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Big hooks and big guitars. For a decade, that infallible formula dominated indie-rock, during a simpler time before indie-rockers cut themselves from the apron strings of Pavement and Built to Spill. For the quickest synopsis of how much the genre has changed in just the past five years, just compare The '89 Cubs lone album, 2004's There Are Giants in the Earth, to pretty much any other indie buzz album from 2009. The difference is night and day: dissonant, crashing guitars verses wispy, mannered synthesizers. Both are played supposedly in the service of pop, but they couldn't sound any different.
In 2004, though, The '89 Cubs punk-tinted indie-rock wasn't much of a novelty, and being yet another Omaha band (and, at that, one comprised of secondary players from bands already perceived as side projects, The Good Life and Desaparecidos) certainly didn't help them. Heard five years later, though, the album sounds invigorating and vital. It accomplishes the same emotional immediacy and epic sweep Broken Social Scene were attempting at the time, in nearly half the time and with about a fourth as many players (The '89 Cubs were just trio). Indie-rock may not sound like this any more, but this is the sound I'll always associate indie-rock with.
You can stream the whole album on Lala.com; a couple of choice examples are below:
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In 2004, though, The '89 Cubs punk-tinted indie-rock wasn't much of a novelty, and being yet another Omaha band (and, at that, one comprised of secondary players from bands already perceived as side projects, The Good Life and Desaparecidos) certainly didn't help them. Heard five years later, though, the album sounds invigorating and vital. It accomplishes the same emotional immediacy and epic sweep Broken Social Scene were attempting at the time, in nearly half the time and with about a fourth as many players (The '89 Cubs were just trio). Indie-rock may not sound like this any more, but this is the sound I'll always associate indie-rock with.
You can stream the whole album on Lala.com; a couple of choice examples are below:
%uFFFD
