Skip to content
Spotlight

Librarians

Who? Not to be confused with the now defunct California band, The Librarians, this quartet from Morgantown, WV goes without the article. Following their self-released 2004 EP, Neo-Rodeo, Billy Parsons (drums), Kyle Vass (bass/synth), Ryan Hizer (guitar/vocals/synth), and Trey Curtis (guitar/vocals) built on their art-rock-meets-dance-punk foundation for a more-assured full-length debut, Alright Easy Candy Stranger, pressed by Postfact Records.

What’s the Deal? If Librarian’s Stranger were a novel, it’d be a page-turner about the numb and the beautiful, with the bite of Bret Easton Ellis, minus his bleakness. At a tight 11 tracks, the album delivers dark disco elements, synth splashes, swaggering guitar licks, and insistent drums anchored by deliciously indifferent, deadpan vocals. “Smoke and Mirrors” flirts with the insistent edge of Interpol and tracks like “Spend All the Cash” come off like the best bodyshakers of Franz Ferdinand, minus the homoeroticism and high camp. Touches like the video game bleeping at the beginning of “Right On” add to the band’s soundscape and pierce the slinky inkiness they create so well.

Fun Fact:Neo-Rodeo was recorded with the same soundboard AC/DC used to record Back in Black,” Ryan Hizer told SPIN.com, confirming the fact his band can shake us all night long. BRIANA MOWREY

Now Hear This:
Librarians – “Wax Teeth” Download MP3

Talk: Is the album Easy Candy to your ears? Or do you wish the Librarians would “Shhhh!” COMMENT

On the Web:
Librarians at myspace.com