Introducing...BoomSnake

Perhaps the title of the post shouldn't imply that I know much about the experimental indie pop duo BoomSnake, because I'm a little hazy on the details. I do know that the group consists of Gabriel Rodriguez (vocals/guitar/sampler) and Nathan Aguilar (bass/vocals/keyboards) and was formed in the Fall of 2008. It's the California duo's music, however, that clearly deserves the attention. The band has released two long EPs (or perhaps short LPs) in the last year and a half, Give and Take and Vitamins, both of which offer a consistently great set of offbeat indie folk tunes.

Vitamins is raw and simple, with acoustic guitars and dark, lonely melodies filling the majority of the 27 minutes. Songs like "Totem tale Blues" and "Ritual of Union" are a little reminiscent of Bon Iver or the more gentle side of Yeasayer, with high harmonies and subtly sinister lyrics shining through the rough production. Give and Take isn't far removed from the Vitamins spare folk sound, but the production is clearer and the sound fuller, giving the boys room to show off a bit more. "Be Where How" is a delightfully strange pop song while "Honey" is a folk ballad on the more accessible side of the group's spectrum. Other highlights include the bizarre, upbeat "In Da Ground" and the shimmering "Excuses (Ghost Toast)."

I highly recommend checking out the band's MySpace page to get a better idea of what I've described as words obviously won't do the trick. I imagine it won't be long before we start hearing much more from BoomSnake, so you might as well get yourself introduced now.