THE BEIGE 01

2006

This was given to me by a friend to take to the radio station (CFMH 92.5 FM in Saint John, N.B.) where I host a late-night jazz program (No Pain for Cakes, Tuesdays 9-11 p.m. Atlantic) that I absolutely hate plugging (you can tune in here). My friend has a friend named Rick Maddocks, who is the singer/songwriter for The Beige, a five-piece band from Vancouver. On their debut album 01, The Beige have mixed a cocktail of post-rock, country, folk, and various other styles that sounds not unlike Tortoise covering Music from Big Pink or Bonnie Prince Billy jamming with Neil Young. The group's sound is highly atmospheric yet tightly focused, the recording quality is superb, and the packaging (done by hand) is gorgeous. I could say more, but you'd probably be better off heading over to their MySpace page and having a listen for yourself.