Born and bred New Yorkers carrying the torch of the family business,
BAILEN are a trio of deeply musical siblings whose harmony-rich sound combines the warm '70s luster of
Fleetwood Mac and
Crosby, Stills & Nash with the earnest dynamic tone of contemporary indie folk. The progeny of professional classical musicians, fraternal twins David (drums) and Daniel (bass) and their younger sister Julia Bailen (guitar) comprise a band whose near-telepathic unity and innate musical instincts have been refined in one form or another since childhood. Being slightly older, the twins cycled through their own collection of adolescent bands together -- most notably gigging as
the Bailen Brothers -- before Julia's path intersected with her brothers and they coalesced in 2013 as
BAILEN. Hundreds of gigs, several international tours, and countless demos later, the band landed in Los Angeles in prime shape to record their debut album with producer
John Congleton. While each member takes their turn singing lead,
Thrilled to Be Here is the work of a single collaborative unit and its charms lie most prominently in its moments of togetherness. More often than not, entire verses are sung in effortless three-part harmony, marking standouts like "Something Tells Me" and "Going on a Feeling" with a vintage soft rock feel that is only reinforced by the trio's incredibly tight musicianship. Instrumentally, each player has chops to spare and is well-studied in classic rock and pop's songbook, which helps class things up when they occasionally veer too deeply into either indie folk mediocrity or talent contest showiness. As a whole, though, their songwriting is solid and
BAILEN's hard-earned precision and natural-born talents are applied to great effect on this engaging debut. ~ Timothy Monger