I see you every time I open up my eyes

I know a lot of us tend to let music reviews that we read sway our opinions. You might not want to admit it, but if a magazine or blog that you respect tells you that a record by so and so is the best thing you'll ever hear, you'll probably be inclined to believe them. And if the same said magazine or blog tells you that the new record by another so and so is the biggest pile of cow manure ever made, then you'll probably be inclined to believe them about that as well. I'm definitely guilty of this.

So, I try to make an effort to listen to something first, make up my own mind, and then read what other people have to say about it. I don't want to decide that I hate something before I've even heard it, just because someone else didn't like it.

I heard Lansing-Dreiden's cd, The Incomplete Triangle (Kemado, 2004), long before I read any reviews about it. I really loved songs like I.C.U., Metal on a Gun, and Glass Corridor. Other people around me seemed to like it as well, and so it wasn't like I was the odd girl out, really digging some random record that sucked to everyone else.

However, recently, I came across Pitchfork's review of the cd. They gave it a 3.7. This is the first paragraph from the review.

Shrouded in put-on obscurity and not a little cocksure bravado, Lansing-Dreiden live by the totally unoriginal posit that image is everything. A collection of early-twenties college students transplanted from Miami to New York (where else), they've relied on the easily controlled written word to build a foppish, pseudo-intellectual house of cards that folds on even the slightest examination. Refusing to either play live or give face-to-face interviews, they pepper carefully constructed e-mails with oafish Aristotelian philosophy and that bold, naïve conviction exclusive to the young

If I had read that, and seen the rating they gave before hearing the cd, I'd definitely be discouraged from listening to any of their songs.

OK yeah, so it's a little annoying that they refuse to give face to face interviews, will not allow themselves to be photographed, and also refuse to tour. But I think their record is definitely way better than a 3.7. I think a lot of people who reviewed them negatively held their "image" in higher regards than their music. Their decision to stay "hidden" and keep out of the public eye probably distracts a lot of people from their music. Although, that's their choice, and to each his own I guess.

What I like about this band is when I first heard The Incomplete Triangle, so many of the songs were showcased different genres. In this record you've got 60s guitar rock, shoegaze, post-rock, and new wave. Yes these styles have been done before, but rarely does a band do all of them on the same album, and which makes Lansing-Dreiden unique.

If you're a fan of bands like The Stone Roses, My Blood Valentine, and The Clientele, you might dig these tracks from Lansing-Dreiden. And if you're a fan of Television, The Mamas and the Pappas, and New Order you also might dig these tracks. I really like I.C.U. because it's kind of a cross between Depeche Mode and New Order, but Glass Corridor is probably my favorite.

(from The Incomplete Triangle)

Lansing-Dreiden- I.C.U.
Lansing-Dreiden- Metal on a Gun
Lansing-Dreiden- Glass Corridor