Friday, January 21, 2011

Rachel Goodrich & The 305


So, I leave Miami in 1999 and move to Jacksonville. Part of that move was motivated by the burgeoning music scene up here in Jacksonville...and the lack there of in Miami. So what happens? Miami explodes with this music scene that was essentially the side effect of Virgin opening a Megastore in the city and Jacksonville slowly but surely dries up. Einstein's is closed, the number of good national acts passing through the city plummets and the city's indie scene suffers as a result. Such is my luck.

While Miami obviously has a serious love affair with electronic music, there is a rather nice size indie scene as well and the number of bands coming out of my hometown seems be increasing daily. Among the latest is Rachel Goodrich. Rachel is so far from anything you'd expect to hear coming out of Miami you'll think she's actually a New Yorker. With nary a Latin, electronic, hip hop, urban influence in sight, Rachel creates a left field version of what a singer songwriter should be and does a good job of it. In fact, she's so good at it if you were to look up the word quirky in the dictionary she'd be pictured along with the definition. Utilizing just about everything around her and using a voice that's so adorable you'll want to give it a hug, Rachel sings her heart out and woo's you in to this wonderful state of glee.

Her self-titled album is a really neat record who's eccentricities and odd sounds make it officially one of the coolest records to come out of Miami in ages. With an indie pop lilt and enough melody to make the the sun shine, Rachel's album is a whimsical fun record that shatters everything that's associated with the very idea of a singer songwriter. Cute, cuddly, odd, and brilliant Rachel Goodrich is one of the most original talents to emerge from Miami in the last decade. Her songs are as lovely as she is and she represents the 305 oh so well.

Download: Golden Phone (Micachu & The Shapes cover)
Download: Light Bulb EP (via Bandcamp)

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