Page France

Some blogs seem to specialize without coming right out and saying it. We here at Rockist try to be upfront about our tastes and distastes, and it will surely come as no surprise to you when I tell you that none of us really care for Snow Patrol or John Mayer, for example. With occasional exceptions, we tend to steer away from sub-genres ending in "-ica" or "-core". If you've been keeping score, a couple of us are particularly fond of a certain subset of rock music...two words...both begin with a "p"....

Other blogs are less overt about it. You Ain't No Picasso, for example, clearly loves indie pop. That guy (Matt, I believe is his name) uncovers new indie pop bands like they're just napping on his front porch. It's pretty uncanny, really, and while serving up another blog's microwaved leftovers isn't our favorite thing to do, Maryland band Page France deserve a mention on here.

Sometimes indie pop -- the twee stuff, especially -- drives this particular Rockist crazy. Theoretically, I should love the off-kilter production, the spontaneous, giddy energy, the hooks that just keep coming. Sometimes I do, but sometimes I don't. For example, the latest stuff coming out of Architecture in Helsinki sounds like stoners locked in an elementary school music room on a 90 degree day.

But back to Page France. I do really enjoy them, quite a lot. "Junkyard" is my favorite, acoustic driven and kinda loping. Reminds me of a tune I blogged about not so long ago, "Louise", by Mazarin. "Hat and Rabbit" opens with a possible twist on a Dylan lyric, and is a little more lo-fi than the others and has that boy-girl vocals thing that is quickly becoming a little too popular in indie pop. If one singer is not particularly good, and the other singer is not particularly good, then the two together will probably not be particularly good. Let's call this the Young-Whitten Theory, named after the attempted backup vocal attempts of Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten on Neil Young albums. But I digress...there's something affecting about their lightweight songs, something crisp and fitting for this time of year.

Page France hit the Black Cat in DC on April 19. They've got a pretty extensive tour lined up too, so if you're coming to Rockist from Minneapolis, Chicago, Kentucky, Boston, NYC, etc., they're heading your way.

Page France - "Junkyard"

Page France - "Hat and Rabbit"