Omaha, Nebraska ambient-rock outfit, Broken Spindles, is the the brainchild of Joel Petersen, the celebrated bass player of dance-rock band The Faint and former member of punk band Beep Beep. All of which had a happy home on Omaha’s Saddle Creek Records, until the recent creation of The Faint’s own label Blank.wav, which saw its first album release last year with The Faint’s own eighth full-length, ‘Fasciination’, and will be releasing Broken Spindles fifth record ‘Kiss/Kick’ on February 17th as its second release. This first track from the upcoming record to hit the ‘net is in heavy rotation at my house! Where the most recent Broken Spindles record, 2008’s self-released ‘Document Number One’ was a journey through sparse ethereal instrumental music, this new single is a return to a bit poppier music with vocals—reminding me most closely to the work of Death Cab’s Benjamin Gibbord and electronic producer Dntel with The Postal Service, due to the breathy emotive songwriting-driven lyrics over blippy-rock beats (or just slap the label “No Wave” on it). For Broken Spindles, all work is created and sung by Joel Petersen, and from the press blurb, “lyrically, the album explores human fragility, both in body and mind”.

Broken Spindles began in 2001 as a project to score a small film, but by 2002 was developed into Joel’s pet-project that continues to live. Broken Spindles biggest commercial success is nothing you’re likely to recognize, a extremely desolate piano piece on the higher register, titled ‘Song No Song’, from the 2004 LP, ‘Fulfilled/Complete’, which was used in a Lexus commercial. It won’t ring a bell so I’ll put this favorite off the same album in its place:

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MP3: Broken Spindles – Italian Wardrobe (2004)
[9mb | v0 vbr | 4:45 | 160 bpm]

Preorder Broken Spindles new album ‘Kiss/Kick’ on CD or mp3 download at Amazon.