Rogue Wave "Descended Like Vultures" (Sub Pop)
By
Friday. Dec 02, 12:12 AM
Off-kilter pop to serenade receptionists with.

I’ve only been to Seattle once in my life, but rest assured, while I was there, I took some time to stop by the offices of Sub Pop. I wasn’t really even sure what to expect, of course, but because I like so many of their bands, I felt almost obligated to stop by and see what it was all about.

As it turned out, it wasn’t quite as glamorous as I’d built it up in my head to be. None of the Sub Pop “all-stars” like James Mercer, Ben Gibbard, or Sam Beam were bumming around the office or anything, but my visit still ended up being cool because I was able to strike up a five minute conversation with the receptionist (who was rather cute, by the way, but that’s another story).

Anyway, as a result of this small talk, my new favorite Sub Pop employee slid me a free t-shirt and a handful of band stickers. After saying farewell, I then happily walked out of their office with a modest sense of victory and feeling cooler than cool.

The reason I bring all of this up is because I feel like I have those same senses of victory and coolness after listening to one of Sub Pop’s latest little gifts, Descended Like Vultures by Rogue Wave. To be truthful, I hadn’t paid any notice when Rogue Wave’s first album, Out of the Shadow, was re-released by Sub Pop in 2004. But if …Vultures is any indication, then I’ve made a mistake.

From their sound, comparisons to The Shins seem likely, but Zach Rogue and his mates stand on their own merits. “Love’s Lost Guarantee” is a good example of this, especially with Rogue’s vocals, but this song about the desire for an ever-allusive guarantee when it comes to taking a chance on love would be good no matter who it sounded like. Lyrics such as “Love comes like the Kennedy Curse / the victim’s role, well rehearsed” cleverly make the point about it what it feels like to be on the losing end without a guarantee.

Other solid indie pop songs on this album include “Publish My Love” and “Are You on My Side,” the latter of which might be this album’s stand-out track with its several layers of sound and Rogue’s hushed vocals.

There are also a handful of nice acoustic tracks sprinkled throughout. “Salesman at the Day of the Parade,” the bitter “California,” “Medicine Ball,” and “Temporary” (which closes out the album rather splendidly) provide the album with a nice balance of sounds.

So if you’re like me and hadn’t yet heard of Rogue Wave before now, this is a good time to give a listen and jump on the bandwagon. In the meantime, I’ll be looking into their first album to see what I’ve missed.

Oh, and if you’re reading this and you happen to be the girl who was working as the Sub Pop receptionist in April 2004, I’d love to hear from you. Maybe I can find a Transform Online sticker to send you.
www.roguewavemusic.com
www.subpop.com

Click here to buy this album on iTunes!

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Mike Butz

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