Aloha, Some Echoes

The last time I heard Aloha (prior to listening to their newest album, Some Echoes), I was making my babygirl a mix-tape and I pulled out Sugar, from like 2002. I scanned through it, however, and realized that all of the songs sounded the same to me and none were comp-worthy.

Some Echoes, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise, kind of like finding a jelly bean in your wallet or something. This is a band that has evolved into something great while living in separate states; they’ve moved in the right direction, getting better with more creative songwriting.

The additional instrumentation is especially pleasing to my bird holes-for-ears. The keyboard sounds are well-chosen and add strength to the original marimba — at least, since that’s what drew me to the band several years ago, I’m assuming that the marimba and vibraphone have been involved since the beginning. Drummer Cale Parks, in particular, is deep. Between the interesting rhythms and well-picked synth sounds, some songs sound straight out of a ’73 Yes show. Singer/guitarist Tony Cavallario’s vocals are quite unique; I can’t really place them in comparison with anybody else except maybe Karate at some points.

My favorite track is “Your Eyes”; check it out or don’t, I couldn’t care. Either way, it’s nice to see that Polyvinyl is still putting out some quality records.