TEXT VERSION:  ”If you saw the results of this year’s Grand Band Slam, you might’ve noticed that indie rockers Echo & Drake basically won everything. What’s more, if you looked them up online, you probably found that their recordings were a really neat combination of pop accessibility and crafty details. After their Friday gig at Hartford’s Arch Street Tavern, I can attest that the quartet can pull it off live as well.

Beautiful singing, cool drum fills, jangling guitar — the band creates music that draws upon the ‘80s without being enslaved by them. There’s urgency, there’s rocking out, there’s relaxed beauty, there are danceable grooves. If you like rock music, you can find something you’ll dig in their songs. The crowd at Arch Street certainly did, especially considering that the place was crushed with bodies. Echo & Drake brought in more fans than the higher-billed group the High Dials, who traveled all the way from Montreal for the gig. I was blown away by their song “No Manners,” which kicks off with a rapid-fire, cymbal-based groove, and then overlays a spacious, ringing guitar lick. The contrast between the busy beat and the relaxed guitar creates an awesome push-pull effect.

Echo & Drake don’t have any live shows scheduled because they’re currently recording their new material at Telefunken Studios. The new tunes are scheduled for a Winter 2010 release.”  ~Dan Barry