I’d never heard of these guys until I saw them open for Calexico. They’re a band from Seattle featuring ex-Pretty Girls Make Graves members. That’s all I knew before the show.
I liked Pretty Girls Make Graves OK, but have never really spent any time on them. This is what they sound like:
This is what the Cave Singers sound like:
Way different. There’s a big trend in indie bands these days to play lo-fi, rootsy folk music. It’s been going on for years. I tend to really like it but it has been really overdone at this point. If someone had told me the Cave Singers were ex-Pretty Girls Make Graves doing folksy stuff I would have rolled my eyes. But the thing is, they do it really well.
Washboard and all.
Part of it is the guitarist is really good. And part of it is the singer. He has a really distinctive voice. Sometimes he reminds me of a male Stevie Nicks. Sometimes he reminds me of someone else that I can’t place and it’s been driving me crazy ever since the show.
Is it Lisa Gerard? The guy from the Prayer Boat? No. He sounds exactly like someone at certain points and I just can’t place it. Can you?
Anyway I was pretty impressed with these guys. Usually at a show like Calexico I just want the opening band to hurry up and be done, but I enjoyed these guys.
I don’t think I’ve ever done a separate post about an opening band.