Homespun: The Pragmatic, Circles EP

In this week's paper, Christian Schaeffer reviews the Pragmatic's debut EP, Circles. He had this to say:

On its self-released Circles EP, it's hard to miss the influence of the Postal Service, the collaboration between Jimmy Tamborello and Ben Gibbard that opened many ears to the beauty of sculpted synth sounds and clicky drumbeats. The Pragmatic carry this torch mostly because of Karl Kling's nice-guy vocals, which are positively Gibbardian in their breathy inflection and sweet approach.

But the Pragmatic's three keyboardists aren't just versed in laptop pop. Buzzy, low-end synths and drum-machine cymbal crashes lend dark-wave electro menace to "Deathmatch," a song reminiscent of the Faint's early forays into synthesizer deviance, while a host of '70s and '80s sounds -- including airy string pads ("Circles"), brusque, squelchy bass lines ("Academy"), and video-game beeps and blips ("You Blame Me") -- influence other songs.

Read the rest here. Go listen to "Circles (Troupe Remix)" here, and download three Pragmatic MP3s here. Oh, and for good measure, you can snag the Circles EP also for free, right at that there website.