Click to listen to our feature episode on Finest Dearest!

When we spoke with Finest Dearest last year over beers at Thee Parkside, we unwittingly caught the band at a significant turning point. While the group’s debut Pacemaker EP and energetic live performances had caught our attention with their sweet indie pop, the band was in the midst of significantly reinventing its sound following the departure of its cello player and the addition of AJ Dickerson on bass.

It’s been a pleasure watching the band evolve since then, ratcheting up the rock quotient in its sound while maintaining the strong melodic element from the earlier work. The excellent Off Sides 7″ was the first recorded example of the new sound, with the second their contribution to The Bay Bridged, Volume 1 compilation. Still, we’ve been waiting for Finest Dearest’s first full length album for a while now, and it’s great news that the band is now finishing up nine days in the studio working on the record.

To celebrate the completion of their studio time, Finest Dearest has a headlining performance this Thursday night at Cafe du Nord, alongside The New Up and The Dont’s. Swing on by the band’s MySpace page or web site to hear more tunes before the show.

The show starts at 8:30pm and is $8.