photo by Alissa Anderson
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Midday Show host Cheryl Waters, is
Little Kingdomby Citay from the 2007 album Little Kingdom on Dead Oceans.
This little nine-piece band out of San Francisco may at once seem easy to peg -- another psych-rock act going for duplication over experimentation. Listen again. This is the second record from Piano Magic’s Ezra Feinberg and his highly talented supporting cast, which includes producer/multi-instrumentalist Tim Green (The Fucking Champs). A largely instrumental affair, Little Kingdom owes as much to its psych-rock predecessors as it does to the latest chamber pop and as much to jam bands as to noise-rockers and folkies. Nearly every track exceeds the 5-minute mark, and with limited lyrics the listener’s focus has nowhere to go. Fortunately, varied and authoritative progressions spark new paths before the melodies ever outstay they welcome. Little Kingdom is a bold new step for this band, one that is sure to see them come out the other side of SXSW on fire. According to the band’s MySpace page, extensive SXSW-ing is to be followed by a tour of the East Coast and the Midwest. Those who missed Citay’s recent stop at the Sunset can rejoice in this clip from their performance at the same venue back in July:
