The music appears to float above the fray and combines with searching lyrics (not searching too hard, mind you) that assures us this band will never make eye contact.

We tend to spend some time putting post-it notes on CDs. It is a shorthand for when we get the question from a writer "what does it sound like?" On The Western States Motel the scrawl says "listened to a lot of the Shins & then got indier." This is somewhat apt, but it was more of a blissed out sound than the Shins have ever provided. The Western States Motel offers a very mellow sound that, while not pushing the listener into coma, certainly provides a pillow on which to sleep. The music appears to float above the fray and combines with searching lyrics (not searching too hard, mind you) that assures us this band will never make eye contact. It never seems to catch fire and while being somewhat fetching in its sound, is mostly devoid of personality.

This California band's self-released album appears to be picking up steam with appearances on the OC and KCRW. A mopey soundtrack for kids on MTV and in the high schools of America is born. | Jim Dunn

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