Aural Ambush: The Octopus Project

As you may have noticed, the last rebirth of Aural Ambush wasn't as long-lasting as we'd hoped. This summer we're giving it another go.If you're not familiar with the concept, it's pretty simple: We grab an mp3 from a group touring through our domain, equip ourselves with CD player, headphones,...

By Hollie Groos

July 15, 2010

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As you may have noticed, the last rebirth of Aural Ambush wasn't as long-lasting as we'd hoped. This summer we're giving it another go.

If you're not familiar with the concept, it's pretty simple: We grab an mp3 from a group touring through our domain, equip ourselves with CD player, headphones, and a friendly demeanor, and then head out on the town to get on-the-spot reactions from random folks willing to give the song a listen.

For the first installment of this new dynasty, we approached five unsuspecting shoppers at North Park Mall. None of them had ever previously heard of Austin's The Octopus Project, who play the Granada Theater with FUR and Florene tomorrow night, but it seems most of them had heard Death Cab for Cutie and/or The Postal Service--they were all quick to compare the track "Wet Gold" from the band's Golden Beds EP to a slew of Ben Gibbard ditties. Each participant admitted that what they were hearing was slightly, if not extremely, outside of their normal rotation but, on the whole, enjoyable.

If you also enjoyed it, you're in luck. Peek-A-Boo Records was nice enough to pass along "Wet Gold" as a free download for DC9 Readers. Grab it after the jump. And, if you'd like to hear more, the folks at the Granada have been kind enough to pass along three pairs to tickets to tomorrow night's show. Want one of the pairs? Be one of the first three people to email Pete right now with the words "An Octopus' Garden" in the subject line, and you're in. Good luck!

Update: Contest is over. Congrats to our winners!

Bonus mp3:

The Octopus Project -- "Wet Gold"

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