The Submarines - Declare a New State!

The Submarines
Declare a New State!
Nettwerk Productions
Grade: A-

Quietly, softly, without much fanfare, the duo of Blake Hazard and Jake Dragonetti has offered one of the best electronic-infused indie pop albums of the year with Declare a New State. For those jonesing for more Jenny Lewis-Postal Service collaborations, Declare a New State has a new set of lovely travails to set you free. After a long time of working in other musical outfits in Boston and working each other, Hazard and Dragonetti relocated to LA to expand their reach. Not yet a band together, they were a couple that soon broke up out in the LA sun. Yet, as each worked on songs after the split, they found that all the songs were each other’s odes to their relationship and enough went down for Hazard and Dragonetti that they came back together. In fact, Declare a New State was mastered as a wedding gift to the duo. The end product is heart-wrenching lyrics mixed with joyful, hopeful moments in beautiful pop layers – no more obvious than “Vote.” Highlights that should be dominating college radio this coming fall include the opener “Peace and Hate,” the Caroline Lufkin-like “Clouds,” the bittersweet “Brighter Discontent,” the glorious “Modern Inventions,” and “The Good Night.” Basically, most of the songs are keepers. The Submarines are one of the few groups to legitimately get excited about.