Blind Pilot - We Are the Tide

First listen available for streaming. From NPR:

Blind Pilot's hooky, low-key pop isn't the stuff of groundbreaking, boundary-pressing experimentation, but the craftsmanship and consistency at its core should never be minimized, either. After emerging out of nowhere with 2008's self-released 3 Rounds and a Sound — that year's most solidly appealing record, if not its best outright — the Portland, Ore., band has toured with The Decemberists, been showcased on Morning Edition, and recorded a lovely, gently appealing follow-up called We Are the Tide.

Out Sept. 13, We Are the Tide blooms agreeably from start to finish. Though Blind Pilot locates extra energy on the live stage — the band's sound has tightened over time, as it's expanded from the duo of Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski to a large and fleshed-out sextet — the new record focuses more on lush, pretty concoctions like the album-opening "Half Moon." We Are the Tidebenefits enormously once Blind Pilot introduces a bit of thumping propulsion in the record's title track, but the softer material radiates warmth, too.

I'm listening to it now. Thoughts to come.