Idolator

Welcome to another edition of Track Marks, in which your Idolators perform an autopsy on the latest band burning up the MP3-blogger charts.

Artist: The Morning Benders
Hometown: Bay Area
Album: Boarded Doors
First blog mention: An April 2006 shoutout from My Old Kentucky Blog.
The Build-Up: The Morning Benders' sun-kissed music proved to be an ideal match for I Guess I'm Floating and Shake Your Fist, both of which posted MP3s from the band last summer.
The Dam-Break: The Indie Surfer Blog opened the door with a mention of Boarded Doors on Feb. 21, and that opened the floodgates, with blogs from stereogum to berkeleyplace to Said The Gramophone quickly following suit. Since then, they've garnered even more mentions, including shout-outs from HearYa and the fine Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Sitting Here Listening To This Recording
Odds of Backlash: 5-1. They've built up a nice blog following over the past year, and their laid-back melodies are nigh-impossible to resist.
Are They Worthy?: Not only is "Damnit Anna" a sweet, breezy indiepop track with a slight country twang, the Morning Benders' Web site goes out of its way to individually thank the MP3 blogs that brought it to this very page. And if nothing else, their combination of manners and hummability together goes a long way in our book.

The Morning Benders - Grain Of Salt [MP3, link expired]
The Morning Benders - Damnit Anna [MP3, link expired]
The Morning Benders [Official site]