Up From Below

VINYL FORMAT. A lot of times you hear the word "buzz" being thrown about to describe the next big thing, and most of the time it is not warranted. Well, in the case of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, it certainly is. This 11-member band is led by Alex Ebert, formerly with Ima Robot. Their big, open-hearted anthems evoke a different (but perhaps no less turbulent) era when cynicism and irony didn't course through pop music like countermelodies, and the band's aesthetic, no matter how organic its evolution, screams throwback - right down to touring in a converted school bus with the band's name in script on the side and a driver named cornfed. Up From Below is full of frolicky, feel-good sing-alongs that dip into '60s psychedelia and '70s boho-rock jam abandon with joyful vocal textures and jangly instrumentalism.