SONG OF THE DAY: "Long Nights" by Piebald

So, this is kind of an oddball band for me to post. I really don't know much about this band at all. Other than their undeniably infectious album We Are the Only Friends We Have, released in 2002, I've listened to one of their other albums a single time. I didn't even know this band existed until about a decade after their heyday. I randomly checked them out while looking for punk-ish bands that flew under my radar while I was busy listening to Mest and Wakefield in middle school, and I just happened to stumble upon them.

Piebald is what I imagine a punk band fronted by Ben Folds would sound like while playing powerpop songs. They mix piano and acoustic guitar in with their own brand of loud, silly, nerdy, bouncy, poppy rock that just makes you want to jump around and yell the words and annoy your neighbors. Apparently they used to play hardcore punk on their first few albums, but I just can't imagine that being worth listening to considering how well this style suits them.

This album is just loaded with hits, inasmuch as a band that no one's ever heard of can have hits. The first four tracks sound like the first four tracks of a legendary band's greatest hits album, and the rest of the album has incredible hooks, creative song structures, and goofy lyrics that make you want to play the album again right when it ends. Their preceding album, If It Weren't for Venetian Blinds, It Would Be Curtains for Us All, released in 1999, just didn't have the same magic present on Friends. The band really hit something special and incomparable on this album, and it deserves to be heard by more people. Give "Long Nights" a listen to find out why!