When I stop and think about the music I've really been giving my time to lately, I realize that I'm almost always listening to something with authenticity and originality (ok, The-Dream, you win; you don't count). I'm always hungry for new music (why would I ever write for MM if I wasn't?), but it's of growing importance to me that "good music", whatever that means, is music of which the artist(s) are real architects. These are people who build their tunes from the ground up, know them inside out, and play them with some serious heart (read, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings).
I'm fortunate to know one such architect from my singing high school years: Stefan Weiner.
Now a sophomore at Tisch (NYU), Weiner has teamed up with Jesse Kranzler and Phoebe Ryan to become the striking and innovative folk trio, Town Hall. With skilled harmonies, haunting melodies, and grooving rhythms, Town Hall should have people like Chris Thile shaking in their boots.
So back to authenticity. Town Hall seem to be the band where each member contributes heart as well as skill. The songs, while certainly falling into an indie folk genre, have emotions that are new and all their own. There is clear attention paid to pacing and phrasing -the mark of some real musicianship. Looking at a tune like "Alright", one can hear in the choice of close and edgy harmony between Weiner's voice and the strings the band's appreciation for idiosyncrasies. It's heady stuff for a few college students.
Don't believe me? Sample their EP (October 2010 via Iron Lion Records) via Bandcamp, after the hop.
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