What’s their sound?
The Afternoons sound is big. Vocals are layered into lush choirs amidst a sea of meticulous melodies and rousing, feel-good rhythms. Combining state-of-the-art production with top-shelf songwriting, Afternoons are a perfect iPod companion to other similarly grown-up indie fare like Feist and the Arcade Fire.
What the hell does that mean?
This sprawling seven-piece Los Angeles collective grew out of random music-making sessions between Steven Scott and Brian Canning, both members of local indie rock outfit Irving. Picking up such notables as opera singer Claire McKeon and celebrated engineer Tom Biller along the way, Afternoons conjure up an expansive swirl of symphonic indie pop. With grandiose productions like “Western World” and “Saturday Morning,” Afternoons swing like a fuzzed-out Broken Social Scene with Flaming Lips flourishes and ornate production touches a la Jon Brion.
Is their game tight?
Afternoons have already joined the fraternity of teen drama soundtrackers, with their latest single “Saturday Morning (after the funeral)” featured prominently on an episode of Gossip Girl. But it was L.A.-based pop art star Shepard Fairey that gave the band its biggest boost, when he created an entire poster campaign around the uplifting and horn-blasted song “Say Yes.” It was also Fairey that slipped the tune to Indie 103.1-FM DJ/Sex Pistol guitarist Steve Jones, who spun it heavily on his “Jonesy’s Jukebox” show.
X-factor:
Band member Tom Biller is also a Grammy winner, recognized for his engineering work on Kanye West’s 2005 “Best Rap Album” Late Registration.
See the Afternoons during a two-night stand at Spaceland on January 9 & 10.
