Incan Abraham - Tolerance
Incan Abraham – Tolerance

Incan Abraham’s new album Tolerance comes out today on White Iris Records.  It’s a nice slice of indie pop, ranging from the kind of dreamy, drifting kind of sound, mingling of synthesizers and traditional instruments seamlessly.  Especially in the percussion, there’s a bit of the world music influence you can hear in bands like Vampire Weekend — but without the really weird production on the Vampire Weekend stuff that makes it sound like it was recorded in a warehouse.  Seriously, what’s with that?

To think of Incan Abraham as a properly-recorded Vampire Weekend, though, discounts a lot of their sound.  The lead single, “Concorde” is bouncy and anthemic, and poppy is the exact best way.  “Concorde” is single-y in the way that all singles should be.  The harmonies are just about perfect, and the way the song drifts through hook after hook is an example of excellent songcraft on every level; writing, performance, production.  Likewise, “Tram” sounds like a contender for a followup single, with its jangling, echo-delayed guitars.

Some of the songs, like “Spring House” in particular, could be Thomas Dolby outtakes from, say, The Flat Earth or A Map of the Floating City.  Like on those albums, it’s a blending of wonderful sounds in service of a lovely melody.  “Spring House” could be the flip side to a “Mulu, The Rain Forest” single.  Speaking of Dolby, the vocal delivery on “Forgiveness” sound like they might have a little bit of influence from him.

Tolerance is an outstanding album — if you like good indie pop songs, you’ll definitely dig it.  I’m always glad to spotlight good music, and Incan Abraham fit that description.  Check it out.

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