The Upwelling, The Upwelling

I don’t understand the comparison of Brooklyn’s The Upwelling to Brian Eno that keeps coming up in their press stuff. To me, they sound more like a more focused, lighter Juno with a little emo flavoring — which is pretty catchy and damn right interesting. These three boys from various parts of the Northeast are the first unsigned band chosen for Virgin Megastore’s “Virgin Recommends Series,” and hey, I think they deserve it. This EP starts out with the dreamy, guitar-strumming “In her arms,” and transitions in the middle of the next song, “Sam,” into the more solid, emo-catchy “Murdered by a Big Bomb” (they remind me so much of the emo/indie bands that played around Houston around 1999 and 2000, like The Maria Project). “Ladder 104” is more spacey, Juno-style rock with pretty, sustained vocals akin to early Bono. The shimmery, pretty “American Night” brings the EP to a close, and overall, it’s lovely to listen to. Give it a try if you enjoy dreamy, slow-building shoegazer rock.