Quick question: when you find yourself thinking about Animal Collective (which, we know, is often), what neighborhood springs to mind? Chances are good it's Brooklyn, not Baltimore -- and there's a reason for that. In the indie-rock hemisphere, Baltimore has earned a reputation as a great place to be from, but not necessarily a great place to be. The Animal kids met in Maryland before making the move to Brooklyn, as did Yeasayer. Spank Rock, who started in Baltimore, are now based out of Philadelphia.
If the flurry of recent musical output from Baltimore is any indication, though, the city is coming into its own -- and not just as a starter home. Jason Urick of local noise-rock group Wzt Hearts offers a little perspective on Baltimore's draws: "There's no real jealousy and bitterness, or not as much as bigger cities where people are more careerist with their music. Most people here play music because they love what they're doing."
Urick has a unique perspective on the Baltimore scene -- he lives and often plays at Floristree, a six-story artists' loft complex above a camping-supply store. Matt Papich, guitarist for Ecstatic Sunshine and a fellow Floristree resident, puts it this way: "Floristree, as far as I can tell, is the most professionally run DIY live-in public show space in the United States... Here is the main thing. On the stage side of the house, everyone refuses to live anything less than an absolutely extraordinary life. We eat the finest foods at the most beautiful times of days (dusk, dawn). No meal will be served without a bouquet on the table and lit candles. This includes breakfast."
Maybe it's spaces like Floristree that make Baltimore so amenable to hometown acts. Charm City Art Space plays a similar role for the punk and hardcore bands in town, and while the Wham City collective no longer has a designated space, Dan Deacon's brainchild is still a presence throughout the city. We've collected some of our favorite Baltimore indie acts -- and get used to referring to them that way, because they're not moving to Brooklyn anytime soon.
Beach House
The lo-fi songs of Baltimore duo Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand are ethereal and spare, a far cry from the maximalism practiced by so many of the band's Baltimore neighbors. Their beats are long and leave plenty of room for Legrand to fill with her sweet, sometimes husky voice (she's often compared to Nico). And if the songs are often melancholy, at least they haven't lost their sense of humor. Consider the opening lines of "Master of None," from the band's 2006 self-titled album: "You always come to parties / To pluck the feathers off all the birds." As its title implies, this year's Devotion is a commitment-heavy song cycle; it opens with a track called "Wedding Bell" and closes with "Home Again," stopping off along the way to remind us that "Some Things Last a Long Time." Beach House requires commitment from the listener, too -- Scally and Legrand's music has nuances you just don't pick up on the first time around.
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