Motel Motel

You Should Know


Motel Motel is one of those bands you hear and think to yourself: "How are these guys not huge?" Formed in 2006, the Brooklyn band sounds New York City enough to fit in with the likes of The Walkmen but they add enough country twang to satiate fans of Americana. After an 11-city cross country tour from Boston to Denver, the band decided to stay in Colorado to record their album New Denver ... illegally. The band would sneak their instruments and recording gear into Denver's Hamilton Theater during the night and sneak out in the morning (they were caught once and escorted by the Denver Police). On New Denver , lead singer Eric Engel's nasally croon navigates through songs that sometimes sound as Modest Mouse as they do Gram Parsons. On the string quartet-accompanied opening track "Harlem," Engel fervently sings: "Somewhere there's a town where the roads are covered in red and violet roses/ The people sleep through a thousand years of sadness/ Lord you couldn't wake them if you wanted to." The song is a real gem, but it doesn't stand alone. From the cocaine and caffeine-fueled "Coffee" to the pared-down folk of "Mexico," the 72-minute New Denver is full of surprising grandeur. Definitely a band and album not to be missed. -- Capt. Obvious

Listen:
MP3: Motel Motel - Harlem
MP3: Motel Motel - Coffee
MP3: Motel Motel - Mexico

Tags: Motel Motel , New Denver , Review