Jared Mees & The Grown Children

"I hate to say it, but these last few years have been hell/but patience/pays off/finally"

This song is prime earworm material, and a lot more upbeat than those lyrics make it sound. That opening line has been stuck in my head for a day running now, walking around whistling or humming it to myself. Jared Mees & The Grown Children are a Portland indie-pop group with 19 people listed as members, but 5 members is all of their pictures. They sort of fall into the genre that is popping up more and more these days, the acoustic indie-folk collective. They've got trumpet, glockenspiel, violin, banjo, keyboard, bass, guitar, great vocals, and lovely gang vocals on the chorus.

However, Jared Mees & the Grown Children have a much more pop sound than folk, unlike most of the bands who fit a similar mold instrumentation-wise. The same ideas that work so amazingly in the mellow folk setting for bands like Fanfarlo and the Freelance Whales plays out beautifully as a vehicle for catchy, up-beat pop music.

I have yet to fully explore their catalog, but everything I've heard is fantastic. They've got a full length called Caffeine, Alcohol, Sunshine, Money, released in '08, and from which this track is from. They've also got a 2007 called If You Want to Swim With the Sharks. As always, if you like what you're hearing, go buy it! (or if you're lucky enough to live in Portland, go to a show, they're playing 3 there this spring, check their Myspace.

The Tallest Building In Hell - Jared Mees & The Grown Children
Listen to more tracks on their Myspace.
Caffeine, Alcohol, Sunshine, Money on iTunes
...If You Want to Swim With the Sharks download or CD on CD Baby.

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