THE LONGTAIL EP
Album Review
By Cicily Janus

Nouveau Riche touts itself as a diverse band that defies the current genre lines.  But in their EP, The Longtail, this band does more than challenge boundaries. Instead, they have managed to create the ultimate mood music. This band is clean, polished and yet still maintains the street edged core to their album. It’s almost as if your IPOD shuffled all the artists and put them into one band without changing their individual appeal or style.

Although you could listen to Nouveau Riche’s music with your Sunday Brunch, it still has the ability to liven up any sleepy soul with their turns of the beat

The band’s eclectic blend of hypnotic and often times enchanting lyricism and tight beats is enough to grab you and pull you into their spell. It is obvious this band is influenced by anyone and everyone. Tell me what you like. The Beatles? You got it…listen to their tune, "Had Enough," which reminds me of the trippy White Album.  You like Pink Floyd and the Pink Martini’s with your martini?  Then take their opening track, "Like Life Again," for a spin. You like all of these groups with a little Jay-Z thrown into the mix and you got their track, "Dig Into Me Sideways." Are Robert Plant and Corinne Bailey Rae more your speed? Then I recommend their track, "Wait A Minute." 

Flawlessly, Nouveau Riche moves from song to song. I found myself questioning where one tune stops and the other starts.  Strong and enduring beats are carried over from one track to another. But the true talent in this band is obvious from beginning to end.  The impeccable vocals flow from the talented and edgy Dice and Nikki Jean. As perfect compliments to this album of tight chords and relentless rhythm, Nikki’s the sugar; Dice--the salt. 

Nikki’s vocals are calming, even on the track, "The House is Burning Down," where the dissonance is combined with lyrics that leave my pulse quickened.  But I have to say that the song titled, "Just a Little Louder," is what sold me. Ideally, the tension starts with the unyielding bass and guitar lines from Khari and Dom a, and continues with a Middle Eastern and jazz influenced vocalizations. But it doesn’t stop there. The pressure continues to build with the increasing volume of the underlying bass theme until the mix stops dead and surprises you with a beautiful blend of a tasty and chorale-like ending.  Although you could listen to Nouveau Riche’s music with your Sunday Brunch, it still has the ability to liven up any sleepy soul with their turns of the beat.

Nouveau Riche’s The Longtail EP is far more likely to appeal to many generations instead of the typical 18-24 year old tightly knit club demographic and  I suspect that this is not the last thing we will hear from this Philly based group. Instead, this is only the beginning of a much needed style, sound and soul in the culture of this generation. This band has it together in a way that most can only hope to achieve in a lifetime of songwriting. 

Download: Everything, you can download the EP for free on their MySpace http://www.myspace.com/nouveauricheband.