Kickoff Mini Tour in support of new album "Towns" out June 19th on Echelon Productions!
“... richly textured and consistently inventive.-- Washington Post
“...a bizarre group, altogether unconventional and jarring to the ears. But that’s exactly why they’re so interesting. If Animal Collective were remixed or Hood played up the quirk factor a little more, it would sound something like this.”—Treblezine.com
“...With an impressive indie warbling leading the guitar and electronic beats through their journeys, it is in the balance between the beats and more traditional music that Stamen & Pistils find their triumph...”-- Exclaim!
The second record from Stamen & Pistils is a diagonal step into new sonic terrain. On 2005’s End of The Sweet Parade, the band built a sound-scape that was largely reliant upon density for texture, with lyrical themes focused on the follies of youth, as well as passionate reactions to love and loss. But now, the band’s follow-up, Towns, sees them stripping that sonic and lyrical method down to the barest elements. The sound is refined, yet gritty, while maintaining a sparse, but textured, space throughout. Their expanded lineup now includes drummer/percussionist John Masters, whose contributions add to the organic presence in the music’s dialogue between man and machine.
At times, Towns approaches a dark, broken, Southern Gothic aesthetic, but without explicitly pursuing that specific sound. This is reflected more in the moods and lyrical content, albeit in a non-traditional form. This new sound is comprised of beat-up, vintage reedy wind instruments, keys, guitars, and vocals, all recorded and played through futuristic tools. The record time-travels through inhabited spaces — both actual and imagined — exploring an emotional relationship between the metropolis and the more private realms of rural expanses in a unique fashion.
Hailing from Washington D.C., Stamen & Pistils have built a sound atypical of what is commonly expected from this city. Acoustic based folk-pop, filled out with programmed beats and synths form a sort of controlled chaos. Influenced as much by the future as by anachronism, Stamen & Pistils aim to create something new and sincerely their own: a highly textured sonic pallet of fuzzy deconstructed pop. Towns features beautiful backing vocals by Carol Bui and Mikal Evans (Gypsy Eyes, Revival); additional production and mixdown by T.J. Lipple (Aloha); and mastered by Devin Ocampo (Mary Timony, Medications) for Silver Sonya Studios. Including members of Metropolitan, Person, and Radel Esca, the band has shared the stage with such notable acts as The Dirty Projectors, Telepathe, Asobi Seksu, The Blow, and more.
RIYL
Animal Collective, Neutral Milk Hotel, Smog, Karl Blau, Microphones, Why?
“Towns” Tracklisting:
1. Second Hand Valise
2. To That What We Might Belong
3. Quiet County
4. A Death in Ronkonkoma
5. An Elegy for Thee
6. Walk On
7. Hands Washing Water
8. Possessive Nouns
9. At Home Amongst Your
Stamen & Pistils LIVE!
May 22 2007 ISP w/ Deleted Scenes Atlanta, Georgia
May 23 2007 @ Bread & Bagel w/Deleted Scenes Bowling Green, Kentucky
May 24 2007 @ Lisa's Oak St. Lounge w/ Keenan Lawler and Pinatame Louisville, Kentucky
May 27 2007 Ronny's Bar w/The Armor Class and Prairie Primitives Chicago, Illinois
May 28 2007 HOUSE SHOW w/ Kyle Sowashes, Mirandasound, Joe Anderl, Lee Keller Columbus, Ohio
May 30 2007 Black Cat: CD Release Show w/ Carol Bui & Mikal Evans Washington, Washington DC
Jun 2 2007 The Khyber w/ A Study In Her, City State, and Inner System Party Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jun 3 2007 CakeShop - NYC w/ Mossyrock, A Study In Her and Brown Wing Overdrive New York, New York
Jun 9 2007 The Camel w/ Graceland Grave Robbers Richmond, Virginia
Jul 2 2007 DC9 - w/ A Sunny Day In Glasgow, My Teenage Stride and Fimfarum Washington, Washington
For more information, visit:
www.stamenandpistils.com
www.myspace.com/stamenandpistils
www.echelonproductions.com
