Artist to Watch: Fitz and the Tantrums

While listening to WXPN, the radio station out of the University of Pennsylvania, the other day, a song I hadn’t heard before started playing. The opening piano chords had this certain timbre that intrigued me. Then, when soulful horns, bass line and vocals kicked in, I was really drawn into the song. Finally, the male lead vocal took over the first verse and it sounded remarkably like a young Todd Rundgren…and that pretty much told me I needed to learn more about what I was hearing.

Well, it turned out the song playing was “MoneyGrabber” by Fitz and the Tantrums, a self-described “soul-influenced indie pop band” from Los Angeles that also draws inspiration from the classic Motown and Stax sounds. To me, there are definite traces of the blue-eyed soul sound of early Rundgren and Hall & Oates. I previewed the other tracks off their current CD, “Pickin’ Up the Pieces,” and decided it was music I needed to own.

I downloaded the MP3 version of the CD from Amazon.com and I’m loving every track. Viewers of ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” may recognize the song, “News 4 U,” which was apparently featured in a promo for the show’s seventh season.

Check out the video below of their performance of “MoneyGrabber” from “Last Call with Carson Daly” and/or visit http://www.fitzandthetantrums.com for more information about the band.

You may be interested to know that “Pickin’ Up the Pieces” is one of Amazon.com’s 100 $5 download specials for December 2010…so act fast to get a great deal on great music.

Fitz and the Tantrums – MoneyGrabber (Live from Last Call with Carson Daly)