Band of the Day: Givers

Because I write about music often, I find myself getting in a bit of a rut when it comes to describing the sound of various bands and I sometimes end up using a generic selection of terms for a wide range of styles. But Givers, an indie collective from Louisiana, have made that part easy for me. "Afro-beat, dancy pants, indie pop love music" is how the band describes their music on their MySpace page, and after giving their self-titled debut EP a listen, I think they've got it about right. Their fun and energetic personality combined with their ability to construct tight, hook-filled tunes has earned the group a good deal of attention over the last couple months, including a recent spot over at NPR on All Songs Considered, where I first heard about them.

The group released the EP last year, a collection of four upbeat pop songs (plus one remix) that should get just about everyone excited for their upcoming full-length due early 2010 sometime. The first two tracks are reason enough to label these guys as a band to watch; "Up Up UP" is a buoyant, sunny tune with boy/girl harmonies and "Meantime" finds the band delving a bit more into the Afro-pop side of their sound with excellent results. Both incorporate elements from fairly popular indie rock trends, but the band combines these somewhat familiar elements in an innovative enough way as to provide some fresh and interesting ideas throughout the 23 minutes of the album. Make sure you give these guys a listen asap, they're definitely worth a little of your time.

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