There's something about Austin that brings out the inner Anglophile in an artist or a band. Austin's now-defunct Cotton Mather was one of the best at turning out 60s British Invasion pop/rock in recent years, and now we have Voxtrot, who takes on the 80s Britpop sound favored by The Housemartins, The Smiths and even some Belle & Sebastian, but with a power pop sensibility.
The Raised by Wolves (or self-titled, depending on which site you read) EP is an outstanding 5-song treatment of this genre. But what sets them apart is that the manage to avoid sounding too twee, mopey or self-indulgent. The title track is a great tune which reminds of The Strokes, only with intelligble vocals and without the strain to be hip. "The Start of Something" thumps along with the classic Motown bassline and almost sounds like a great lost Jam track, and the midtempo "Long Haul" out-Belles (and out-Sebastians) Belle & Sebastian.
Get an mp3 here:
The Start of Something
Stream 'em at myspace, and get an mp3 from their forthcoming ep here. Further sampling is available at cdbaby, as well as the disc itself. It's time to do the Voxtrot.
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