Brightest Young Things

Last time we checked in on local heroine Olivia Mancini (about a year and a half a go) her band was still called the Housemates, they had their first official record out and were about to embark on all sorts of national tourings. Well, "house" was dropped from the bands name and everything else stayed much the same: power pop chords, expert instrumentalism and endless optimism are still all accounted for. Olivia Mancini and the Mates host a cd release party for their new album You Can See Mountains From Here at the Black Cat on Saturday. Here is a preview:

Easy Way

Anecdotal evidence shows this to be the album’s “most relatable song.” Who knew there were so many underachievers in Washington? That’s Pablo Fiasco of Baltimore fame on piano, and, of course, our own Kristin Forbes keeping us in the pocket.

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No Shortcut

The song most often compared to the Washington Social Club sound. Should the members or fans of the Washington Social Club find this at all offensive? Discuss. The chorus, “There’s no shortcut but the miles,” came from both bands’ sagacious producer, Roger Greenawalt.

Turn On the Jets

Randy wrote this song and we’ll be playing it live for the first time ever on Saturday. This recording owes a lot to the production skills of this album’s producer, Brian McTear. Brian and I put the vocals together in the studio. Randy was supposed to come advise but, whoops, had a daughter instead. (Hi, Lorelei!) I love Ed’s guitar tone during the guitar duel at the end. It is so vicious, he sounds like he is being slain. Or slaying. Definitely slaying.

^{(photo for express by chris combs)}

Want more:
Socialize with Olivia and The Mates on myspace and check them out live at the Black Cat tomorrow