Kevin Bronson on March 5th, 2009

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If nothing else, Foreign Born has become very astute at biding its time.

The L.A. quartet arrived in ’05 with and EP and a single (“We Had Pleasure”) that should have put them on the map immediately. After they recorded their debut “In the Remote Woods,” the indie labels that should have come calling didn’t. They did a small pressing themselves before Dim Mak released it in 2007, but despite some plaudits “Woods” never got the ride it should have. Then last year, amid working on the follow-up “Person to Person,” Foreign Born signed to Secretly Canadian – a perfect fit for their music – except the new album’s release date isn’t until June.

Now it’s nearing time to put shoulda-woulda-coulda behind them. “We’re excited for it,” says singer-guitarist Matt Popieluch, who with bandmates Lewis Pesacov, Ariel Rechtshaid and Garrett Ray will unveil some of the new songs next week at the Echo. “We had some breakthroughs – it’s definitely the best record sonically we’ve ever made. We feel like we’ve fully realized the songs.”

• ||| Download” “Vacationing People”

Indeed. Indie-rock fans will be will be blessed if there are many better albums to come out of L.A. this year. Having already found a fan in Ed Droste from Grizzly Bear (who blogged about FB today), “Person to Person” is at once haunting and inviting, as if the Walkmen were fronting a chorus of luminaries from past decades of folk-rock. Foreign Born’s new music is inhabited by cries for help, shouts of hope and pleas for healing, all underpinned by rhythms so relentless and restless they seem connected to our turbulent times. And it’s not a stretch to think of this album as Foreign Born’s “Music From Big Pink.”

Part of it was recorded at New King Sound, “in a house in the hills near Mulholland,” Popieluch says. “It was very peaceful; there was a jacuzzi and a deck, and overall it helped us get a more organic feel than the last record. We were recording on an old ’70s tape machine – it was like pressing a magic button.”

Less linear than the anthemic rock that characterized their debut, “Person to Person” in some ways reflects the encroachment of the aesthetic from Fool’s Gold, the polyrhythm-oriented side project in which three-quarters of Foreign Born plays. “Fool’s Gold has pretty much taken over the palate,” Popieluch acknowledges. “We worked hard to combine a lot of percussive elements.” (So don’t be surprised at the Echo show if Foreign Born’s ranks swell to as many as eight.)

While the foursome remained busy in Fool’s Gold as well as other side projects, it’s easy to see how hungry they are to find the buzz that has eluded them so far. “It was great that Dim Mak put out the first album for us, but it was a wrong fit,” Popieluch says. “We didn’t get a good tour; that ball was dropped. We”  didn’t make a good video; that ball was dropped. The momentum fizzled badly.”

The deal with Secretly Canadian, though, buoyed their spirits. “Apparently, Secretly Canadian was always interested, but our music didn’t get through for some reason. Our new booking agent had friends there, and it was a really quick process after that,” Popieluch says. “Dim Mak heard our new demos and wanted to hear more. Secretly Canadian heard our new demos and wanted to sign us right away.”

||| Live: Foreign Born, supported by Sleepy Sun and Larkin Grimm, plays the Echo on Tuesday.

||| Live: Fool’s Gold performs at this week’s installment of First Fridays at the Natural History Museum.