Slope Song – The Essex Green Slope Song – The Essex Green

Don’t Know Why (You Stay) – The Essex Green Don’t Know Why (You Stay) – The Essex Green

Sharing a name with a New Jersey shopping center, the indie/folk/pop group, The Essex Green, got their start over 10 years ago in Brooklyn.  There are many things about them, however, that the average indie listener would not know: they’re originally from Vermont and love the pasture, they can recite Shakespearean poetry, and their favorite place to perform is the Bowery Ballroom.

Their 2006 album Cannibal Sea made waves in the classic pop genre, as it focuses on travel, exploration, and the pressures of living in the big city. Chris Ziter, Sasha Bell, and Jeff Baron are the front men of the band, and also share the duties of songwriting.  They are currently on a break from touring and recording because Bell has a new baby girl to take care of.  Also, Ziter is a newlywed. Congrats to them!

The songs off Cannibal Sea are certainly timeless; exactly the sound and impact they were shooting for. Most city-dwellers, me included, can relate to the genuine emotional lyrics in Don’t Know Why (You Stay). You can feel the yearning to escape from the dreary, hectic constraints of city life that forbid you from truly living. They illustrate the big city as a dark, perverse place and sing of a pastoral haven with water, boats and pure nature that would serve as the ideal escape from it all. It’s a bit overdramatic at times, but you get the general picture.

The Essex Green formed from the leftovers of Vermont band Guppyboy , and once they were up and running in Brooklyn, Robert Schneider, not to be confused with comedian Rob Schneider (Hot Chick has to be one of the worst comedies of all time), asked the group to be part of the Elephant Six Collective, a recording company founded in Denver. They released some songs, went on some tours and ended up signing with Merge Records.  Then, voilá, The Essex Green released an album with an ageless sound that is basically The Shins, The Byrds, the Mamas and the Papas and a hint of Fred Neil all thrown into one.  Enjoy the songs above!