Secret Cities

Sometimes, music made in a rural place grows to fill the empty space around it. It’s an idea that’s manifested in the music of North Dakota’s Secret Cities. The band’s crystalline, lightly psychedelic music recalls the folksy whimsy of Sufjan Stevens filtered through the sunny, lo-fi romanticism of Real Estate. It’s a rich mix that’s both melancholic and uplifting, and it resonates sweetly with the solo work of local electro artist Alex Abnos (better known by his stage name of Tut Tut). The duo added Abnos to the band roster after the release of their 2005 album, Zurich, recorded by mailing 4-track tapes back and forth across the barren stretches of North Dakota. The band’s new album, Pink Graffiti, is due for release on Western Vinyl (the same label that recently plucked Here We Go Magic from obscurity) and makes a strong case for the band’s richly orchestrated electronic ballads.