The Serenes

So beautifully....serene. The Serenes had a brief two-album career, but were enormously talented. I only discovered them a few weeks ago through the Jangle Pop Boutique blog, but am still in awe of the group's music. So....so, so, so, so amazingly good......just unbelievable. *(Shakes self out of dream state)* The Serenes have been compared to New Zealanders The Chills and the Hoboken-based Feelies, but the group is very, very unique in its own right. Please listen to Barefoot and Pregnant, the band's 1990 debut; it's nearly flawless. Dreamy...and...melodious... It's just as good, if not better than, The Chills' Submarine Bells. Seriously. Singles "Rebecca (You're Gonna Be Allright)" and "Abiding Place" are just the tip of the iceberg on this gorgeous record.

The Serenes released a second album called Back to Wonder, one that deserves plenty of praise, but is not quite as strong as the debut. Although the band ceased to be in 1994, another group called Simmer formed from the ashes to release one album, 1997's Mothertongue. Theo de Jong, lead vocalist for The Serenes, is a definite holdover, but I haven't been able to gather enough information to know whether or not other Serenes' band members made the transfer. Simmer definitely has a harder-sounding edge to its music, but many elements that made The Serenes so compelling are also present. Mothertongue is available digitally on iTunes and elsewhere and I wholeheartedly recommend that you give it a thorough listen.

The Occasion

Mysterious lyrics draped in quietly beautiful melodies comprise most of the songs written and performed by The Occasion. The band released two albums, one self-titled and the other Cannery Hours (pictured), before disbanding. To say that the music bears similarities to Pink Floyd in terms of its instrumentation is entirely accurate, although the uniqueness of The Occasion's sound is also difficult to deny. Beginners should try the group's most accessible songs, those being "A Dulcimer's Fancy" from the self-titled LP and "Register My Complaints" from Cannery Hours. Then again, I was hooked from the moment I heard "You May Know Me," and "All Over Idaho" is a treasure waiting to be unearthed.

Cannery Hours is, in my opinion, the most accomplished of the two records, but each one has its own strengths and both are well worth hearing. To hear the greatness that is The Occasion, head on over to the band's Myspace page or the ever-trusty Last.fm.