Searching for Signal

Nicole

Searching for Signal dreams harder.

Details

With Summerside Project, Jono Foley, Bows & Arrows and The Hand Shake, 8 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at Fitzgerald's, 2706 White Oak, 713-862-3838 or www.fitzlive.com.

Related Content

• Scale the Summit
  January 26, 2012
• Co-Pilot
  February 2, 2012
• By the End of Tonight
  March 3, 2011
• Last Night: Arcade Fire At Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
  May 5, 2011
• Out Today: Steve Earle Is Alive, Bootsy's Aged Funk, And The Late Poly Styrene's Last Disc
  April 26, 2011

More About

• Matt Salois
• The Sea & Cake
• Explosions in the Sky

The four (very) young men who comprise Searching for Signal think of themselves as a melodic post-rock group. There is definitely a slightly dreamy aspect to their songs, complete with moody atmospherics akin to fellow Texans Explosions in the Sky. However, the only problem with their assertion is that they write pop songs — very good pop songs. Think of SfS as what might happen if the Great Machine churning out radio fodder threw off the shackles of mindless consumption while keeping the basic program of making widely appealing pop music. The band has an uncanny knack for crafting tunes that are instantly catchy without being disposable. While firmly rooted in classicist pop song-craft, SfS also has a jazzy side, with clean phrasing and 12-bar-ready chord changes. Add in the soft, breathy vocals of singer/guitarist Matt Salois, and the band seems to shift toward The Sea and Cake circa Oui. The subtle dynamics and occasional tempo shifts add flair and a bit of edge to what is otherwise almost perfectly well-rounded pop music — wouldn't you rather this be the music your children listen to?