The Ribbons - Surprise Attacks

Official album art, courtesy of Google Image Search

I first discovered this band on Daytrotter, a site that has done both good and bad for me. At first, I was not very impressed, as only one of the songs on Daytrotter really caught my ears. However, after listening to that one song over and over and over, I decided to give the album a try. They have two albums out at the moment, and since I could not find absolutely anything about the band online, I decided to buy Surprise Attacks at random. I think I made the right choice.

When I heard the CD, I found that their sound is completely different from the acoustic tracks available on Daytrotter. And all I have to say is "Holy crap!"

This band, and this album in particular, has a very unique sound that I have come to describe as muffled rock nostalgia, with a particular jazzy twist to some of the songs. It is truly something unique, yet so familiar and dear.

As I pressed "play" sitting in a dimly lit room with a giant pair of headphones on, grainy black and white images of a girl gently spinning in a snow-covered city park, her frizzy hair twirling in the breeze she creates, immediately started going through my head. I was immediately thrust back into my childhood, walking around town, mittens on, snapping pictures of everything on my five-pound Russian SLR. The smells of the photo chemicals came back, as I had hand developed terrible quality images in the attic while listening to badly-recorded garage music.

Rarely does music create such a psychedelically nostalgic feeling for me, and I have yet to discover where The Ribbons get the magic to do so. I can officially say that this album has become my new Christmas soundtrack, replacing the overplayed Jingle Bells and O Holy Night. For me, this gives me that true warm holiday feeling.

Official Site: ribbonsnyc.com