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I’m not sure if Rick Alvin Schaier counts as “local” since he was based in Southern Cali, and the Phoenix-associated band he drums for, Miniature Tigers, up and moved to New York City, but just in case anyone’s interested, his side project, Alvin Band, is making some noise. Spike Jonze’s site, We Love You So, has loved the band’s record so.
“Okay, it’s never nice to start with such a direct comparison- but it’s hard to ignore the fact that some of Alvin Band’s songs sound a lot like Animal Collective. That’s not a detriment at all. The sound is similar, but not identical, and even if it were identical- that would be rad! Two Animal Collectives are better than one, right?“
Ugh. I’m more than fine with zero Animal Collectives. If true, this would be horrible news, especially if this means Schaier is gonna start designing super douchey hoodies. Fortunately, comparing bands to Animal Collective is just something people do reflexively now, and Alvin Band is a lot less annoying than the Baltimore-based ambient indie “collective.”
Download Alvin Band’s single here. Also check out Arty Girl’s take on Schaier’s work here.
