[youtube=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qsXxKawUos”]
This one’s all about misleading first impressions. The Cabs open up “二月の兵隊” with geometrically-precise guitar and drum, the sort of math rock you envision being plotted out on graph paper. The lead singer’s voice sails in shortly after, and the single becomes a touch sweeter as The Cab’s frontman sways between the webs. Sparkplugged (who posted this video first, thank you guys!) compared the vocals to that of Ben Gibbard, and I’d say they are onto something. The song, at least a few steps in, brings to mind the “Death And Dismemberment” tour Death Cab For Cutie and Dismemberment Plan embarked on long ago, though leaning more towards Mr. Deschanel than those D.C. heroes. Then something strange happens at the half-way mark – the once vanilla voice erupts into a brief, screeching howl that splinters the song (and, maybe this just reveals my embarrassing pre-high-school MTV habits, sounds like uhhhh Hawthorne Heights). “二月の兵隊” as a whole stutters accordingly, and the remainder of the song muscles out. Again, initial glances aren’t always right.