The Minor Leagues: North College Hill to be released 31st Jan. on Datawaslost...

North College Hill is the new album from The Minor Leagues, the latest in a string of releases from the Cincinnati seven-piece to pair stinging melancholy with insidiously catchy melodies. The Minor Leagues' last two records covered the end of a relationship and the end of the world in overblown concept-album fashion, and this new album continues the streak with ten songs of bittersweet rust-pop about North College Hill, lead singer Ben Walpole's crumbling Midwestern hometown. The band paints a baroque portrait of the neighborhood-as-history, detailing childhood memories in a faded palette of strings, bells, and guitar jangle.

The entire record delights in nostalgia, with Brill Building arrangements filtered through the drive and sing-along choruses of 90s Brit-pop, all set against a backdrop of lush instrumentation. Beginning as an attempt to capture a certain place, North College Hillbecomes more about holding on to lost time, with nods to 19th-century flu outbreaks, Nell Freudenberger, and Falco along the way. And while the band's past work has earned them comparisons to recent popsmiths like Belle & Sebastian and The New Pornographers, their charm, witty lyricism and ear for detail continue to set them apart from the rest.

North College Hill

1. City On A Hill
2. Ghost Maps
3. Smoke
4. Sister
5. Lucky Girls
6. Secret Codes
7. Please Don’t Throw My Love Away
8. Weekends Are The Worst
9. 1985 Forever
10. You Can’t Go Home

The Minor Leagues live:

Fri 02/17 @ Pete's Candy Store - Brooklyn, NY
Fri 02/24 @ MOTR Pub - Cincinnati, OH

http://minorleaguesmusic.com/
http://theminorleagues.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Minor-Leagues/106143698609
http://datawaslost.net/