Listen: The Explorers Club
Have you heard about The Explorers Club? It might sound like a rewards membership at your local Outside World, but it happens to be South Carolina’s best feature since former NFL defensive lineman William “Refrigerator” Perry tore apart the nation. Forgot for a second that they sound (and look) nearly identical to The Beach Boys, and just enjoy what they have to offer: sweeping, nostalgic surf pop that’s neither
depressing nor too over anxious. Just what American teens need today, right?
Hailing from Charleston, the six member band started in 2005, encapsulating that 60’s sound which made Brian Wilson & Co. so popular and infamous. And while Wilson is still successfully writing music, its nice to hear some of that early pop finding surface again. With help from indie label, Dead Oceans, The Explorers Club’s focused sound is being realized by mainstream media, with soundtrack appearances on The O.C. and How I Met Your Mother. This year, the band released their first LP, Freedom Wind.
Just by taking a gander at the debut, it’s obvious that this band’s pop sensibilities extend further than the California sound, bookmarking bands like The Byrds or even E.L.O. While a song like “Hold Me Tight” might bear similarities to Mike Love vocally, other tracks like “Freedom Wind” might bring up the reigning presence of say, Paul McCartney? The best part of it all is that it’s downright catchy. Pop today tends to be so fabricated, synthetic, or overdone. All of that is excised in the band’s songwriting; for instance, “Do You Love Me?” manages to hit its mark in under half a minute. Shortly after, it’s a glide that drags us along with it, and one would be stupid to not oblige.
If Vampire Weekend can get away with the Paul Simon get up, then these boys are a shoe in for more future endeavors. Look forward to it, because if this debut is any indication of things to come, then we’re in for a long haul of glory music. Let’s just hope their key songwriter doesn’t grow a beard, flip out, and board himself up for twenty-five years.
Though, then they’d be really authentic.
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Er, Michael Jordan is not from South Carolina. He was born in NY and played college hoops in North Carolina.
Besides, I’ve played basketball with the EC, and you really shouldn’t mention them and Jordan in the same sentence.
Of course, his first album will probably suck, so there is that…
K
Thanks, tweaked it some. NC eh? I dunno what I was thinking.