There are those CDs that you keep in your car because you know you won’t ever get sick of them. They’re the ones you choose to pop in because let’s face it – a lot of radio tunes are just watered down compositions that try too hard to become a hit. (Hence all the singers repeating a word a billion times so it’s more “singable.”) These CDs are the gems you keep in your glove compartment, in a visor pocket with other CDs, on top of your loose change, etc. They’re the ones you can turn to when you need some solid arrangements to tickle your ears and revitalize the brain again after you attempt to understand the dullness that is on the radio.

The Vanguard‘s EP, “Playtime,” has been one of these CDs that always save me when I’m stuck in LA traffic. Although only six tracks, there’s a whole lot of meaty guitar riffs, giant choruses, and intricate vocal harmonies to immediately satisfy musical cravings. I just recently ripped the EP into my computer so I could listen to it at work and at home and the songs still ring crisp and fresh as ever in my ears.

I selected them to be a part of BeatCraves’s Fav series earlier in the year because I was so impressed with their ability to sound so organic like a lot of the smaller bands here in Los Angeles sound. New York is a magical dream for all sorts of genres, but I personally felt that I was digging all the electronic-based acts out of the area more than any traditional yet enticing rock bands from there. The Vanguard was a great discovery and I’m hoping that they get to come out to LA and play a show sometime soon because there’s no doubt I would give them a glowing review.

Check their song ‘Slowdown” out below. Everything about the track is tremendous and whoever helped them on production did a fantastic job. Most indie bands are all about the lo-fi sound but it doesn’t always have to be that way. Low costs may be a factor into that recording style, but I feel like most are just falling into a trend. If the songs are good enough, the arrangement will carry itself. So why not let those great elements shine a bit more?

Mp3: The Vanguard – Slowdown