I Heart Lung exists within a textural dimension between drone rock and free jazz.
"I Heart Lung have created a space where songs compose themselves (where) rock courts jazz in a precariously delicious harlequin drama." - Foxy Digitalis
"The Ian McFeron Band is rolling in from Seattle with roots-rock/folk-rock, a CD called Let It Ride and plans to run the tour bus on used french-fry oil. McFeron, like almost every singing songwriter with a bit of nasal twang, has been compared to Bob Dylan. He does sound a bit like a young Dylan and also writes excellent songs... folk and roots rock along with varied tempos, changing moods and, always, a steady groove." - San Antonio Express-News
"The Ian McFeron Band first came to public attention thanks to an AM radio station in their hometown of Seattle... which gave deserved airplay to the first single off their 2003 debut... knocking off such heavyweights as Modest Mouse and Ray LaMontagne on the station’s weekly new music competition... Let It Ride is the latest, and it lives up to the quality of the one that dominated local radio up in Seattle, bouncing from acoustic folk to alt-country to soulful ballads to even a few dance jams." - Ventura County Reporter
Bar-none... this is one of the most amazing acts you'll see this year. Ian has quite possibly one of the best voices in the industry right now. Trust us on this one... you will leave the show enlightened, exausted and in a state of awe. Ian Moore's set is what keeps music fans excited about live music! For fans of Jeff Buckley...
"A stellar songwriter blessed with an absolutely stunning voice" - The Stranger
"Moore croons one moment like Scott Walker and shrieks the next like Jeff Buckley against a neo-baroque backdrop of strings, trumpets, keyboards and Latin-flavored guitar." - No Depression
"Moore is a texturist, an artist who is never afraid to explore the more exotic colors on his musical palette." - Amplifier
"Moore's show is a layered, emotionally entrancing live set." - Pop Culture Press
"The burden of the contemporary singer/ songwriter is in formulating a sound that is completely unique. With (his latest) Luminaria, Ian Moore accomplishes just that...the record is filled with dark subtleties, recalling a time when the Beatles experimented with the moodier side of pop." - Billboard
"Ian Moore's sixth album - the first for the North Carolina indie Yep Roc...there's not a duff track on Luminaria, and the songs are so varied and interesting that this is Ian Moore's best album by some distance." 4 1/2 stars - All Music Guide
"Ice Palace's slower numbers have a literate dreaminess that recalls American Analogue Set or maybe the divine, departed Bedhead: textured, dense, yet articulate guitars; casual, almost conversational singing; and interesting rhythmic/tonal shifts...Definitely a band to watch." - The Village Voice
"Ice Palace... bipolar folk-rock hints at what Nirvana might have been if Kurt Cobain had had the chance to grow out of his angst and settle into his mid-thirties." - The Onion
Iceage Cobra... for fans of Queens of the Stoneage, Wolfmother, Mudhoney, Burning Brides and Fu Manchu!
"Iceage Cobra... shamelessly spastic blend of classic rock riffage, '70s soul, and dance-inducing backbeats." - The Stranger
"These guys are hyperactive rock machines." - Blue Moon
"Iceage Cobra has what it takes to incite a movement." - Nada Mucho
Still the same Red Elvises you know and love - with a slight change of name... Elvis lives in these Moscow-bred, LA based surf-abilies....they put on quite a show!
"They learned their English from The Beatles and Queen. They love Thai pop. They won the International Band Competition on Ed McMahon's Star Search. They blend good old rock'n'roll with ethnic music from Russia, and they're influenced by Chuck Berry and Fidel Castro. They are the Red Elvises, and they're coming to kick ass and boogie all night." - Nada Mucho
"The feisty, three-fourths Russian act delivers high-octane rock 'n' roll spiced with klezmer and country & western, all the while making full use of the stage with clowning and choreography. Oh, and audience participation is mandatory." - The Weekly Planet
"How do you describe a show that features four fellows dressed in red playing Eastern European-tinged surf and rockabilly? It's that simple. .... garage/surf/rockabilly troika." - Chart Attack
"The guys are ready to fill the high-heeled shoes of the Monkees, with their manic energy and easily identifiable personalities." - The Arizona Republic
If you like Hayden, My Morning Jacket and The Red House Painters - you should check out ill lit.
"Like a perfect meeting of the old and new, Ill Lit's second full-length, I Need You,combines the melancholy-drifter sound of Americana...with quiet touches of electronica...beautiful." - CMJ New Music Weekly
"countrified indie-rock of "Mid-City" to the stately prairie-at-dusk grace of "West", Ill Lit occupy a realm caught somewhere between past and present, where a cowboy is just as likely to pull a weathered Casiotone out of his rucksack as he is a harmonica." - Splendid Reviews
"a pop-perfect bit of alt-country, beset by a frail, ethereal synth whisper, like a ghost shooting through the farm, blowing up stalks of hay before finally crashing face-first into a wall" 7.0/10 - Pitchfork Media
There is a lot of industry buzz about this band Illinois... If you dig The Flaming Lips, Built To Spill, Beck and Stephen Malkmus, Illinois may just be down your alley!
"Illinois... layered vocals delivered through a telephone-cum-mic mingle with bright and pingy piano and funk-laden banjo on Illinois' EP, a debut that somehow boasts pepped-up soundscapes (that) reflects on nosebleeds and bad days." - Spin
"Illinois... a '70s rock sound...(with a) Phil Spector-ish aura. The swirling atmosphere gives way to gravitas and regal majesty... Sheer brilliance...that range from musing to angsty to melancholic, and this is one impressive set, turning the clock back to a dreamier, more introspective time via a panoply of styles." 4 stars - All Music Guide
"Illinois... make a hell of an introduction, musically...and with the talent displayed on this first EP, an equally stellar full-length can't be far behind." - Treble
Imaad Wasif, formerly of Lowercase, Alaska! and the New Folk Implosion, has also been hard at work for the last few years, globe trotting as the touring guitarist-extrodinaire for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This spring marks the release of his new album Strange Hexes, which he recorded with his band, Two Part Beast. Heavy-pysch-folk-rock with eastern modal influence, Wasif's darkly haunting lyrics and melodies create a diverse, yet epic sound that at times recalls the work of Neil Young & Crazy Horse, PJ Harvey, Jeff Buckley or Pink Floyd, and at others Led Zeppelin, The Mars Volta, The Constantines or Slint. Very impressive!
"With the release of Strange Hexes, Imaad Wasif and Two Part Beast have crafted an album that traces a vein from late '60s acid rock to '70s proto-metal. If you want a reference point, imagine Zeppelin or Sabbath covering Neil Young & Crazy Horse with Jeff Buckley on lead vocals" - Pop Matters
"Strange Hexes, catches a stray spark from that fire and rides it into the night sky... drift(ing) in and out of lonely psychedelia, chipper folk and brutally heavy stoner rock, often within the space of a few short measures. Wasif is ambitious, certainly, but unlike his previous solo effort, Strange Hexes has the means to realize his vision." - Paste
" Imaad Wasif has a brooding voice that compliments the hazy psychedelic rock of his backing band, Two Part Beast. His latest album, Strange Hexes, explores folk and Americana with drones and modern experimental effects." - NPR
"Equally inspired by lo-fi indie rockers such as Guided by Voices and psychedelic popsters such as Olivia Tremor Control and Apples in Stereo...the group has a knack for deconstructing melodies and bending notes to its will, making repeated listening fresh and rewarding. Their penchant for dark tones and autumnal lyrics distances themselves from the oft-compared Elephant Six collective and places them in the company of less ironic artists like the Lily's and the Shins." 4 stars - All Music Guide
"We Like It Wild (Impossible Shapes' newest): the album runs a similar course to The Shins' Chutes Too Narrow" 8/10 - Pitchfork Media
"The Impossible Shapes pull from the ferocity of the Violent Femms and the bouncy swagger of the Talking Heads." A- - Devil in the Woods
"Ingram Hill brings a long list of influences to their work — a list that ranges from Tonic, Cracker, Blues Traveler, and the Gin Blossoms to the Black Crowes (a frequent comparison), Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, the Rolling Stones, and John Cougar Mellencamp...Ingram Hill has one foot in roots rock and the other in alternative pop/rock — and on their first full-length album, June's Picture Show, the Memphis residents pull it off with good taste and sincerity. The bluesy, gritty earthiness of this material underscores the band's southern roots...a solid, well-crafted, and respectable effort from the Tennessee natives." - All Music Guide
Born from the kindling of myriad influences (Zeppelin and Floyd, Tortoise and Air), Innaway's ambient sound is delicately layered with guitar rock sensibilities. The result: songs both eerily relaxed and starkly dynamic...
Instant Slack is one of Tucson's newest experimental acts!
"The Olympia, WA lo-fi electronic trio IQU (pronounced ee-koo) consists of keyboardist Michiko Swiggs, bassist Aaron Hartman and guitarist/turntablist/theremin player. Though their music began as free-form improvisation incorporating analog synths, upright bass, guitar and dance beats, it progressed into more structured songs.... lo-fi electronica and punk; the duality of their sound found them sharing the bill with a wide array of acts, including Unwound, Sonic Youth, the Flaming Lips and Hovercraft." - All Music Guide
"Kento Oiwa and Michiko Swiggs (aka IQU) make luxurious ambient paintings but slash them up too, nicking the centers with vicious bursts of jarring noises to unsettle you when you are getting too comfy. This description makes IQU seem all ethereal and heady, but their live shows are a truly physical experience, with Kento thrashing between his musical toys like a deranged lunatic." - The Village Voice
After a well-received debut (Good Morning Beautiful) album and critically acclaimed follow-up EP (I Hope You're Feeling Better Now), the band Irving now realizes its full potential with Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers. With production and engineering help from Phil Ek (The Shins, Modest Mouse), as well as Aaron Espinoza (Earlimart) and Jim Fairchild (from Grandaddy), Irving corrals its many distinct influences into a hybrid of many different styles of indie pop. Think The Shins meets Pavement, Beulah meets Belle and Sebastian, or Earlimart and Grandaddy meet The Kinks.
"From the sounds of sunshiny '60s pop (Beach Boys, Beatles) to the modern bands that deconstruct it (Of Montreal, Neutral Milk Hotel), it's easy to imagine Irving emerging from the mid-'90s Elephant 6 scene." - Magnet
"Death in the Garden, Blood on the Flowers is a true alternative potpourri — quite refreshing in a day and age where more often than not, rock bands stick closely to a single style/approach." 3.5 stars - All Music Guide
"I Hope You're Feeling Better Now...a nice path of happy indie-pop." 90% - Filter
"Good Morning Beautiful is a stunning first album - a warm blanket of '60s-minded pop... remnants of the Beatles and the Zombies permeate...Irving holds it own by being astoundingly versatile... this act stands poised to challenge the Beachwood Sparks for the title of best neo-pychedelic band in the state." - SF Weekly
"Isaac Hayden has developed an informal yet compelling performance style his fans compare to Dave Matthews, John Mayer, Jack Johnson and Tracy Chapman... In February and March 2005 Isaac debuted songs from his album on MySpace.com with excellent response (over 30,000 plays in 3 months) from MySpace's 18 million listeners." - CD Baby
" It’s Alive's... (debut album) Human Resources certainly has its share of memorable melodies... Between the charismatic vocal delivery, big choruses, and a sleek audio mix Human Resources should appeal to fans of bands like Paramore and Linkin Park." 7/10 - Ultimate Guitar