Pittsburgh’s 2 man, experimental pop band, 1,2,3 is seemingly as purposefully enigmatic as their name.
Given the simplicity of the name, you’d get the impression that they want to be taken at face value and aren’t overly concerned with folks thinking that they do things “by the numbers.” Which, they do, but not in a perfunctory or careless way but in a completely wonderful matter of fact way. These dudes are “by the numbers” in the way that at least once every live show, you’ll hear a band count off before launching into a challenging tune.
Fact is, on their new Frenchkiss record “New Heaven,” they attack each of their tracks (like “Scared But Not That Scared” or “Heat Lightin’“) with a deliberation and playful intensity that gives this writer the impression that they probably put on a really tight show.
With a pleasantly freaky lyrical delivery (imagine an aural parfait of Animal Collective‘s Avey Tare, a little Dylan, with a dash of Marc Bolan) and jangly bouncy pop-progressions that at times recall ELO, T.Rex, Future Islands, and even The Penguins’ “Earth Angel,” they are developing a sound that is unique and catchy while clearly coloring outside the lines.
This is glammy power pop with a decidedly noisy psychedelic twist that will have you playing your air instruments and turning to your imaginary bandmates and saying, “Ok…Ready? On 3…1,2,3…”