Comments (0) Best Indie Band - 2009
Gentleman Auction House
Of all the indie bands in St. Louis, none is as grandiose and weirdly charming as Gentleman Auction House. The six-member outfit led by Eric Enger creates rhythmically robust and unconventionally ecstatic pop music reminiscent of a more composed Architecture in Helsinki, complete with dual drum sets, xylophone, trumpet, prominent keyboards and a deep reserve of shouted boy-girl choruses. But despite the size of its sound, Gentleman Auction House manages to step from vibrant anthems to gently bustling ballads with limber precision. For this band, pop music is about more than feeling; it's about execution. The positive reception of its debut, Alphabet Graveyard, released last year on Columbia's Emergency Umbrella Records, catapulted the group to a number of high-profile Internet performances, including a Daytrotter Session and a Lounge Act for Web-only radio station WOXY. With the bandmates' level of talent, we can only imagine what they'll be capable of next.
