Before I ever listened to Five Foot Nine, their height-referenced name made me think of this scene from the classic Chevy Chase comedy, Fletch. Fletch is dreaming that he is the Los Angeles Lakers’ 6th Man.
Now 5′9″ - a far cry from 6′5″ (6′9″ with the afro) - is said to be the average height of adult human males. But I gotta tell ya, Chicago’s Five Foot Nine is hardly average.
On paper they sound kinda like that band you had in college - guy/girl vocals… handclaps… cellos (?!?) - but on their self-titled debut CD they are anything but. This group of veteran musicians combines elements of Wishing Like a Mountain and Thinking Like the Sea-era Poi Dog Pondering with Lulu-like Trip Shakespeare and dashes of Natalie Merchant and Neko Case thrown in to create enjoyable folk-driven pop.
- Listen to Back to the Tunnels
- Listen to I Was In Pictures
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