I’m pretty excited to be writing about a great recent find, Chris Garneau. Along with many of you I have been waiting in absurd anticipation for the next Sufjan Stevens record (no, BQE does not really count). Lately, we’ve seen and heard bits and pieces from poor quality live recordings. Sufjan has been appearing frequently on the Hype Machine. But alas, are we really any closer to having that new album in our hands?

And that is where Garneau comes in. Driving back from volleyball a couple weekends ago (yeah, still summer in Los Angeles), I was listening to Chris Douridas on KCRW. He played a song, several part changes, quirky piano and strings, and a haunting silky singer.

From that single song I was not yet having thoughts that I had found something in the same veign as Sufjan, but I did know that I had to hear what else this artist had in store.

Turns out the song was Fireflies by Chris Garneau. The album was an early 2009 release, El Radio. It is his sophomore record, his debut was called Music For Tourists and came out in 2007. If you do happen to pick up this earlier album check out the song So Far which made a handful of my mixtapes around that time.

The latest album is incredibly mature compared to his earlier work. And by mature I mean, like Sufjan, each song is filled with amazing orchestra-esque musical accompaniment. And each song is just as beautiful and fulfilling as anything you’d find on a Sufjan record.

I would say the songs tend to be a bit slower, a bit more piano driven, than a Sufjan record - but only slightly. The lyrics are equally mystifying and the melodies will kick you in the face (in a soft playful way of course).

Sorry Chris to spend your entire article comparing you to Sufjan, but from my point of view I can’t think of a bigger compliment. For everyone else, while we wait for Sufjan to give us some more tunes, don’t bide your time listening to Lady Gaga - Chris Garneau will happily fill the void.

And as a side, for those of you that spend a lot of time on the internet you’ll know that a lot of the geeks are VERY into pirates.  They even have designated a “Talk like a pirate day“.  Most of us are aware that this is one of the lamest things to happen on the internet in recent years.  But a lot of geeks are totally oblivious to that fact.  And now when the geeks in your office get a little too rowdy with their pirate bullshit, you can slide your headphones on and play the song below to keep yourself sane.

Chris Garneau - Dirty Night Clowns

Chris Garneau - No More Pirates

You can buy Chris Garneau’s El Radio on iTunes!