 
For those who like Sufjan Stevens, The Shins, Rogue Wave, and Jeremy Messersmith I highly recommend checking out the band Aloha. Their albums have been in my iTunes for a while, but it’s not until the last week that I have given them the listen they deserve. Their 2007 release Light Works has a really nice sound.
The 7 track LP is a lot less experimental than the band’s other releases, which they’ve built their name off, but I personally like it more. It is really mellow, and a perfect prescription for productivity. Truthfully, there are only a few times that you are going to ask “what song is that?” Light Works is not an album set out to impress, meaning you’ll want to listen to it in its entirety. Like The Album Leaf, you probably won’t grow an attachment to any particular song. The most rememberable songs include “Body Buzz” “The End,””Gold World” and “Passengers.”
Aloha has a really interesting background. They first began to form in 1997, and the four bandmates, Tony Cavallario, Matthew Gengler, Cale Parks, and T.J. Lipple are scattered across the east coast, hailing from Cleveland, Brooklyn, Rochester, and Washington DC. Even though they live in different places they manage to get together to make music. I think that’s really cool. Some bands give off the impression that they formed because it was convenient. However, it can be restricting to allow location to be a collaboration barrier. If each of these guys wanted to make their lives easier, they could probably just start up their own bands in their selected cities. They don’t settle for that though, and are so passionate about what they do, they will travel whenever and wherever to make music. People who know Aloha’s history like their music that much more.
Aloha is signed to Polyvinyl records.
aloha is amazing. check out a band they tour with a lot, anathallo. completely fantastic.
hey courtney, thanks for the rec! i haven’t listened to much too anathallo, i’ll have to catch up. they are from chicago, too! :) david