantime, I'll keep listening! Here is a link to their music, which is the featured streaming album on liisten.com right now. Here is their facebook page, and here is their bandcamp page (you can buy their music from bandcamp). I hope you check them out, let me know what you think!