The OaKs: Songs for Waiting

Unlike a good majority of the new generation of young college bands out there who put shameless self-promotion on MySpace and Facebook over all else to push their Modest Mouse-hawking wares, Florida’s The OaKs take a more old school approach in that they are actually a college band with something to say. And utilizing a veritable second-hand shop of musical instrumentation, they have a mighty quixotic way of saying it too. With a musical style reminiscent of Seven Swans-era Sufjan Stevens and Brightblack Morning Light with the mellower aspects of the Sea and Cake thrown in there for good measure, this mighty brainchild of roommates Ryan Costello and Matthew Antolick have compiled together a lucent, highly politicized collection of tunes that largely reflect upon Costello’s experiences during his two-year post-grad stay in post-9/11 Afghanistan. Add yourself one of the more visually arresting illustrated album covers in recent memory, and chalk up Songs For Waiting as an early contender for debut of the year.