The past couple weeks have left me unexcited about the new music dropping. However, this week, a new single from The Family Crest came across my radar - It Keeps Us Dancing. And I was immediately hooked.
So let’s just talk about them for a bit.
The Family Crest refers to themselves as an “orchestral indie rock” band and I’d say that’s pretty fitting given the majority are classically trained musicians.
I’m going to pull from their website to describe what they are all about:
The brainchild of McCormick, The Family Crest was started as a recording project in 2009 with co-founder John Seeterlin (bass). “We were in another band and had become disillusioned,” explains McCormick. “John and I were actually planning on leaving music at that point because we wanted something that in ten years we could be proud of.”
Instead of leaving music, they set out to reinvent how it could be created, starting The Family Crest. “We always liked making music with people — getting a bunch of people together and singing. So we put ads everywhere,” says McCormick. “We posted on Craigslist and emailed old friends from school.” The outcome was greater than the original duo imagined, with 80 people credited on the first recording the band produced. From that a band emerged, at the urging of the guest musicians, who wanted to hear the songs performed live. “We’ve worked with a lot of conservatory students as well as people who just sing in the shower,” McCormick adds. “It became a lot about giving these people a chance to express themselves without being locked into a commitment.”
The result is a seven-piece core band boasting over 400 “Extended Family” members who have contributed to the music. The Family Crest released its album Beneath the Brine in February 2014 and, just with its previous recordings, the San Francisco band set out to capture a plethora of instruments — including bassoon, vibraphone and French horn — in unique places, such as living rooms, churches and cafes across the West Coast.
They are currently on tour with The Deer Hunter, which seems a fitting combo. Their new album will drop on February 23. It’s been since 2014 since their last full release.
Here’s their Spotify link:
Here’s their Tiny Desk Concert:
And, here’s the latest #singlesmixtape which has their new single included:
