I love the library, as everyone should. Is there actually anyone out there who is against the concept of a library? If you are anti-library, then my blog isn’t for you, go read something else, oh wait you can’t because no libraries for you. I’m getting so distracted, this is a music review site. The library near me has a small store near the entrance where they sell old books, movies, and CDs. When I was there the other day I found 3 albums, each for only a dollar, one of which is the focus of todays review (I’ll get to the others in time, don’t worry.)
The Concretes self titled album is a great compliment to the last review on this site, Liz and The Stampede’s Window Flowers, They both have a very similar sound. The Concretes was a lot slower than I thought it was going to be, from the album art I assumed (incorrectly) that it would be upbeat pop from the late 2000’s, like Kelly Clarkson or Katy Perry, or maybe even the Capital Cities. Instead what I heard was far more like Dido, with a great vocalist and incredible instrumentation. The end of the last track is a beautiful soundscape, and the violin in Chico almost made me cry on the bus (violins in anything make my heart hurt, it’s such a beautiful sound. This writer is a sucker for bluegrass and Vivaldi.)
What surprised me the most about this album is just how old it is. It sounds like something that could’ve come out 5 years ago, but in reality it’s from 2003! This album is as old as I am, potentially just a little bit older, and that’s crazy. The production and sound don’t feel like something from 20+ years ago, I’d call this album a trendsetter but their most popular song on Spotify, which comes off of this album, only has around 3 million listens. It seems this was the bands first album, with their last releasing in 2010, and I think it’s a lovely start to a lovely band. The Concretes can be found wherever you get your music, including potentially your local library.
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