DEN-Hence the Boats

DEN are an L.A. band who have been around for a couple years now, and they’re giving away their latest release, “Hence the Boats,” to all who will listen. To say that it is eclectic would be an understatement. The first handful of cuts skip from an oldies sound (“Jenny”) to moody alt-rock (“Eastside Disguise”) to indie psych rock (“Subtle Camo Bee”), all sprinkled throughout with Calexico-type instrumental bits and shorter songs. For that reason, it’s hard to find the center of the record and it can be hard to sit through. But at the same time, each of the pieces on the record are played with extraordinary talent, and each one is compelling on its own. These are very talented artists–skilled, composed, and proficient–who have written a collection of very solid songs. They just haven’t written a proper album. That said, there’s more than enough meat here to make this worth a listen. Available on emusic and for free from their site.