The Throne Of The Third Heaven Of The Nation's Millennium General Assembly

le loup's debut offers a collection of stunning, highly atmospheric, folk-pop songs smeared with avant-electronics plucked banjo's and melancholy sentiment. one of the years most heavily blogged / hyped bands, washington dc 7-piece le loup are the second signings to sub pop's new offshoot label hardly art, after arthur and yu. based on dante's 'inferno', 'the throne of the third heaven of the nations' millennium general assembly' was created by one man sam simkoff in his bedroom with a computer, banjo and battered microphone. simple melodies plucked on a banjo are buoyed by keyboard lines, improvised percussion, and sometimes as many as a dozen overlapping and intertwining vocal tracks, creating a complex and lush soundscape which shrouds itself only long enough to surge into hugeness. think early animal collective, sufjan stevens and dan deacon's glitchy free-noise. it's ramshackle, refreshing and emotive.