As you may have noticed, Audio Muffin no longer has a beach theme. I guess the beach theme was just a filler before we could find something better, and so we have. I think the plan from now on is to update the design of the site once a month. So if you’d like to let us know what you think of the new look, drop us a comment on our about page. Now on to the music…

One of my favorite bands for a couple years now has been The Format. I first discovered them by hearing an acoustic EP of a selection of songs from their first album. It only took five songs to hook me and a year or so later they dropped their second cd, Dog Problems. Far from acoustic, this album unleashed a wide range of instruments in a pop style that was all their own. It seems very popular these days with indie music to feature many instruments, but The Format did it in a new way. It’s hard to explain without hearing the whole album, but just don’t expect Sufjan or Arcade Fire.

A cool story about this band, Papa Lenke and I were really into a song from the acoustic EP called Snails that began with the lyric, “Nico, take it slow…” And they included the same song on their Dog Problems album, but this time with full orchestration and a change in the first line to, “Nico, come back home…” Turns out the song is about a dog and in the time between records he had run away. And their lyrics are full of interesting things like this you’ll find on subsequent listens.

Earlier this year to kick off their tour the band put their whole album online to download for free. As the lead singer said in an email message to the fans, they are completely independent, so if they want to give their music away for free, they will. Although the window of time for that special release is over, you can find their album on iTunes and I guarantee it will blow your mind and put you in a good mood while its at it.

For the Muffin today, I’m going to post a cover song and a live acoustic version of a song off the Dog Problems album. For the later, take note when the singer says, “She stops, and she sings, do do do do do do do.”

The Format - Lottery Song

The Format - She Doesn’t Get It (acoustic live)

Buy this music on Amazon.com