Our second artist for our new and up-coming month of music, we’re bringing you some local boys (if you’re from Southern California). This week we have the lovers of literature, the scintillating songsters that make you feel a load smarter just by listening to them, but without that feeling of shame when you don’t get a reference. Ladies and gentlemen, roll out the welcome mat for Eagle Rock’s own Princeton!
Formed in 2005 (though technically together for much longer for reasons revealed in just a moment) by Ben Usen and twins Matt and Jesse Kivel, Princeton took their name from the street in Santa Monica where they grew up rather than the university itself (though given the band’s choice of source material, it would be easy for one to assume the school). While the trio originally began playing music with each other in the late 90’s, 2005 marks the official formation when the three happened to meet up while schooling in London for the first time since they had first sauntered off to college. It was in London where Matt and Jesse also discovered their love for British literature and the Velvet Underground, two huge influences on Princeton’s sound.
Since their formation in 2005, the three have returned to California, settling in Eagle Rock and adding drummer David Kitz to their lineup. 2006 marked the band’s first EP, self-released and titled A Case of the Emperor’s Clothes. Princeton’s music, while certainly having the Velvet Underground influence, also seems to add a sound that brings you to something in between Sea Wolf, the Cure, Vampire Weekend, and the feeling of a Hawaiian sunset. The twins’ literary influence also shines through in their ability to paint vivid pictures, providing excellent imagery for their listeners.
As mentioned above, despite their intellectual and seemingly highbrow content, the band is anything but. Behind the instruments and the smart lyrics, you find some humble young men who are just as happy making music as they are shaking your hand and striking up a conversation. Perhaps this is just one of the many draws that Princeton offers? After all, if you just got schooled in theoretical physics by a stranger, wouldn’t you want to be able to fearlessly approach them and strike up a conversation? And perhaps it’s this quality that lands them gigs with other rising stars like Ra Ra Riot, Phoenix, aforementioned Vampire Weekend, and former Artist of the Week recipient What Made Milwaukee Famous.
Princeton released their debut album, Cocoon of Love, in 2009 just one year after having wowed listeners with their Bloombury EP, showcasing their songs devoted entirely to British authors, and are currently and gradually on their way to more. Every year sees the release of new songs giving listeners a taste of the goods to come and the steady maturation of a band that seemingly got their start at a mature state. Time can only tell what good things Princeton can do, and we can only hope that those good things are plenty. As usual, get your fix below and enjoy!
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