POP MUSIC REVIEWS : Dreamy Pop From Colorado’s Samples

At the Palace Friday night, the Samples, a quartet from Boulder, Colo., played some of the dreamy pop that’s made them such a success--something they’ve managed without the backing of a big-time record company.

Except for a brief experience recording for a major label, this band, which has been at this since 1987, has made it through independent record releases and an endless touring schedule.

Led by singer-guitarist Sean Kelly, they were at their best on Friday when they were deep into the forlorn pop groove of their new “Autopilot” album. Behind them on stage was a movie screen showing endless clips from 1960s television, ‘90s newscasts and contemporary scenes of nature--a disjointed mix that somehow reflected the band’s uneasy balance of spacey folk and slow, edgy rock.

But there were problems near the end of the show. When the Samples abandoned the long, melancholy instrumental passages in favor of danceable crowd-pleasers--falling into easy-pop formulas--they quickly lost their sound’s distinctive flavor.