We love to see publicists promote records released in the previous year because they believe in them, mainly because it takes us back to a time when record labels had more patience with their artists, and would take the time to groom them, drum up some geniune buzz for a band rather than fabricate fake buzz, etc. (We’re well aware that those days weren’t as innocent as we might think, but they’re our memories, and we’re sticking to ’em.) We’ll see how this old-school approach works for Setting Fire to the Great Unknown, the debut album by Minneapolis quartet Greycoats. Their bio boasts comparisons to Arcade Fire, Radiohead and Sigur Ros, but a better point of entry might be a more guitar-oriented Keane. “Goodbye, Sweet Youth, Goodbye” sports a soaring chorus that the boys from Battle would kill for, and singer Jon Reine has nicked a few tricks from Tom Chaplin’s playbook in terms of vocal phrasing. It’s gorgeous stuff – Thom Yorke will surely mutter obscenities under his breath when he hears “An Echo in the Dark” – and, in an ideal world, the band is only a soundtrack or “Grey’s Anatomy” moment away from vaulting to the next level. (Greycoats 2008)
