New Song by Cullen Omori, "Cinnamon" (New Album Out)

Cullen Omori (photo via Sub Pop Records)

My new favorite song "Cinnamon" has a familiar sound - shiny pop melodies, a peppy beat and just enough of a laid back sensibility to call it indie. The tune is off the solo debut New Misery by Cullen Omori of Smith Westerns, a band formed with his brother Cameron back in their Chicago high school.  I eagerly picked Smith Westerns for my Spring 2011 New Music Playlist and Early Summer 2013 New Music Playlist before catching them at the 2013 ACL Music Festival.

Without the groupthink of being a band member, Cullen Omori wrote, played and oversaw all the parts played by Ryan Mattos (additional bass and keyboards), Loren Humphrey (drums) and James Richardson (guitar). It is the result of his musical growing pains of going at it alone (see the poignant moment where he takes a match to some old concert posters in the video.) Omori says the album's title reflects "not so much the distress that comes with failure, but the troubles and complexities that come with any type of success. No matter what you get you’re going to want more, you’re going to want something different. That’s the catch.”