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Santah are a pop band from Chicago who sent us this promo of their latest EP. They are a standard five-piece rock band with keyboards and two guitars. The music has a bright, sparkly sound. It is fresh, light. Don't come here looking for masses of distortion, or angry riffing. This is pop music in the classic sense.
The majority of the vocals are high-pitched singing by Stanton McConnell. He really knows how to use his voice, twisting the words and the sound for good dramatic effect. Around this voice, the band layer catchy guitar riffs, toe-tapping percussion, keyboards, and big booming bass. I bet they are really fun in concert.
There are five songs here in a little less than half an hour.
Springfield kicks things off with nice drumming, clear chiming piano and guitar, and Stanton's voice kind of gaspy, like a breathier version of Zach Condon from Beirut. The song grooves along nicely, with shiny synths, nice scattered drumming, and a driving bass riff. Towards the end Stanton’s sister Vivian sings in the background. She has a nice voice and i wonder why they don't use her more often? Anyway, it's a good start to the EP, and a really fun pop tune.
Santah jangle it up for Teeth. Acoustic guitars strum in layers, allowing Stanton to cut loose vocally. And towards the end i think i hear a mandolin. At least, the song has a similar tone to World Leader Pretend.
North Coast is mellow but catchy. I like the guitar parts here, the echoed drums, and the nice deep bass groove. However, Stanton's voice is on the far end of The Whininess Spectrum here, which kind of grates. Towards the end, the whole band is sort of shouting along with him, which reminds me of Rah Rah and totally makes up for the whiny vocal bit at the beginning.
Stanton's croons his way through I Love the Way You Seal a Deal, almost speaking the lyrics more than singing them. The music is an insistent pounding behind the voice, which is a nice contrast.
And finally we have the single Indigo, which their promo company authorized us to give away for free. You can download it here. And you'll want to grab this song because it is a slow jam, perfect for couples skate! There is a 1950s feel to this, the slow crooning, the clattering guitars, the slow steady bass riff. In a strange way, this is like an alternate universe Gold Motel track, with Stanton McConnell instead of Greta Morgan. Ooh, you know, i would like to hear Santah and Gold Motel cover each other's work. They are mining similar ground but doing it differently enough that such a thing would be interesting.
You guys work that out and get back to me, okay?
Overall, if you like good pop music, this is a fine choice.
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