Did you ever find yourself listening to boy bands in the early 2000’s? Did you ever listen to Plus One? Did you ever enjoy the sweet melodies and harmonies that flowed from their lips? Were they so continuously played that you put yourself to sleep by singing their songs in your head? If you did (unlike myself), you should be able to recognize some of the same pleasant vocals from the band Castledoor. If you didn’t (like myself), I think you should still be able to appreciate the greatness of this not so well known indie band.

Made up of several members, Nate Cole and Gabe Combs are probably most well known for their time spent in the Christian Pop boy band, PlusOne. Though as of recent, Gabe Combs has decided to move on to new things, Castledoor isn’t going anywhere or at least most of the members still plan on sticking together. Nate, Liska, Joel and Brando still plan on making music together and a “Flashlight EP” should hopefully be releasing soon and are saying they feel the best is yet to come.

Close your eyes. Now image you are in a wonderful land of green fields where paper flowers sprout from the ground and illustrated creatures of kind fall from the sky bringing with them delightful treats like colored balloons and an assortment of lollipops. The sun literally wears a giant pair of sunglasses and can’t help but smile at the woodland creatures frolicking in the fields. The scene is eclectic, yet strangely relaxing. Ahead of you is a massive willow tree that also wears sunglasses and dances to the wind. Now picture a band is under the massive willow tree singing tunes that are sweet like honey to your ears. Now open your eyes. I bet you never even closed them. That’s just how Castledoor rolls. Their music can take you to another land even if you’re working hard at your nine to five job or trying to write that research paper that’s due tomorrow.

Castledoor is our artist spotlight for the month of May. This is exciting for me because it’s so unexpected. They kind of came out of nowhere with their high pitched vocals and unique music style. I don’t even know what genre of music to group them into. Genre classification or not, Castledoor has definitely been a favorite here around the station. If you listen to the radio then it’s very probably that you’ve heard the songs, “Dumpster Diving” and “Fifth Tambourine.” How could we not play such a unique and intriguing band?

A couple things about the band that are kind of interesting. In March they were awarded a nice little treat by The International Songwriting Competition (the top songwriting competition in the world) with “Fifth Tambourine” being the submitted song that also came in second place at the competition that was judged by artists and celebrities like tom waits, black francis, james mercer, timbaland, robert smith & the kings of leon. That’s pretty cool.

With all of that being said, and although they’ve been around for five years and have lost a couple members, I agree that “the best is yet to come.”

Seriously, check out their myspace or swing by their facebook to encourage them and thank them for being so awesome.

Here’s a little video treat for you as well.

Castledoor “Dumpster Diving” from Castledoor on Vimeo.