Infinite Shuffle

“If ‘Jurassic Park’ had a house band, it would sound like Snowmine.”

That was the amusing — if rather misguided — description given by a blogger at Pop Wreckoning after seeing the band Snowmine in person early last year.

Admittedly, said show came a few months before the release of the Brooklyn five-piece’s debut album, Laminate Pet Animal, and its sound was still probably a little rough. But I can’t imagine hearing this band live and thinking it was best suited for some prehistoric jungle abomination. Sure, the first song they played, “Danger in the Snow!”, opens with some ground-rumbling effects and is filled with tribal beats, but other than that, the band is a pretty laid-back indie-pop outfit.

The above song is actually a non-album single — and possibly the best track the band has produced to date. It has a little bit of a Death Cab For Cutie feel to it.

On the actual album, the band bounces between catchy indie-pop and the occasional psych-pop ditty. The latter can be found on such tracks as “The Hill”, “Piece of Your Pie” and “This One”.

Led by new-classical composer and vocalist Grayson Sanders, Snowmine are really at their best when they’re exuding a more bubbly sound. In addition to Death Cab, there are hints of many other popular indie bands, such as Fleet Foxes, My Morning Jacket and The Walkmen, just to name a few.

The second track on Laminate Pet Animal, “Penny”, opens with a guitar riff that sounds like it came straight out of early ’80s Manchester, but then it quickly transitions into a more standard indie-pop song.

Other solid tracks on the album include “Beast in Air, Beast in Water”, “Let Me In” and “Hologram”.

Since playing at SXSW in March, the band has released a new single, “Saucer Eyes”. With any luck, it’ll continue to churn out an eclectic mix of sounds and maybe even release another album sometime next year.

In the meantime, here’s another video to tide you over.