Full disclosure... I listened to this album on February 28th, but I did not get a chance to write about it because I got out of work late and had dinner drink plans that kept me away from the computer after midnight.

The band supposedly came together through Craigslist and this album was funded through kickstarter

I'll be setting the post to display an 11:59pm post... which will likely be a tell for future An Album A Day posts that don't get posted well before midnight.

Anyhoo... The Family Crest kinda took me by surprise. I was immediately drawn to the album because of the cover art and then began to hate myself for taking a liking to the music.

Which is a really shitty thing to say, but in my head I have this perverse idea of what "pop" or "big commercial" music sounds like. When I heard the opening track of this album: The Family Crest – Beneath the Brine

I was really surprised to hear the lush soundscape of strings and tightly crafted musicianship beneath the choruses of voices and soft vocal work of Liam McCormick. Its like hearing an amplified Andrew Bird song, with a very different pop sensibility and aim.

Again, I don't follow mainstream music enough... but feel inclined to say that this large sound is incorporated by other acts. Maybe it isn't and these guys simply have the goods...

I'm not exactly sure why I'm having a difficult time with accepting the fact that I enjoy this album so much. When I heard the song "The World", I felt like I had heard it before. In a commercial or perhaps in a movie trailer. Again... I've never heard this song anywhere but it's freakishly familiar.

Anyhoo, here are some of the standout tracks. This album is deserving of "Best New Music" tag.