Amandine

As we were driving back from the monster truck show today, Amandine popped up on iPod and I started thinking how similar they sound to Sufjan Stevens and how they would be a good band to post about. Plus, it had been a good few days since I had posted about a Swedish band.

Hailing from Gavle, Sweden, this quartet blends together piano, banjo, guitar, glockenspiel, drums, theremin, accordian, bass and trumpet into some sweet mellow country-tinged ditties. On October 17th, they'll be releasing their debut album. However, they've had a few demos up on their website for a few weeks for our enjoyment.

The first tune listed below "Father & Sons" particularly reminds me of Sufjan Stevens' quieter tunes. Something about the vocals and banjo tips me that way.

The only bad thing I have to say about these guys is that they have a hidden track on one of their mp3 files below. Come on! Hidden tracks are so 1993 and what the hell...these are demos of your still unreleased debut album. Don't make us work that hard for your music. When you've had back-to-back gold albums, you can be a little cheeky with some hidden music. In the meantime....don't make me wait through a minute or so of silence for more music.

But don't let that little rant divert you from these guys. They have good tunes.

Amandine - Father & Sons
Amandine - For All the Marbles
Amandine - Sticks and Stones