Two Great San Francisco Bands

For some reason over the past two days, people have been randomly shoving CDs in my hands. Two of the recordings I received by San Francisco artists are wonderful which is why I need to tell you all about them.

The first is a self-titled album by Or, The Whale, a local folk rock band. A mixture of bittersweet ballads and careening torch-songs are melodic and catchy. The band uses a lot of banjo and mellow harmonies. Great stuff for a sunny afternoon drive through the countryside. Or, The Whale is about to embark on a west coast tour with stops in Oregon and Washington

The second is Obey Your Signal, the latest CD by Loop!Station, an electronic music-inspired voice and cello duo comprising of San Francisco musicians Robin Coomer (voice) and Sam Bass (cello). Many musicians are using loop pedals in ingenious ways these days to create polyphonic, multi-layered effects with barebones resources. Coomer and Bass approach their work in an eclectic way. Sometimes the sound is hard and punky with a Siouxie Sioux edge. Other times, it sounds like it's been inspired by Bach. The duo is playing at Cafe Du Nord in San Francisco this Sunday. Absolutely not to be missed.