Now, buying or receiving a record you don't like is bad, but what's worse is being taken off-guard by a record that, at first, sounds like it might be really good, but ends up being something that you really don't care for. Such was my first experience with The Santiago Steps, a five piece indie-pop band who sound like an inferior Rainer Maria or Mates of State.
You see, the first track, the pretty "Diorama (Fragment)" sounds absolutely nothing like anything else on the record. It's a minute long, harmonic-based almost-instrumental (the only vocals being the softly sung "1-2-3-4"), that's actually really good. I heard it and thought to myself, "Hey, this isn't going to be that bad!" So I was taken completely by surprise when the second track, "Parrots in Orange Trees," busted loose like Rainer Maria's kid sister.
What I can't believe is how much these guys sound like Rainer Maria! I really can't! Quite frankly, it's mind-boggling. The only difference is that Santiago Steps adds some well-placed horns and other assorted instruments, which at least gives the album a little diversity. After a couple of listens, songs like "I'm in Love With a Girl," "Two of Me," and "Wake" take on a more welcoming quality, but this isn't something that I'm going to be playing very much, I don't think.
While they're alright, I can't help thinking that other bands have done this before and much better. I must say, though, with a little time, the Santiago Steps will probably become a formidable indie-pop sensation.
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