The Morning Of

The Morning Of is an indie-rock sextet of fresh-faced youngsters from upstate New York who have suddenly found themselves waking up on the sunny national stage. Boasting major distribution via their label, Tragic Hero Records (which was recently absorbed by Warner Music Group), these kids are riding a wave of word-of-mouth and Internet buzz that has led them on a bicoastal tour to promote their debut album, The World As We Know It. They're young, so if they remind you of a new-era pop-punk band, it's because, well, they are one. For reference, think Taking Back Sunday meets The Black Kids meets throwback Blink-182 for generation Web 2.0. The Morning Of plays some melodic, upbeat numbers that rest on the dual foundations of a piano-guitar backdrop and a girl-guy vocal combo. Although the story of some suburban kids churning out MTV-friendly emo-pop-rock might not be particularly novel, the fact that The Morning Of features a black female lead singer (Jessica Leplon) and a Middle Eastern bassist (Abir Hossain) certainly is when one considers the, um, starchiness of the genre.