I first heard the songs of bishop allen from dvd rental. the film was called Mutual Appreciation and was about an indie rocker moving from Boston to New York and trying to get some shows and continue living his apathetic lifestyle in a new town, sans band... Intrigued by the songs played in the movie, I investigated only to find that the lead character (played by Justin Rice, singer/songwriter of BA) had a band of his own that actually performed the songs, that being Bishop Allen.
They are nothing fancy, another indie-pop act. I am really drawn in by the simplicity of the songs, and how they interact nicely with more complex lyrics.
Charm school is from 2003, and the band spent 2007 recording a new EP for every month of the year. They have now released a full length available in 2008 made up of new songs and some of their better songs from the monthly eps. The new album has not left any of the poppy-ness behind, but has certainly improved on the recording quality and cohesiveness of the whole.
I am very happy with these guys. Also, having moved to the east coast now, I get a few of the references I would have never gotten before... mostly in the song Chinatown Bus. My outstanding favorites of the two albums, and all the eps are several. Quarter to Three, Click Click Click Click, (which has a pretty cool video actually...) and Things are what you make of them. For my dollar, these are the most pure of their simple pop songs. Catchy chorus, simple, easy to follow verses, just enough creativity in the lyrics to keep you interested in the words as well, and nice breaks, orchestrations and change-ups.
All in all I enjoy everything about these guys, their style, their sound, and their ambition to try and record and write so many songs.