I dunno if it’s the name of the band or the sound, but Alex Dupree and The Trapdoor Band kind of remind me of Ray’s Vast Basement. They’ve both got an organic, lo-fi, made-in-my-living-room-on-an-eight-track kind of sound. Of the two bands, I’d have to say I favor Mr. Dupree for his versatility. His new album, Las Meridanzas, has much to recommend it. Chamber pop, folk, acoustic rock, and thick singer-songwriter vibes. I found the album on the whole to be a little uneven–I skipped more than a few tracks on the second run through–but those tracks that I did enjoy were quite good. And I admit that this isn’t really my cup of tea as a genre. Lyrically, his music sometimes goes a little too much to the Mountain Goats folk side for me. Still, other songs come off quite well. Fans of indie folk and singer-songwriter albums should definitely give him a listen, and support the band by going to their website and buying a copy. We need to encourage these kinds of artists, after all.
