Are there any more of those Twilight movies coming out? If so, they need to scoop up “How Long” already from Ether Island, a.k.a. singer Corinne Sweeney and guitarist Jeremiah Cowlin from Mythical Beast. In the recordings of Mythical Beast, you find Sweeney channeling the spirit of a tripped-out Grace Slick with Joan Osbourne-like pipes, but it’s amazing what the right amount of delay and reverb can do to an already gifted voice. With their minimalist but hauntingly beautiful arrangements, Sweeney’s vocals take the forefront adding a veil of mystery and intrigue as it shifts and morphs leaving comparisons to legendary vocalists like Annie Lennox and Johnette Napolitano to a more current rising indie favorite of mine, Holly Miranda (formerly of The Jealous Girlfriends). I know that this list of comparisons will only continue to grow over time. The duo originally from Nawlins found their way to Kansas City after Katrina before entering the recording space of Greg Weeks’ Hexam Head. Well, I guess that they dug Philly (as any artist should) making it their current home. I have to say that Ether Islands’ demos are fantastic! I’m really looking forward to hearing more tracks and hopefully an official release in the near future.
You can catch them live this Thursday, September 16 at Kung Fu Necktie with local natives Gondola and San Francisco’s Moon Duo.
– Q.D. Tran