The Candeliers

The biggest knock against Milwaukee bands over the years is that there’s never been a “sound” that defines the city. That’s not really true for Riverwest, though, where a number of bands recently have established a kitchen-sink aesthetic, embracing eclectic instrumentation, eccentric (but undeniably pop) songcraft, and a sort of shaggy communalism directly influenced by the neighborhood’s counterculture roots. The new self-titled album from indie-pop band The Candeliers epitomizes the Riverwest sound, with squawking horns, swooping strings, and all sorts of miscellaneous hullabaloo crowding up around indelibly catchy songs like the fractured country number “Bittersweet Sounds.” 

Updated 05/20/2009