Belle Ohio

Ashland and Sabina, Ohio are separated by about 135 miles of Interstate 71. Almost equidistant from Columbus, the two towns are both penturban communities whose musicians are producing surprisingly urbane sounds. If you are from Central Ohio and you want to form a band, there seems to be an unwritten rule that you use the word “Bel” somewhere in your name. Case in point, the Sabina-born Gran Bel Fisher and the Ashland-based Bel Auburn.

Gran Bel Fisher is the stage name of Jesse Andrew Littleton, taken from a childhood misinterpretation of his grandfather’s name (Granville Fisher Littleton). His debut album, Full Moon Cigarette, is a collection of lush, piano rock that will almost immediately bring Coldplay or Keane to mind. However, if you dig just a little deeper you’ll unearth nuggets of Jeff Buckley, and believe it or not, Jethro Tull. Record label told Jesse that Californy is the place he oughta stay, so he packed up his bags and moved to LA. His current tour with Corinne Bailey Rae manages to somehow steer clear of Ohio.

If you listen to Bel Auburn’s debut album, Cathedrals, immediately after listening to Full Moon Cigarette, you might start to wonder if it was perhaps an earlier Gran Bel Fisher recording as Coldplay and Radiohead seem to permeate the disc. But after listening to Bel Auburn’s second album, Lullabies in A & C (self-released August 14th), it’s easy to hear that the band has not only matured but also begun to craft their own ornate sound. On Lullabies in A & C it’s a sound that incorporates elements of Fear-era Toad the Wet Sprocket, Catherine Wheel, Buellton, The Southland, and Snow Patrol’s latest, Eyes Open. It’s as if Pinocchio willed himself to become a real boy instead of having a fairy turn him into one. Bel Auburn is a real band and Lullabies in A & C is clever, literate, and sometimes heart wrenching. This is music you want to listen to when you are getting ready to drive off a cliff after the girl you thought was “the one” broke up with you. It just might make your turn around.

• Listen to Gran Bel Fisher – Full Moon Cigarette
• Listen to Gran Bel Fisher – Dazey Day
• Listen to Bel Auburn – Good Night
• Listen to Bel Auburn – Blind Ward

Buy Gran Bel Fisher’s Full Moon Cigarette from Amazon.
Download Bel Auburn’s Lullabies in A & C from their site.