This is a band I was tipped off about by a former student who was listening to my show on Fresh Air the other night (cheers for that, Michael!)
Although their song ‘Home’ did appear on one of the Rough Trade Shops compilations a little while ago, it’s always worth checking out tips (assuming there are enough hours in the day).
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros hail from LA. There’s some weird and wonderful tales about how they came into being (being birthed by a robot who later became a real boy see here. And then there’s the wiki entry which is only marginally less extraordinary). Are these tales true? Possibly not, but I’m wondering quite how it has taken me a year to hone in on their debut album Up From Below. This is warm, eccentric music, that seems to bridge between the likes of blogger faves like The Arcade Fire and Fleet Foxes with classic eccentrics like Zappa and beefheart. Yes, that good.
See what you think…oh, and apparently the singer’s real name isn’t Edward Sharpe it’s Alex Ebert, but don’t let the truth get in the ay of a good story…Oh, and ‘Home has whistling in it, which you don’t get enough of in music, as far as I’m concerned. I’m off to buy the album.
Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros -‘Home.’ mp3
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros -‘Kisses over babylon.’ mp3