3 Rounds and a Sound

Blind Pilot | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 15, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Expunged Records
• ASIN: B001BTZO7S
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,023 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Review

It takes all of about 10 seconds of listening to this record to realize you are listening to something special, and about the same amount of time to be completely sucked into Blind Pilot's wistful, melancholic world of acoustic guitars, dulcimers, violins and the like. --Amplifier Magazine

Out of Portland comes a new duo playing music that is undeniably charming while rivaling some great bands from Neutral Milk Hotel to The Shins. Israel Nebeker's vocals, somewhere between Damien Rice and James Mercer, are tight, the music elegantly played and the lyrics thoughtful. --Delusions of Adequacy

An exemplary bit of minimalist melancholy...the album is a new favorite around here - working in the same areas as the Shins or Death Cab for Cutie, but with a more homespun, folk feel. --iTunes (Song of the Week 7/8/08)

Product Description

Blind Pilot sounds something like a wistful mix of The Shins with a bit of Iron & Wine folksiness. But these comparisons don't give a full representation of the unbelievable beauty of this album. Don't take our word for it. As Willamette Week immediately proclaimed: 'Every once in a while a band comes along that knocks me so flat on my ass that I wish I was in the PR business or an A&R guy instead of a critic, so I could throw myself wholeheartedly behind it. Blind Pilot [gave] me that sensation. Frontman Israel Nebeker sounds like a less theatric version of James Mercer: every bit as sincere and captivating, with vocal control and style to spare. And this band has songs coming out of its ears: deep, clever guitar-driven tunes fleshed out with soaring horn arrangements. Listening to and thinking about these songs has kept me awake at night lately.' It would be hard to imagine a better review, but 3 Rounds and a Sound is just that good.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars +1/2 -- Intriguing acoustic indie rock from Portland, Oregon February 15, 2009

By hyperbolium

Format:Audio CD

One of the foundations of sound mixing is that you can emphasize one sound by de-emphasizing others. Portland, Oregon's Blind Pilot is a good example of how this principle works on a band level. Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski started out as a duo whose songs, built mainly on guitar and drums, emphasized lyrics and vocal melodies by stripping away all the other distractions. Their first full-length CD adds a second string player and a bassist, but even as they absorb touches of vibraphone, violin and horns, the arrangements retain the fragile sparseness that serves to spotlight Nebeker's melodious voice.

Likening Nebeker to the Shins' James Mercer acknowledges the high edge in each singer's voice, but only skims the surface of their styles. Mercer is, at heart, a rock vocalist, while Nebeker sings with more carefully constructed style, doubling his vocals, singing harmonies, and caressing his lyrics with thoughtfully stretched words and sounds. Backed by low-key mostly acoustic backings, Nebeker sheds the theatrics required of a rock vocalist, settles into the coffeehouse volume of a folk singer, and draws listeners into his lyrics with agonizingly beautiful melodies.

Nebeker's songs are crafted around ear-catching phrases, but even as you sing along, the verses remain enigmatic. But instead of remaining impenetrable assemblages of poetics, Blind Pilot communicates their songs' emotions through Nebeker's vocal tone and the band's subtle instrumental support. The lyrical imagery may remain abstract, but the feelings of loneliness, remorse, fallibility, and mortality, the longing to reach out and the reality of sharply pulling back, all resonate deeply. 4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars my favorite album of the year October 3, 2008

By Zeke Camden

Format:Audio CD

"Three Rounds and a Sound" is surely the best album I've heard this year -- indeed, possibly the best album I've come across since my dearly beloved Rheostatics broke up. It's fabulously beautiful, deep and sad and lovely, and catchy all at the same time. The melancholy tone of youth at the moment when youth begins to fade. Songs that sound as if they have been patiently waiting for a millenium or more for someone to finally come along and give birth to them. "Oviedo," in particular, could save the life of a desperate man if played at just the right moment. What can I say to capture how good this disc is? If it were a girl I'd leave my wife for her. There. Enough said.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Saw them at SXSW in Austin, TX - been hooked since May 28, 2009

By houndinaustin

Format:Audio CD

Was browsing through the SXSW lineup looking for bands to check out - the write-up for Blind Pilot caught my attention - first with them being compared to Iron & Wine as well as The Shins and then the story of their clever "Blind" and "Pilot" cycle trip. Apart from this CD as well as their live performance being outstanding, you're also taken in by how earnest and understated their performance is. I'd also say their music reminds me a bit of Calexico - especially in their ability to judiciously meld together a neat collection of instruments to create a delicate, beautiful sound.