Album/Artist: Broom - Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Stars (Out of 10): 8.5
Favorite Tracks: Oregon Girl, House Fire, Pangea
Like ‘em? Why not try: The Decemberists, Death Cab For Cutie, The Shins, Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s, Voxtrot, Nada Surf 

      The new Shins? Hardly! This little known outfit from Springfield, Missouri are most definitely an up and coming Decemberists, and there are many similarities between the two “middle of nowhere” based bands. Come to think of it, SSLYBY would make the perfect opening act for their Oregon counterparts. SSLYBY’s “Anne Elephant” starts in similar fashion to the Decemberist’s “The Mariner’s Revenge Song”. At one point you almost expect SSLYBY to break out in the Decemberist’s barely known ballad. Another quality the two bands share is in their lead singer’s voice. Although Colin Meloy (Decembersists) and John Cardwell (SSLYBY) share little in the way of melodic similarities, both have a quite unique and unrefined quality that makes both bands stand out immediately.

      The unequivocal hit of this album has to be “Oregon Girl”. Already featured on FOX’s hit television show The OC, this ode to the quintessential girl from, well, Oregon will have this band as a household name with a little help from a dedicated street team. It’s catchy enough for your typical MTV listener/watcher to get into without too much effort as well. Another well-written and easily accessible track comes in the form of “House Fire”. This down-tempo look at why a house burns down is sure to get SSLYBY “in” with the emo crowd at worst. At best, it could and most definitely should be released as the band’s second single. To add to these two sure-fire hits there’s the cleverly written “Pangea”. Pangea is the term used to describe the earth when all its land mass was joined together as one continent before they all slowly drifted apart (hence why South America and Africa seem to fit together like puzzle pieces). Much like the continents, the song focuses on how two lovers drifted apart after always having “something” to fight about. Other solid tracks from their strong debut include “I Am Warm & Powerful” and “What We’ll Do” that are certainly worth a pair of once-overs at the very least. While the rest of the album takes some getting into, it is most certainly worth the measly $10 that SSLYBY’s Broom is on offer for. Oh yeah they’re a bargain and a pleasure to see live at between $5-$10 as well!