A few weeks ago a friend sent me Arizona's self-released debut, Welcome Back Dear Children. It only took a single spin to click, and since then I've been listening to it pretty regularly. The singer has a voice reminiscent of the frontman from Little Ones, but that's about as far as the analogy goes. Arizona makes chill, pretty pop executed to perfection. The songwriting is simple and clever, full of subtlety and beautiful harmonies. It's light and catchy, with occasional moments that get your blood moving.

I caught them at the soon-to-be-closing Sin-E in a half-full room. I didn't know what to expect, as no one I know had seen them. I did know that they made this record on their own in a basement, which is extremely impressive, so I assumed that there was a chance they'd be decent. Even so, I was caught off guard by how well they have their shit together: they recreated subtle and complicated moments from the record without missing a beat, and they sounded better than 90% of the bands I've seen play that room. Apparently, they understand the virtue of not turning up your amps all the way when you don't need to. Live they were six guys strong, including a cello player joined by the occasional upright bass. I was impressed by how strong their singer is live; the man (who was wearing and Indian Sari) steps up and belts it out, with excellent tone and control. He's a bona-fide frontman. I was also impressed with how cool and professional the band seemed; they didn't make many mistakes at all, and no one seemed even slightly nervous. Hopefully they'll stay this way when they're playing to much larger crowds, something I confidently foresee in their future. Generally the evening was a pretty and mellow affair, though they did bring up the volume and rock out a few tunes, in particular "Somersby." Arizona are definitely worth checking out if you're into indie-pop/rock. Dig it.

Here are a couple of tracks from the record to give you a taste:
Arizona - Te Amo Tanto
Arizona - Away