The Bands of Summer – Mind The Gap

Mind The Gap

“A Korean, a Sri Lankan, a Mexican, and a Jew from Cleveland. four musicians from four corners of the world aiming to shotgun blast through the insipid airwaves of current music using acoustic harmonies fused with modern technology.”

The beginning of Los Angeles based Indie band Mind The Gap’s introduction on their short biography page on their website sounds like the premise of a bad joke. But this neat band objective effectively explains the band’s sound in few words. So why I am I needed here? Good question. Just listen to this:

Before I proceed with my flowery praise for Mind The Gap, let’s celebrate the second week of The Bands of Summer. I know I said it was only a week special, but I have decided to make it an every Tuesday post. There are so many great new bands to profile. Today that band is Mind The Gap. I’m sure by now you have listened to the song above.

Mind The Gap has to be one of, if not the most ethnically diverse indie foursomes in the world (as you have read above). The band is a melting pot of diversity and mature rhythms, acoustic and electronic. Put the pot on a stove and after just a few songs on their debut 12-track album the intense laid-back creativity of Mind The Gap begins to boil over.

Mind The Gap’s debut release The Good Fight (released May, 2011) is one of those rare albums where every song is not only enjoyable, but also different. The album is like a good mystery film, there are just so many twists and turns that you are not sure what the next song will bring. The first two tracks are a good example of this. “Fall,” track one of the album, plays like an alt/rock hit with a fast-paced guitar riff carrying the verses with underlying electronic sounds. And then track two, “Smile Back At You” introduces itself with basic chords and manipulative keys and the alt/rock of track one fades away and is replaced by a blissful, effervescent pop song carried by lead vocalist Greg Cahn’s melodic voice and the band’s choral harmonies which are soft like a cool pillow. This is a diverse album. The band is composed of wonderfully talented musicians, each who makes their voice heard in their tremendous instrumentation. Whether it is Cahn’s magical vocal, Ozzy Doniz’s moving bass and rhythm guitar, Ruwanga Samath’s significant keyboard work, or Alex Yang’s skilled lead guitar and piano work, the band works together to create music that knocks down the walled conventions of pop/indie/electronic/acoustic music and blends them together into a high-quality, low calorie shake, one that you just feel good about drinking.

I will leave you all with “Once You Leave” which has a little more fun with modern electronic sounds. But while electronic sounds often seem tasteless and gratuitous in music today, Mind The Gap uses them with precision and they are vital to the advancement of “Once You Leave” which, when completed, is a fine indie/pop track.

Mind The Gap stands true to their band objective. They are skillful mashers of acoustic instrumentation and electronic sounds. They are definitely a band to follow.

Enjoying the music. For another 13 hours you can obtain the whole debut album for $5 on GroopEase where Mind The Gap’s album is being offered at a discount price. I bought it. Here is the link.