Quantcast
Finding a new sound in a ‘Big Echo’ – Metro US

Finding a new sound in a ‘Big Echo’

With “Talking Through Tin Cans,” California indie rockers the Morning Benders garnered a bevvy of comparisons to similar retro-minded bands.

But this year’s follow-up, “Big Echo,” found them discovering their own sound. The jangly, sunny, acoustic guitar pop gave way in part to a slower, more contemplative approach. “Sometimes people are smart enough to take us on our own terms; other people feel the need to give another band as a reference point,” says songwriter and frontman Christopher Chu. “It
doesn’t really matter to us as long as people are finding a way to our music.”

Coupled with the more sonically dense tracks like “Mason Jar,” romantic 1950s pop songs like “Excuses” show that the band is still pulling from the past for inspiration.

“Most people know and love those songs,” Chu says of the hits of a bygone era. “When I wrote ‘Excuses’ there was a kind of feeling and nostalgia I was after, and to me, that feeling was best captured by certain aspects of those ’50s tunes.”

As the Morning Benders’ profile continues to grow, Chu says he intends to make full use of the wider production opportunities that have become available since he first started out.

“Ever since [I became interested in production] I haven’t been able to listen to music the same. I can’t separate my songs from the way they are going to be produced. Instead of just writing melodies on a guitar, I just as often write a melody with a texture or groove in mind.”

A relocation to the East Coast may have an effect on their iconic and breezy California outlook as well, although that remains to be seen, says Chu.

“I have no idea what our sound is going to change into. I wouldn’t say it’s going to suddenly change into an ‘East Coast’ sound. All I can say for sure is that we know we want to try something different for the next album.”

The Morning Benders
with Twin Sister and Oberhofer
Tuesday, 8 p.m.
The Paradise
967 Comm. Ave., Boston
$15, 18+ , 800-745 3000
www.livenation.com