Apr 27 2006
The Helio Sequence
I’m not quite sure how I managed to remain unaware of The Helio Sequence for so long. They last released an album two years ago, but I’m writing about them now as I’ve only just discovered them and like what I hear. An electronic pop rock band on Sub Pop Records, The Helio Sequence is made up of two people, Brandon Summers and Benjamin Weikel.
If this sounds a little like the Postal Service to you, then you’re on the right lines. It’s a lazy comparison, but kind of an appropriate one. Perhaps if one created a hybrid of the Postal Service and The Flaming Lips, this would be the result. Mildly trippy, largely non-sensical upbeat pop music.
MP3 The Helio Sequence - Everyone Knows Everyone
MP3 The Helio Sequence - Blood Bleeds
‘Everyone Knows Everyone’ is the more immediate track of the two above, grabbing hold of you with a quirky sound that seems to mix together guitars, drums, a harmonica and electronic effects. ‘Blood Bleeds’ is a far more cautious song, seemingly constructed very carefully as opposed to the organised chaos on the previous song. To drag things back to the Postal Service, I get the same kind of feeling I do from this as I did the first time I heard ‘Such Great Heights’. I’m not saying it’s on the same level as that, but that’s what I get from it. It also feels like it could fit in perfectly on the excellent Lost In Translation soundtrack too, particularly when Summers starts singing “Everyone keeps on talking / Like they got answers / What was the question?”. It drags a little in the last minute or so, but I’m willing to forgive it given how good the rest of the song is.
As usual, more Helio information can be found on both their website and their Myspace, where you can listen to a couple more songs.
Live Voxtrot Videos..
Schedule Two have posted up a bunch of live Voxtrot videos from a performance in Minneapolis back in February. The video quality is excellent, the sound is crisp, and best of all, they are all downloadable in mp4 format for you to enjoy on your iPod. You can download them all here.
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