Marble Sounds: Nice Is Good

    I've been sitting on this band, Marble Sounds, for a while, with their 2010 release, Nice Is Good, out on Belgian label, Zeal Records. They are a Belgian post-rock, indie pop group, though to the American ears I think they sound more like indie rock as I think the European idea of pop is very different than ours (lucky them!). If I'm wrong then I'll just choose to live within my delusion because it makes me feel better about the state of American pop music. I also think they're pretty emo, but just in the sense of their melancholic lyrics and atmosphere. A lot of their music is softer and acoustic, while other songs add keyboards (glockenspiel, or bells, and Rhodes piano--read more about that interesting instrument invention here) and other twinkling effects. Strings, flute, banjo and ukulele make an appearance too--all the above typical of a European style of pop music that I think hails mainly from the post-rock tradition that is so strong in Scandinavia and Iceland. They actually remind me a lot of Parachutes in some places.
    To my knowledge, the name of this their first full release was taken from a Jim Carey quote in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It has been years since I've seen that film, so I do not quite remember the context. Their debut four track EP was titled A Painting or a Spill (2007). They have also done some remixing and contributed a song, "Come Here", to a tribute/cover album of the music of Connecticut folk singer Kath Bloom, Loving Takes This Course (2009). "Come Here" actually appears on Nice Is Good as well. Most recently, a new track/single, I'm not sure what is all about, is on their MySpace too, "The Days We Care About", from 2011.
    Marble Sounds is led by Pieter van Dessel, who is also part of the band Plastic Operator. With Marble Sounds, he sings, plays guitar, banjo, ukulele, flute, and keyboard. Other members include: Frederik Bastiaensen (bass), Johan de Coster (drums), Gianni Marzo (guitar, resophonic guitar--another cool invention to check out here--and backing vocals) and Christophe Vande Woude (electronic piano, glockenspiel and backing vocals). The latter two are also involved in the group Isbells, which is a Belgian folk group based around the singing-songwriting of Gaëtan Vande Woude (I assume a relation to Christophe). The famous (though admittedly I have never heard of him) American singer-songwriter from Guided By Voices, Robert Pollard, and Tokyo musician, Miwako Shimizu, who performs under the band name Predawn, both make appearances on Nice Is Good.
    Nice Is Good is very melancholy and peaceful, as previously stated, the kind of music you just want to sit back and enjoy while sitting in a porch swing staring out over the beauty of nature. You can imagine the sounds of such a scene as you listen, the rustling of wind through the leaves and/or twilight crickets, it is evocative of such simplicity. Highlights include the hypnotic "The Time to Sleep"; "Two and Still Counting", which has a fuller instrumentation and is more upbeat; the short but sweet "A New Breeze"; and "Redesign, which has math rock tendencies and a lovely melody.
    So, read a good book, go for a run through a park with the album on your iPod, or cuddle up to someone special and just revel in listening. Check out a full stream of Nice Is Good and other albums on their MySpace, here. Or, on Zeal Records SoundCloud, here. I've also linked the ever too short but gorgeous song "A New Breeze" over under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks' for your enjoyment!