The Brave Little Abacus is an awesome band from Southern New Hampshire that are good friends of my band Interrobang!? The trio is made up of Adam Demirjian on guitar, Zach Onett playing keyboards, and Andrew Ryan on Bass, although all three members prove themselves to be competent multi-instrumentalists as well as vocalists. Their music sounds like a more lo-fi, noisy, and experimental Cap'n Jazz, but with just as much emotion. BLA really traverse all sorts of musical territory, from mathy, complex passages to ambient, layered soundscapes, all piled high with samples from Yoshi's Island and a bunch of other Sega Genesis games. Brave Little Abacus play some serious music, but still manage to not take themselves too seriously. For their live show the group play the drums, samples, and other sounds from a small TV equipped with the ever useful Sega Dreamcast. The show is one very cohesive experience; with songs connected by samples, dance party segues, and ambient sound, and it's also a ton of fun.
Download The Brave Little Abacus' half of the split they released with Matt Aspinwall in the winter of 2008 below. Also be sure to visit their myspace to hear other excellent songs not included on the album such as "The Buffalo" and "You're Not Me But Neither Am I," both excellent tunes.
www.myspace.com/thebravelittleabacus
for fans of: modest mouse, cap'n jazz, animal collective
