Work – 1,2,3

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Pittsburgh’s budding 1,2,3 (@123theband) is generating a healthy dose of buzz just in time for the arrival of their debut LP, New Heaven. Infectious and cohesive, but varying enough to repel comments of repetition, the album offers listeners a solid retro-pop sound that promises repeated plays.

New Heaven opens with the previously released track, “Work”, a song that epitomizes the atmosphere of the album as a collective. Thumping drums meet crunchy guitar riffs, while Snyder’s distinct vocals pay homage to the middle-class grind.  With such a strong combination of guitar structure and melody, “Work” is definitely a standout track on the album. Following suit, “Scared But Not That Scared” lands as one of my favourites as well, matching the opening track with it’s upbeat and catchy tune.

Changing direction and heightening New Heaven’s altogether lo-fi concept,  “Heat Lightnin’”, “Confetti” and “Just Like Heaven (Is Gone)” (another favourite of mine) combine slow tempos, simplistic instrumentation, and crooning vocals to round out the album’s hard edges. The laid-back “Riding Coach” is the beginning of the end, blending perfectly into the closing track, “20,000 Voices”. While the closer begins with a beautiful, folk-based tone, it takes on a heavy percussive twist, only to revert back to a simple strum as the words “I love you all” close out this impressive debut.

Though the album contains several mellow tracks, the overall sound is incredibly rhythmic and brings New Heaven’s “danceability” factor up quite a bit. Obviously drawing inspiration from many different sources, 1,2,3 takes cues from electro-pop, folk and perhaps even classic rock. A plethora of percussion, electronics and throwback style guitar lines give the album a sound that’s unique enough to be memorable, but current enough to fit the music that’s trending the indie airwaves.

As a side note, purchasing New Heaven from iTunes includes the bonus track “Mr. Officer”, and purchasing it from Amazon includes the bonus track “Hang In There”. Both are really stellar additions to the album!