The following is our first Editors’ Choice post. We’ll use this feature from time to time to spotlight our favorite Belmont musical discoveries. Please note that, in accordance with our standard policy, we will not feature any acts unless they first contact us indicating their consent to be featured on CEMBlog.

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madicals

In a pose which was clearly not intended for blogs but made it onto one anyway. Left: Jake Thomas. Right: Miles Lowenfield.

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Classic Belmont: You live down the hall from someone for an entire year before you ever discover that the person is kind of a musical prodigy. It’s the story of countless campus acquaintanceships come and gone before, and now it’s the story of Miles Lowenfield and me. This is how it goes:

Once upon a time, on Maddox Hall Floor 3, I knew Miles as the enigmatic roommate of a friend and collaborator of mine. I use the word “enigmatic” because Miles was often absent from the dorm for extended periods of time – early on, we dubbed him the “Hall Ghost” – and although I could tell he was a nice guy from the few proper conversations we had, I can’t rightly say I ever got to know the man.

I did hear things, though – occasional, unusually listenable acoustic balladry – muffled though it was by that signature Maddox cinder block – and rumors of a knack for lyrics that I frankly found somewhat surprising, given that the person in question didn’t even seem to have much to say most of the time.

As with most things you hear in passing, though, I never thought much of it. I went about my way, moved out of Maddox, life went on, didn’t hear anything at all from Miles. That was almost a year ago now.

But cream always manages to rise somehow, and now, I’m here to tell you that Miles Lowenfield’s new band with Jake Thomas is Belmont Indie Cream™ in the highest order. The Maticals have only been playing together since late November, but their MySpace page is already chock full of songs which might just blow you away with their tight tunecraft and engagingly offbeat lyrics. I’m not much of an indie rock fan myself, but I can’t help but marvel at some of this work from a technical standpoint. Go take a listen. This is what it’s all about.

Track Recommendations by Robert Duello:

The Madicals are absolutely one of my favorite bands I’ve heard come out of this campus. Here’s a quick run down of a couple of my favorite songs on their MySpace page:

Mexico: This song has one of the highest play-counts on the page…and is incredible.  A catchy opening on acoustic guitar sets the tone.  The vocals have been doubled in octaves, which means that they sound really cool and catch your attention. The electric guitar is affected and full of distortion.  They rely heavily on keyboard sounds that you would not normally think to hear in a track like this.  The drumming is rock-solid. An all-around must-listen.

Julie-Anne: If I hadn’t done my homework, I would think that this was a Bob Dylan cover.  There is no denying this song’s 1960’s folk influence, but it manages to still sound fresh.  Acoustic guitar, vocals, and shaker.  Simple, and simply beautiful.

So, we’ve linked you to their MySpace, and told you what we think.  Now it’s up to you to go and check them out!