New Hampshire:
The Everyday Visuals
CITY: Manchester
SONGS THAT GOT US: “I’ll Take It All in Stride,” “Boom! Boom! Boom! [mp3],” “Florence Foster Jenkins”
ON THE TUBES: MySpace, Web site, YouTube
RECORD LABEL: Self-released
WHY THEM? The Everyday Visuals play meticulously crafted pop with an eye (or ear) on vocal melodies and harmonies, all held together by lead vocalist Christopher Pappas. The sparse jangle and pitchy antique piano in “Limb from Limb” conjure the Walkmen and XTC; the driving pop exuberance of “Boom! Boom! Boom!” sounds like a French Kicks demo (maybe even a Matthew Sweet B-side), and “Driving”— well, that’s pure Pappas: a sweet melody and a delicate acoustic guitar serenading a sunset of soft feedback.
BONUS BIT! Pappas gets his lo-fi solo rocks off under the pseudonym Forest Fires. The gorgeous “Lost at Sea” is like a long-lost out-take from Sweetheart of the Rodeo.
