Final installment, three of three, of my band round-ups for 2009 (right, it’s not ’09 anymore; never mind that). Come back for much more in 2010. Nice moody, angsty stuff from The Ropes (NYC), soulful singing with strings from Jen Gloeckner, new wave/pop of Chop Chop, and early introspective demos from UK singer-songwriter Steve Middleton. Then there’s the alt-country of Why I Hope (and their evil twin Why I Hate, but since it’s a new year, I’ll focus on the former). Mobile Wash Unit is the creative project of a philosophy professor, named after New York City subway cleaners. The music’s pretty interesting too. And Build are a hybrid classical indie rock ensemble melding many different influences for a very cool and sophisticated sound.
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