Rock/Pop - There's a sense of vast openness to the exceptionally well-crafted music of Stillwater, Oklahoma band Other Lives. Perhaps reflecting the midwest landscape of big sky and rolling plains, the songs from their self-titeld debut full length drift and flow with a natural, organic base - real instruments and unaffected vocals shining amidst gorgeous melodies and nuanced, lush orchestration. 

Formed five years ago and fronted by Jesse Tabish, Other Lives manages to effectively meld progressive and classical elements to larger-than-life pop masterpieces without the slightest hint of pretense. Songs such as the sweeping "Paper Cities" or achingly lovely "Speed Tape" are immersed in the haunting atmospherics that producer Joey Waronker (Beck, Lisa Germano) embellishes with a light but effective touch.

It's easy to point to retro pop and rock influences to Other Lives, with their unhurried, elegant features and classically based piano and string arrangements recalling the grander late period Beatles and the more stately side of Coldplay. But there is also a special unique quality quietly at work here that heralds a stunning work that is already, in our minds at least, an early contender for album of the year. Artful without artifice, Other Lives has a subtle magnificence. Highly recommended.

Myspace