Waxing Poetics were based in Virginia, around Norfolk and Richmond, but they also had strong ties to Chapel Hill. Their sound, especially on Hermitage, was fairly unique. You could hear some of the Athens sound in their music (R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills was actually one of the producers on this record, along with North Carolina legend Mitch Easter), but Waxing Poetics were more pop-oriented without being derivative, occasionally sounding like the Connells, the Pressure Boys, and other local favorites from the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. Their later albums didn't capitalize on the promise shown in Hermitage (they instead went for a darker, bluesier sound), but this record remains a classic of its time for those lucky enough to hear it. Five years later, Chapel Hill was inundated with a slew of bands trying to pick up where Hermitage left off, but none of them did it anywhere near as well as the Waxing Poetics, who by that time had released two other albums and all but vanished from the music scene.
Download : Waxing Poetics - Hermitage
