Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Ursa Major


Tim and Steve


Ursa Major is a band from Pennsylvania, mostly based in Pittsburgh. They've recently completed their new full-length, Great Big Light and are getting ready for a summer tour. Unlike Cuddlefish, Ursa Major is a real band. They're real people. They eat and sleep and shit. Sometimes they get drunk.

Their members are as follows:

Ben- guitar/vocals/piano/drums
Jimmy- banjo/vocals/guitar/occasional sax
Steve- guitar/vocals/mandolin/electric piano
Tim- bass, backing vocals
Kyle- drums



Jimmy and Kyle


Ursa Major's sound has evolved from their early days, when they were mostly acoustic folk, to a soul/folk/rock combo. They certainly have a 60's feel. Each of the three singers has their own unique style. Ben brings to the table a kind of psychedelic folk-pop, like Dr. Dog or Paul MacCartney. Jimmy writes the ballads, his songs are a sort of heartbroken baroque-folk. Steve is the soul man of the group, if Otis Redding was a white Jewish kid who also plays a mean guitar solo.

I've heard an advance copy of their forthcoming album, Great Big Light, recorded by Eli Wenger of Los Halos in Phoenixville, PA. It's only about 33 minutes long, but not a second is wasted. The record runs the gamut from Creedence/Stones-inspired chooglin' ("Free To Roam") to doo-wop/soul revival ("Cabin Fever") to lovesick folk ballads ("Fox and Mole"). The album's highlights include the aforementioned tracks, as well as "Radio", an intense rock n' roll rave-up that really shines live, and "Jimmy Swim", perhaps the best damn song on the whole album, a near-indescribable folk/rock masterpiece which wouldn't sound out of place on Let It Be or Songs From Big Pink.

Ursa Major is opening for Langhorne Slim on April 12 at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Tickets are $5, free with a CMU student ID. Look for their album, to be released tentatively in June, on iTunes.

Recommended If You Like: The Band, Flying Burrito Brothers, The Kinks, Loaded-era Velvet Underground


Ben





Photos by Ohad Cadji

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