Playing over 250 shows a year with sets that sometimes last over two hours...the Clumsy Lovers deliver a great show. If you like the Pouges and/or the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack.... you gotta see this act.
"This is quite possibly the first album to reference traditional Irish tunes, Operation Desert Storm and Claire Danes (from her My So-Called Life period, no less), but such is the mashed-up, timeless way of the Clumsy Lovers. Around for 10 years and on their seventh album, the Vancouver quintet plays a rollicking hybrid of bluegrass, Celtic and rock that rolls along jollily even when they're singing about a smart kid who falls into addiction. You can tell that this is a band that just demands to be heard live, so that the banjo, mandolin and fiddle can finally be freed from the confines of the recording." - Harp
"Clumsy Lovers, best known for their live shows, had an original idea: For their major-label debut (after six indies) why not graft bassist Chris Jonat's "Lola-era Kinks by way of Elvis Costello" songs onto an Americana foundation? The hybridization works well, and the unplugged racket results in a surprisingly thick mix." - Paste
"Described as a 'raging bluegrass Celtic rock band,' The Clumsy Lovers spend so much time touring...that the appearance of the debut album is a small miracle... their use of banjo, mandolin, violin, and harmonica in combination with guitars, bass and drums has seen UK commentators compariong them favorably to the Pogues..." - Mojo
The Coathangers are quite the buzz in the Southeast, just finishing a tour with Black Lips... we expect to hear a lot from these girls soon.
"The Coathangers' debut is a swift, steel-capped kick in the teeth.” - Spin
“This Atlanta quartet is part of a proud heritage of Southern new wave like the B-52's and Pylon, with bat cave keyboards, rock lobster guitars, and tons of heart-feasting vocals.” - Pitchfork
"The Coathangers... …a joyously lobbed spitwad of sexy screeches and scratches." - The Onion
"The Coathangers... (create) simple, powerful punk-rock party anthems infused with giddy, girly energy that sways between juvenilia and avant-garde primitivism.” - Creative Loafing
Expect big things from this LA band... The Colour will remind you of acts like The Killers, The Strokes, VHS or Beta, Franz Fedinand, and the Stills.
The Comas have had quite a year; their new album, Conductor, has garnered a lot of attention and has been lauded by just about every industry rag worth its salt. Be sure and see them before they are really famous!
Conductor was named one of the "Best Records You Didn't Hear" for 2004 by Rolling Stone and one of the "Ten Best Albums you Didn't Hear" by Spin.
"Conductor is an accomplished pop/rock album that, while being more sonically akin to The Stills, shares Death Cab's sense of accessibility and emotional transparency." 8/10 - Pitchfork Media
"The Comas traffic in massive, dramatic choruses that recall both lo-fi popsters Superchunk and the Smashing Pumpkins." 4 stars - Blender
"With its underlying message and unconventional approach, Conductor is easily one of the headiest records of the year... There are so many layers to the disc - musically, lyrically, philosophically, visually - that it may take a while to unravel. But that first irresistible hook from any one of their songs - that you'll understand right away." - Splendid Reviews
"Conductor is the best breakup album of the year 2167. In 2004 however...these glittering guitar-pop songs toy w/ zero gravity melodies and big pyrotechic crescendos in a way that hints at an indie-rock Ziggy Stardust" one of the "20 best albums of 2004" - Magnet
The Constantines will resonate with fans of Gang of Four, The Afghan Whigs, Public Image Limited, Wire, Joy Division, Silkworm and Fugazi!
"Canada's Constantines channel the swaggering bravado of old school cock-rock through the no-bullshit ferocity and incision of eggheady guitar punk. Serious, nearly desperate at times, the Cons remain solidly in control, a tense, taut, sharp-edged machine of energy and ideas." - Trouser Press
"The Constantines... work the great miracle of rock 'n' roll: Kill it, then bring it back to life. This is important music." - Magnet
"Classic without being too traditional or contrived, (their latest album)Tournament of Hearts is the sound of the Constantines operating at the peak of their powers." 4 1/2 stars - All Music Guide
"The most remarkable thing about Tournament of Hearts is that technically, it is the Constantines' slowest, jazziest, most countrified release to date, but it doesn't give an inch of intensity when it's compared to their self-titled debut or the landmark Shine a Light." - Splendid Reviews
"Tournament of Hearts...is a great rock and roll record." - Drowned In Sound
8/10 - NME
"The world is certainly overdue proper acquaintance with The Constantines." 4 stars - Uncut
"The Constantines may be the best band since Archers Of Loaf to marry intelligence and brute force." - The Onion
"The Constellations have built up a decent head of steam in advance of their newly released debut album, Southern Gothic... (the band's) sound is hard to categorize, as it combines elements of hip-hop with an eclectic and hazy mix of trippy rock instrumentations... Southern Gothic establishes The Constellations’ unique sound. It will be interesting to see where they go from here." 7/10 - 411 Mania
"Listening to Southern Gothic takes you on a walk through the Atlanta streets and booze houses, after hours looking for trouble... The whole album is danceable, and if it feels like it spans a whole spectrum of genres, this is in staying true to the sound of the Atlanta night where Jones says hiphop fans, punks, and indie kids all end up partying together." - Music Vice
The Cops feature ex-members of Kinski and Hello From Waveland. Critics compare them to a number of legendary acts such as the Clash, the Buzzcocks, early Replacements and the Fall with a Kinks meets Elvis Costello influence. They just released their second full-length album, Free Electricity, as a follow up to their previous, and lauded Get Good or Stay Bad.
"On Free Electricity, the Cops' staccato stop-and-go six-string rhythms couple with abusive drumming to create a surprisingly danceable set... compares to Wire and Gang of Four 45s played at 33 1/3 RPM." - Spin
"The Cops are what Radio 4 should have become." - AV Club
"The Cops are the obvious progeny of the aught-decade garage rock movement, but they are distinguished by a unique tough-guy-artist attitude and muscular musical chops." - Alarm Press
"Free Electricity a rock-minded record that owes every bit of its existence to punk's founding fathers without getting stuck in the genre." 4/5 - Aversion
"Timeless punk rock riffs, playful, groovy bass lines and simple but effective and often surprising drums do more than evoke the classic danceable punk rock of decades past; they make for a damn solid record." - Splendid
"The Cops play throwback, '77 style punk with a certain pop sensibility... incredibly catchy, with a rhythm section that even in the whitest of white boys could find the groove in." - Treble
If you love Tindersticks, Gram Parsons, Sparklehorse, Wilco, Lambchop, or My Morning Jacket - you should check out The Court and Spark!!!
Evoking a melancholy sound of the past, yet sounding contemporary - The Court and Spark's album, Bless You, has received rave reviews from numerous critics.... Now they are touring in support of their newest release - Witch Season.
"Taylor's warm, fluid voice and the group's penchant for unhurried melodies and mellow paces bring to mind such indie acts as Souled American, Lambchop, and the Scud Mountain Boys- and, of course, country rock of the Burritos' Gilded Palace of Sin variety. In fact, if you check the credits, you'll discover onetime Byrd and Flying Burrito Brother Gene Parsons guests of three of the album's ten tracks." - No Depression
"The Court and Spark's second album is light years beyond so much of the sophomoric drivel that's produced in "the scene," lifting this San Francisco twang troupe out of yesterday's tired alt-country realm. They dig into the same soil as Americana-tinged bellwethers like Calexico, Joe Pernice, and the Red House Painters... They even managed to find Gene Parsons, once of the Byrds, who makes a guest appearance on the album" - San Francisco Bay Guardian
"The sophomore release from San Francisco's the Court & Spark is an exercise in laconic country-pop, impressive for both its sweeping breadth of sounds and swooning melodies." 4 stars - All Music Guide
Featuring ex-members of Winelord, Basement Apartments and Knockout Pills, The Creamys are purveyours of garage-rock bliss. Finally! A boy band with a girl drummer! Seriously, two of the cutest guys you ever saw lead up this new combo who've been compared to such lovelies as the Beatles, Mister Roger's Neighborhood Band and Holly Golightly (in reverse). It's good ol' fashioned dumb rock with cute and a Chinese buffet. Hits like: "I'm Sad", "Best Happy Hour In Town", and "I'm a Stupid" have instant fans as loyal as a scoop of Rocky Road. Perfect for the flesh-eating music fan with a sweet tooth.
The Cuts - imagine Television's Tom Verlaine singing Big Star tunes with The Stooges backing, or members of the Mooney Suzuki accompanying Jonathan Richmond covering The Who's Tommy! These guys are noted by many for their live performance and the music critics just love 'em - they're not to be missed!
"Listening to the Cuts' third album, From Here on Out, one hears flashes of the power pop genius of Big Star and the Scruffs, the glam rock swagger of Slade and Sweet, the hard rock punch of Cheap Trick and Mott the Hoople, a handful of forgotten soft rock visionaries produced by Curt Boettcher, and the proto-punk speed jive of early Blondie and the Mumps all bubbling in their gumbo of guitar, drums, and keyboards... (This)is a great album from a handful of music fans who have learned their lessons exceptionally well; if everyone understood the 1970s as well as these guys, the leisure suit might have been wiped from the collective consciousness by now." 4 stars - All Music Guide
"Here's yet another young band making exciting, near-inexplicable music. Their debut 2 Over Ten (Birdman) is like some never-released '70s KTEL-does Nuggets compilation: Andy Jordan yelps 'n' gulps like a less-angsted Richard Hell (or a less-precious Tom Verlaine), the high-melodic songs are stuffed with lavender keyboards and Raspberries harmonies and chiming guitars and shuffling, danceable up-beats. You know, lovely stuff that smokes 'n' boogies too, just like they used to make." - LA Weekly
"Oakland's Cuts seem to be hovering in a different world of rock'n'roll. With their laid back keyboard-driven melodies, jangling guitars, and Tom Verlaine vocals, the Cuts are a seamless mix of late-'70s NYC art rock and early-'60s AM pop (with a bit of the Who thrown in as well). The band layers different genres of music, amping psychedelic rock on one verse and tightening the jams the next, veering into a sonic richness lacking in many current rock acts." - East Bay Express
"The Cuts came off like the Darkness if they worshipped Steppenwolf instead of Queen..." - Spin
"The Cuts mix Television with power pop to ultra-cool effect..." 4 stars - Mojo
The Damnwells are one of the most talented up-and-coming rock bands performing today. They have garnered quite a following with their melodic, guitar-based sound, and none other than Cheap Trick took notice and invited the then-unsigned band out on tour. Now on the Rounder/Zoe label, The Damnwells have sinced shared the stage with The Fray, Los Lonely Boys, and the Old 97s to name a few. They are currently touring in support of their latest, Air Stereo.
"The Damnwells... featuring ex-Whiskeytown member Steven Terry, serves up earthy, straight-ahead rock'n'roll. Along with a wealth of warm tube amplifiers and Stones-inflected roots-rock riffs..." - Billboard
"The Damnwells... toe the line between roots rock and alternative pop a la Soul Asylum" 4 stars - All Music Guide
"The Damnwells brood in the no longer-imaginary place where Pete Yorn, the Goo Goo Dolls and drummer Steven Terry's old band, Whiskeytown, all hang out." - Rolling Stone
"Air Stereo (The Damnwells' latest) is the kind of album where your favorite track will likely change by the day, a sign of a consistently great album." - IGN
"Air Stereo... trancendently catchy pop... essential listening for everyone." - Harp
"If any band could build a bridge between the camps that love and hate country music, it is the Damnwells." - Pop Matters
The Damnwells will resonate with fans of Whiskeytown, The Jayhawks, Marah, The Replacements, Paul Westerberg, Guster, Pete Yorn, Ryan Adams and Josh Rouse.
Until recently, Dan Sheehan was known mostly to fans of the underground Northeast rock scene as "the guy from Banter," his cult-status alt-rock band from Boston, MA. In 2008 Sheehan is gaining a national name for himself with airplay on over 200 radio stations in North America and Europe supporting his latest project, The Dan Sheehan Conspiracy... Dan's show tonight is a solo, semi-acoustic performance.
"Dan Sheehan's subject matter will appeal to broad swath of the general public, and the music is first class. His voice is unique and memorable... The Dan Sheehan Conspiracy CD is something you'll want in your collection." - Wildy's World
The Daring Few... one of Tucson's newest indie acts! You'll be down if you are into bands like Franz Ferdinand, The Walkmen, Maximo Park, Hot Hot Heat and Interpol.
The Dead Tones: garage-rockabilly-psychobilly inspired by acts such as The Misfits, The Gories, The Mummies and The Sonics... Freakin' awesome!
"Over the past five years, this motley crew of Montrealers have combined and honed the epic dramatics of Suede, the doomed romanticism of the Smiths, and the momentous build-and-climax dynamics of Godspeed into one of the most intense and transcendent live spectacles around."- Skyscraper
"when (the) stylish Death of a Party began, they played as if it were Wembley Stadium, their clever '80s/goth/indie combination chock-full of juicy minor-chord progressions, but driving enough to make you miss the Clash." - LA Weekly
For fans of Bloc Party, Gang of Four, Dogs Die In Hot Cars, Hot Hot Heat and Franz Ferdinand.
"The Death Set... a two-piece raging punk band with a drum machine and samples, and I'll be damned if they don't blow away 95% of the more high-fidelity acts I've seen this year, in either rock or dance music." - Mad Decent
"The Death Set... sound like The Go! Team jacked up on Red Bull and meth." - Covert Curiosity
"The Death Set are a faster, poppier, punker and more straight forward Devo for 21st attention spans." - New York Night Train
"The Death Set... brandishing shout-along vocals and keybords that recall Le Tigre, this reckless... duo brings the party." - Paste
"The Death Set... kick-ass spazcore for lack of a better term. - Gimme Tinnitus
"Like Redd Kross rewired for a generation raised on cracked software and internet attenuated attention spans. Death Set's rattlin, tinny drum machines, ray-gun guitars and walkie talkie fidelity vocals are the reason moms everywhere restrict sugar intake." - Baltimore City Paper