The Commonwealth - Not so Common

Start with Daniel Duncan. Add a bassist, Liz Adams. Connect the dots with members from the University of Louisville's music school. Sounds complex? Well that's what you should expect, and that's what you get. There is A LOT going on in Commonwealth's self titled album. I'm talking about layers and layers of instrumentation (specifically horns and strings) that oftentimes is backing sound or dabbled here and there on other albums, but is brought front and center to drive many of the songs on this one. Sounds that begin and end and begin again, leaving you to wonder, what's next?

The group experiments quite a bit over the course of the album, as one might expect with six band members contributing, and the feel of the sound changes accordingly. I'd love to say they remind me of so-and-so. Or if you like _____ you'll love The Commonwealth. But I can't. I've given you two tracks below for you to sample. The first, Stick With the Logs, will give you an idea of how the band plays with instrumentation to radically alter what a listener usually perceives as what's up front and what's in back supporting. The second, Mirror, is simply kitchy catchy fun. But to be honest, the only way to sample the album is to listen to the whole thing. Two songs just can't encompass what the Commonwealth accomplishes on it.


The Commonwealth - Stick With The Logs : The Commonwealth (self-titled)

The Commonwealth - Mirror : The Commonwealth (self-titled)

Buy a physical copy of the album from their MySpace page or a digital copy here.

Visit their website and become their friend on MySpace.