It’s tough to make genuinely beautiful music in the post-ironic world – most bands that try it seem to either fall victim to the temptation to mess it up with inscrutable lyrics and needlessly tricky chord changes (Wilco) or drown in a sea of slick production and Hallmark platitudes (the Fray). Texas’s New Frontiers have drawn comparisons to both bands, but in a strange way, Mending is actually closer to an old Dan Fogelberg or Crosby, Stills and Nash record – the melodies are gorgeous, the harmonies are ethereal, the production is perfectly down to Earth, and on every song, hearts are worn proudly on sleeves. Music this wonderfully open and sincere comes along so rarely that it’s easy to write off the New Frontiers as a bunch of sad-sack posers – easy, that is, until you’re about halfway into the album, at which point you’ll have to check your suspicions at the door and just give in to the music’s beauty. Perfect for rainy days, bruised hearts, and anyone with a weakness for an honest-to-goodness pretty song. Can’t wait to hear what these guys come up with next. (The Militia Group 2008)

The New Frontiers MySpace page