The Best Albums In Dallas Music, 2008: Matthew And The Arrogant Sea Comes In Humble At No. 2

It's an oddball formula--invite all your relatives and friends to join you in a band, pretend you earned a six-figure record deal from a major, admit that you were lying about said deal, wait till the heat from that lie dies down and, when it finally does, finally release an album that shuts up any doubters--but, man, has it ever worked for Matthew and the Arrogant Sea...

On the band's formal full-length debut, Family Family Family Meets The Magic Christian, Mathew Gray has proven himself more than just some sort of zany Denton nutjob who can strum a few chords on an acoustic guitar. The songwriting here is damn near impeccable, both in its instrumentation and vocal harmonization.

Bonus mp3:

Matthew and The Arrogant Sea -- "Mock Oragami"

Matthew and The Arrogant Sea -- "Mock Oragami"

Yes, it sounds like the Beach Boys and Fleet Foxes and maybe a little My Morning Jacket, but it also sounds, well, uniquely Matthew and The Arrogant Sea. And You can audibly hear how much the band enjoys creating songs through this gorgeous record of dense, lush psychedelic folk landscapes--and, really, there isn't a bad track in the bunch.

And given how much shine Denton's received in '08, this record stands as important for other reasons, too: This is a young group of talented musicians, who are proudly representing Denton's folk-heavy past while also managing to infuse their sound with a heavy dose of progression, too; Consider Family Family Family Meets The Magic Christian the first hallmark record in the discography of Denton's next generation of greats, a record against which all future Denton folk records should be judged.

So, no, it's not too bad for a debut. Not bad at all. Great, in fact. --Pete Freedman