Eagle*Seagull, Cake Bake Betty, The Modern Temper, Stiletto Attack! May 5, 2007

THE LINEUP:

EAGLE*SEAGULL (Lincoln, Nebraska)
www.eagleseagull.com | myspace
"Headed by Eli Mardock, Eagle*Seagull comes across like a composite of numerous indie sounds – perhaps most directly a unique mixture of the cache of Sub Pop's Canadian bands ( e.g, Wolf Parade, Constantines) and Saddle Creek's more chilled outfits. Yet, no band on either of those labels has much on ES. It is fairly amazing that more hasn't been heard about this phenomenal act for Lincoln. That should all change quite soon." -Exoduster

"I've already proclaimed that these swinging Lincolnites as being Nebraska's version of red-hot Canadian "It" band The Arcade Fire. Why? Could be because Eli Mardock's breathy moan resembles AF's Win Butler's, or that both bands have a penchant for jaunty non-traditional arrangements on a grand scale ("Your Beauty is a Knife I Turn on My Throat" sounds like it came straight off Funeral). Still, the comparison ain't fair. Too often E*S's debut veers headily away from AF's Bowie worship, especially on tracks like the momentous "Lock and Key," with its late-song waltz that creates a majesty uniquely its own. Ambitious, and good too." - Omaha Reader


CAKE BAKE BETTY (Chicago via Nashville)
Cake Bake Betty myspace
You'd have to get up pretty early in the morning to find an album of more alluring songs based around unusual themes than "Songs About Teeth". The musical vehicle of multi-instrumental New Jersey songwriter Lindsay Powell, Cake Bake Betty's album is an exercise in both the beautiful and the bizarre. Inspired predominantly by old mariner songs, folk classics and blues standards amongst many other influences, the tracks have an off-kilter appeal and energy which most artists would struggle to replicate. As promised in the title, the record does indeed contain songs about teeth, as well as tackling issues of cannibalism, robots and pirates and comes from the lyrical left-field in a unique and sometimes disturbing way. The songs themselves are fragile, ethereal piano-led ballads and the record also utilises mournful strings and electronic flourishes, transporting the listener to strange new worlds with a lullaby-esque appeal. - Supersweet UK


THE MODERN TEMPER (Chicago, IL)
www.themoderntemper.com | myspace
"Here's a good example of a band -- in this case, Chicago's Modern Temper -- displaying an influence without sounding anything like it. They're taking clear cues from the Dismemberment Plan, but making the source their own: the drums' pauses and gaps inject air into the track, which is dense with incandescent synth but never feels crowded, and the guitar chimes in to answer Joel Ebner's clear-eyed tenor vocal (full disclosure: Ebner is a former P-fork staffer). The arson committed by the song's protagonist amounts to the literal destruction of a faltering relationship's physical vestiges, a would-be cleansing blaze that only causes more pain. This all adds up to a relaxed, mechanized breeze of a pop song about arson that feels earthier than it probably should." - Pitchforkmedia.com


STILETTO ATTACK! (Chicago, IL)
Stiletto Attack! myspace
"Aptly named, Stiletto Attack vocalist PJ Stiletto has one of those voices that cuts like a blade through the guitar and backing vocals of her bandmates, clear and precise, perhaps a little deadly. The mechanics of how these three ladies came together, they say, defies explanation. SA's bluesy, slightly Southern-influenced rock and roll takes cues from cultural icons — they name JonBenet Ramsey and Matt Dillion specifically — as well as other musical influences so diverse it's like they threw darts at the Billboard chart. With Stiletto Attack enabling all of their members to write music with a unique collage of styles, they have the talent to take their act beyond Chicago and the Midwest. I'd like to see them do something less acoustic — just to see the turnout when PJ ramps up the power and passion behind her voice." - Chicago Innerview

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