I love iTunes when they introduce me to some fantastic new artist that I've never heard of before. This is the case with Elizabeth & The Catapults. If you're a fan of iTunes on facebook, you can get ten songs for some sort of summer promotion, and the track Taller Children was on there. Very rarely will I have a track really pull me in like this one has. After purchasing the album and giving it a half dozen listens through, I have to say, it's one of the best debut albums that I've listened to in a long time. (Or second album - they've released an indie record through CD Baby)
Elizabeth & The Catapults is a Brooklyn trio composed of Elizabeth Ziman, Pete Lalish and Dan Molad, along with a couple others who collaborated with them on the album. The group seems to have been around for a couple years, since 2005, and with this new major record, they have already been noticed by Rolling Stone and iTunes, who named it to their Next Big Thing list.
It's pretty easy to see why too - Taller Children is a fun, quirky album that is rich in sound and feel, sounding more like an indie record than what might be expected off of a major record label. I've heard this sort of thing with artists who's albums I've liked, but my interest has faded a bit, but I have a feeling that this won't be the case for this album. The 13 tracks are wonderfully varied when it comes to tone and mixes up genres a bit. There's representatives from pop-lounge sounds, indie-rock, and rock, all ranging from fast to playful, to slower, sweeping and grand songs.
Coupled with some insightful lyrics, this new disc really stands out from some of the other albums that I've listened to. Listening through this album again, I think I know why: it's fun, it's playful, and serious where it needs to be, and most importantly, it's not dull, which is one of the most important things when it comes to an album.
Taller Children is out now on iTunes, and will be released on hardcopy on June 9th, 2009.
Taller Children - Elizabeth & The Catapult
