The Archibalds

If the Gourds were 20 years younger, they might sound something like the Archibalds. The eclectic Austin quartet bites with the same satiric wit, and its debut full-length, O Camellia, effortlessly encompasses any number of genres while still maintaining a distinct southern regionalism. The songs explore a familiar small-town malaise as filtered through the astute eyes and ears of Alabama native Joey Thompson, who drapes disillusion in the banjo and steel-laden missive "Muzzleloading Evangelicals" and Beck-inspired country of "Meth Mouth" and "Opelika." "Back Home" rolls like the Band before slipping into "Sinking Ships" zydeco stomp, while "Bettin' on the Dogs" plies a slow-burn blues and "Rain and Thunder" even kicks with a touch of soulful hip-hop. But most impressive is that the Archibalds cull these influences into an altogether cohesive, and infectious, sound. -- Doug Freeman - Texas Music Magazine

“The Archibalds are from Austin, Texas, and play a down-home, knee-slapping brand of happy-pants music that will even make your crotchity, 90-year-old, closet-dyke, spinsiter-aunt fart in time to the music… and are destined to be on this blog's year-end best of list” - Quick Before It Melts Blog

“Their sound encompasses a Texan twang, a southern soulful passion and a folk rock that ties it all together. This is something unique in a world of "same music." The guys use everything they can to add all the right extra sounds that get you listening, trying to figure out what instruments are at work. … [T]he album really is one brilliant song after another. But you need to see for yourself and then spread the word.” - Indiemusicxposed.com

“It's hard to write honest music these days. That's the impression I get from a lot of recent noise. Incoherent jabbering, mindless dribble, and lackluster composition. But that's got nothing to do with The Archibalds. They're a very interesting new group from the Lone Star State (that's Texas) with precise notes in hand….And it's good. Like good home cookin'. Have a taste.” - Coffee and Cassettes

Joey Thompson, principle songwriter for the Archibalds, has a knack for bringing out the gold in other people's trash. His character sketches spring to life on the band's second full-length, Easy Living, with scandalous tales such as "Me & Your Sister," "Gold Teeth," and "Come on In," while the small-stakes malaise and junkyard folk in "Hood Rats" and the title track split the difference between the Gourds and Beck's early slacker raps. From the spaghetti Western swing of "You Tell Me" and old-timey waltz "Milking the Cow" to the off-kilter funeral march "Cemetery Songs" and plaintive "High Water," the Archibalds rein in and refine the eclecticism of the quartet's 2007 debut, O Camellia, thanks largely to the superb production and harmonies of bassist Seth Gibbs. In doing so, Easy Living captures life on the bottom rung in all its rusted glory, almost like a broken-down, modern version of Doug Sahm's Groover's Paradise. - The Austin Chronicle

This summer the Archibalds quietly released a fantastic full-length debut, O Camellia, on Superpop Records, following the irreverent, genre-bending trail blazed by the Gourds. The project of Alabama transplant Joey Thompson, whose multi-instrumental backing has become a cornerstone in labelmate Leatherbag's band, the Archibalds contort country influences into warped folk-rock. "Sinking Ships" jumps with a zydeco zest, while "Meth Mouth" could have been dug up from Beck's One Foot in the Grave. The soulful "Muzzleloading Evangelicals," however, may best capture the quartet's blend of Southern rock balladry - Doug Freeman, The Austin Chronicle - Austin Chronicle

“Sinking Ships” is a zydeco dance-hall number masquerading as peppy, horn-laden indie rock song. And I like that about it. Too many bands from Austin don’t use the rich musical landscape that they find around them to their advantage. It’d be like a band from New Orleans not using some of the beats of the Mardi Gras brass bands, or a Chicago band completely ignoring the blues, or a Californian band ignoring the sunny sounds of the Beach Boys.

The Archibalds straddle the line between folk, alt-country and indie rock much like their Texas compadres The Theater Fire. On “Sinking Ships” blazingly fast acoustic guitar chords struggle to be heard over the zydeco accordion and the mariachi horns. Maybe this is a sound that can only come from Texas with it’s wide open places, proximity to both Mexico and the gulf, and it’s rich outlaw-country tradition.

- Songs Illinois

In yet another exceptional offering from the Superpop! crew, the Archibalds’ debut album, O’ Camellia, winds its way through a stew of southern influences, at times recalling the classic southern-rock balladry of the Allman Brothers and at others sounding like the illegitimate offspring of the Gourds (because the Gourds have no legitimate offspring, of course). With Cajun flourishes, a shade of Muscle Shoals’ R&B soul, Beck’s experimental folk, and dense, often hilarious lyrics, the group manages to expertly cull its array of influences into something altogether new and immensely catchy.

austinsound.net - Austin Sound

There's no taking the trailer out of Joey Thompson. The Archibalds' singer and multi-instrumentalist has an uncanny knack for capturing seedy characters, spinning voyeuristic narratives of ghetto blasters and junk culture that recall the slacker folk of Mellow Gold-era Beck. "I grew up in a tiny town of about 600 people," attests Thompson, an Alabama native. "I know all of these characters and have seen them firsthand. I approach them from that Randy Newman, third-person perspective, like here's these characters, and for whatever reason, you should know about them." Having backed emerging songwriters such as Hope Irish from the band's Superpop Records stable since forming in 2006, the Archibalds have positioned themselves as the Gourds' rightful next of kin on sophomore outing Easy Living, an eccentric and entertaining collection of off-kilter Americana, accentuated by the harmonies of producer/bassist Seth Gibbs. "I've always strived for us to be the Southern rock Beatles," Thompson clarifies, "as if the Beatles had grown up white trash in Alabama."--Austin Powell - Austin Chronicle