The Seldon Plan
The Seldon Plan | |
|---|---|
 The Seldon Plan | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
| Genres | Indie rock, Indie pop |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Magnatune, The Beechfields Record Label, OTP Records, Modern Hymnal Recordings |
| Members | Michael Nestor Frank Corl |
| Past members | Dave Hirner Mike Landavere Bobby Landle Matthew Leffler Schulman Chris Ehrich Dawn Dineen |
The Seldon Plan is a post-rock pop[1][2] band from Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The group is primarily associated with the indie rock scene in the Northeast U.S.
While primarily playing indie rock that is reminiscent of The Weakerthans, The Feelies, Nada Surf and Camera Obscura, their sound has also been compared to and influenced by indie pop and emo.[2][3] .
The Seldon Plan was founded in 2002 by guitarist Bobby Landle and bassist Dave Hirner. Landle chose the name for the band as a reference to Isaac Asimov. In late 2003, Hirner and Landle met Michael Nestor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine via an ad placed on a local music website [4]. The earliest performances ot the band featured the use of a drum machine and occasional appearances with percussionist Austin Stahl, who provided drums for the first Seldon Plan demo. In 2003, the trio met percussionist Mike Landavere and Stahl continued work with Private Eleanor and The Beechfields Record Label, which released the first Seldon Plan EP.
The Seldon Plan started out by performing at non-traditional venues like art galleries and DIY spaces in Baltimore. Many of their early shows were part of the DIY renaissance that began in the Baltimore music scene in the early 2000's.[5] During these performances they gained notoriety by inviting artists, poets, and filmmakers to display their work concurrently with the music.[1][2]
Throughout 2005-2008, the core line-up of Hirner, Landavere, Landle, and Nestor took on a busy tour schedule and released two critically well-recived full-length records while supporting shows with Explosions in the Sky, The Stills, Now It's Overhead, The Octopus Project and Matt Pond PA. In 2008, the band was highlighted in the Music Alive! magazine along with Joan as Police Woman and Landle and Landavere left the original lineup. From 2009-2011, Hirner and Nestor included musicians from local Baltimore bands to help with recording and touring. In 2011, founding member Hirner left The Seldon Plan and Nestor, percussionist Frank Corl, and bassist Kresimir Tokic continued to record as The Seldon Plan. In 2014, Corl and Nestor formed the indie rock group Underlined Passages.
Releases
The Living Room EP was released in 2003 on The Beechfields Record Label. Although thought to be a well-produced demo, the CD was picked up by a number of college and internet radio stations and earned the band some local notoriety including a review in Allmusic.
In 2005, The Seldon Plan released their first full-length, Making Circles. Making Circles received a number of positive reviews in the United States and in Europe.[6] The record was featured on NPR, and was named a top 40 record of 2005 by the The Big Takeover. Songs from "Making Circles" were featured in a number of indie films, Current TV, some episodes of the lonelygirl15 series, a T&C Surf Design advertisement and used in some early iPhone applications. Originally released by Stahl's Baltimore-based label OTPRecords, Making Circles was re-released in 2006 by Magnatune.
In October 2007, The Seldon Plan released their second full-length The Collective Now on Magnatune. The Collective Now was named one of the "Best Baltimore albums of 2007" by The Baltimore Sun.[7] The Collective Now received national attention when it was used as an example in press reports about the loudness wars. Referencing the loudness of the Magnatune release of the record, Nestor was quoted saying, "we had to compromise our principles to get noticed."[7][8][9] In response to the loudness wars debate, the band released a quiter version of the record on The Beechfields Record Label in December, 2007.
The Seldon Plan's third full length, Lost and Found and Lost released in June, 2009, tackled the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and the subsequent election of President Barack Obama. Hirner and Nestor were joined by guitarist and vocalist Dawn Dineen and percussionist Matthew Leffler Schulman. Lost and Found and Lost was described as "catchy simple melodies awash with lush vocals, hip full guitars, and a hint of Flaming Lips" and "smart pop with no wasted space".[10] Lost and Found and Lost was highlighted as a "top 40" record by Jack Rabid at The Big Takeover. The album was described as Nestor's personal reaction to the economic recession of 2008.[11]
In 2011, The Seldon Plan released their fourth full length, titled Coalizione del Volere. Along with the core of Hirner and Nestor and Corl, the record featured guitarist Chris Ehrich. The record was described as a return to the more angular indie rock sound of Making Circles [citation needed]. The record tangentially deals with the theme of mass marketing in the digital age as described by Nestor, "I used to go to the record store and buy a tape, take it home and pop it in the cassette player and pull out the liner notes," Nestor says. "Then I'd go to school and find two or three people that liked the same band and they would be my best friend. Now it's like the whole school is your best friend. How is the listening experience special? I think that's why vinyl is making such a comeback, because you don't get mass marketing. You actually have to take the record out, put it on a record player and listen to it." Coalizione del Volere was released as The Seldon Plan's first vinyl LP. [12]
In 2013, Corl, Nestor, and Tokic released the That Time You Dreamed EP on Modern Hymnal Recordings. The Big Takeover highlighed the EP, noting, "Their brisk indie pop and angular post-rock has given way to languid, hazy dreampop/shoegaze..." [citation needed].
Discography
- The Living Room EP (2003), The Beechfields Record Label
- Making Circles (2005), OTP Records
- Live at the Creative Commons Salon (2006), Magnatune
- The 2007 Magnatune Records Sampler (2007), Magnatune
- The Collective Now (2007), Magnatune (re-released on The Beechfields Record Label)
- This City of Neighborhoods (Beechfields Compilation Record) (2008), The Beechfields Record Label
- Lost and Found and Lost (2009), The Beechfields Record Label, (re-released on Magnatune)
- Coalizione del Volere (2011), Magnatune (re-released on The Beechfields Record Label)
- That Time You Dreamed EP (2013), Modern Hymnal Recordings
References
- ^ a b Sam Sessa (2007-11-17). "The Seldon Plan". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2008-01-03. [dead link]
- ^ a b c "The Seldon Plan". Baltimore City Paper. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ David Malitz (2006-04-06). "Nightlife Agenda". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
- ^ McCabe, Bret (2004-05-19). "Playing With Themselves". The Baltimore City Paper. Archived from the original on 2009-08-09.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Seb Roberts (2005-07-20). "If Baltimore Isn't a "Music Town," Well, Why Not?". The Baltimore City Paper. Archived from the original on 2009-10-14. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Beechfields Record Label (2007-12-21). "Beechfields Record Label". The Beechfields Record Label. Archived from the original on 2008-06-08. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Sam Sessa (2007-12-21). "Midnight Sun". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2008-01-05. [dead link]
- ^ Chris Emery (2007-11-25). "Loudness out of control, to some ears". The Baltimore Sun.
In the music industry, it has produced a generation of recordings that lacks the subtlety of earlier releases. Some experts also fear that it contributes to long-term hearing loss. "This is horrible for the recording industry," said the Seldon Plan's Mike Nestor, who plays guitar for the up-and-coming indie rock group. "But we had to compromise our principles to get noticed."
- ^ Kathryn Masterson (2008-01-01). "Loudness war stirs quiet revolution". The Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2008-02-08. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
Ultimately, band members decided to release a second, quieter version of the album in addition to the louder one for fans looking for a more dynamic sound."We're so awash in a sea of loudness, we forget what records that don't sound like that sound like," Nestor said.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "The Seldon Plan". The Beechfields Record Label. 2009-05-05. Archived from the original on 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
Praised for its "catchy simple melodies awash with lush vocals, hip full guitars, and a hint of Flaming Lips" by artist/composer Mark Degli Antoni and dubbed "smart pop with no wasted space" by record producer Brian McTernan.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Sam Sessa (2009-04-05). "Artists use economic woes as outlet for creativity". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
As a result, The Seldon Plan's third record, Lost and Found and Lost, features songs based on the economy and President Barack Obama. The album's title is a reference to the ups and downs of the stock market, Nestor said. In Lost and Found and Lost's title track, Nestor looks at how the crumbling economy stunned the public: "We are lost at sea / With no sense of what went wrong."
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|dead-url=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "The Seldon Plan". The Baltimore Sun. 2011-01-18. Retrieved 2011-02-02.
I used to go to the record store and buy a tape, take it home and pop it in the cassette player and pull out the liner notes," Nestor says. "Then I'd go to school and find two or three people that liked the same band and they would be my best friend. Now it's like the whole school is your best friend. How is the listening experience special? I think that's why vinyl is making such a comeback, because you don't get mass marketing. You actually have to take the record out, put it on a record player and listen to it.