Maritime

Shadows of past lives can get long, but they needn't darken the present. People know Davey von Bohlen and Dan Didier as half of The Promise Ring, the band that unwittingly resurrected a genre (or at least the name of a genre) and influenced untold numbers of kids to put thinking and feeling and rocking all together in one package. Eric Axelson, meanwhile, made the shimmy shake as the bassist of The Dismemberment Plan. Once again, in case you hadn't heard: Those bands broke up.

But before the carcasses were cold, there was Maritime. A logical extension of where these players had been and, simultaneously, a clean break, the new band feels like freedom-uninterested in restrictions either self-imposed or publicly expected. Maritime made their first record right away, and Glass Floor (released in early 2004) gently hummed with life and pop and good cheer. In its simplicity, it felt like a gentle kiss-off, a mostly happy stroll that was content to walk a straight line. Bands could make records just like it forever, and the world would be a better place.

But what to do for album number two, when the shadow cast by past triumphs is shorter and expectations (both public and private) don't feel as weighty as they once did? Here's what you do: You make We, The Vehicles-a triumphant realization of Maritime's unlabored goal and an occasional turn toward the darker, denser corners of years past. That's right: We, The Vehicles isn't all sunshine and bubbles. Maritime remains solidly tethered to pop perfection, but has taken space to let that pop cycle through all its permutations.

The sophomore release from Maritime is a great indie-pop release, exciting and catchy, an album that could play at your car stereo whole summer. Highly recommended!

Maritime - Future Is Wired
Maritime - I Used To Be A Singer
Maritime - Daytrotter Sessions
Maritime @ MySpace

Bonus:
The Southland - Influence Of Geography !!!
Teenage Funclub - Man-Made !!!
Sleater-Kinney - Dig Me Out !!!
[CODE]http://tinyurl.com/nv5rj
System Of A Down - Hypnotize
[CODE]http://tinyurl.com/ry9u6
Spirogyra - Albums
[CODE]http://tinyurl.com/rufq7
Indie Metal
[CODE]http://tinyurl.com/qrx6e
Snow Patrol - Final Straw
Joe Satriani - Albums
[CODE]http://tinyurl.com/o5fzb
Coldplay - X&Y
Gorillaz - Demon Days
[CODE]http://tinyurl.com/qcdou