ALSO
Los Angeles, California, United States | SELF
Music
Press
"A three-piece built around the trembling tenor of singer/guitarist Drew Conrad (...)
The album as a whole is fairly pleasant and Conrad has a knack
for creating a hummable tune." - Popmatters.com
ALSO MBITB review of by German LAXmag, April 3rd 2011
Also are as yet quite unrecognized in Germany, but this could change with their new album Music Belongs In The Background. The band from L.A. does melancholic, incisive indie rock with such a tremendously powerful voice that it hardly gets ...out of one's head.
Even if Music Belongs In The Background needs a couple of spins before it fully unfolds, one thing falls into place when listening for the very first time: The music of Also has something special about it. Every note seems to be in position and touches the listener deep inside. The mighty voice of Drew Conrad pulls its weight for the rest, with the result that you can indeed apply words such as gem or masterpiece for the three-piece's sophomore record, as listening to Music Belongs In The Background is like travelling to a band's cosmos which you can barely escape.
The multi-layered indie rock is free from tension and boasts a somberness that does not only sound good, but feels superb as well, and is full of twinkling stars and highlights such as Call It Funny, True or Unloaded. One enjoys listening to the three Americans whom you can only charge with one reproach: its release date. After all the grim, warming sounds suit a deal better in dark autumn and winter months, than into the upcoming summer.
However, this is not all that dramatic for German fans, since Music Belongs In The Background has only appeared in the US and UK so far, the release date in this part of the world is yet
unknown. Maybe Also will keep us in suspense and wait until summer's gone, which must not be though. Ultimately we just as much deserve their unpretentious, vibrant and unagitated rock which you can entrust to everybody who is into The National, Elbow or Band of Horses. - LaxMag.de (Germany)
(...) "Music Belongs In The Background"; is a very uniform piece of music. The pace is kept at an unhurried state throughout the album, allowing for the introspective melodies to flourish and grow into slow crescendos and soaring walls of sound. The obvious advantage is that the record is surrounded with an artistic atmosphere, as if it is a piece of art meant to be pondered upon for days, maybe even weeks, rather than a consumable product, which is something you'd associate with Band Of Horses or Coldplay, for instance. (...) - Rockfreaks.net (Denmark)
Californian indie rockers ALSO are a fine example of what good songwriting and great musicianship can create. Their sound is a hybrid of strong and muscular roots-rock with prominent 80s British post-punk influences (mostly in the clean guitar tones which are bright and ethereal in the best way possible) and a touch of jangle-pop. Try to figure out a mixture of R.E.M., 16 Horsepower's mystical singing and Echo & The Bunnymen's atmospheric grandeur and you might get a rough idea of what I'm talking about. The record is pretty good, very personal, especially in the rhythmic section, capable of atypical drum patterns along with harmonic bass playing (I believe it's a 5 string bass, on most of the record, or maybe a fretless bass. Anyway it's not a very common style among indie bassists) along with punchy rock bursts.
In an era of scruffy productions, out of key singing and uninteresting hipster phenomena, songs like "True" simply shine.
- Love In Spurts (Italy)
"Also creates a variety of atmospheres - dreamy, jazzy, edgy, groovy - in which to present their compelling lyrics. The songs thematically blend well, and just when you think you know what the album will lead into, Music Belongs in the Background surprises you by altering the path." - Resonance - Indie Music Vibes
"The term "indie" should be handled with care. But to be more indie than ALSO, an L.A.-based band without a record deal and nonetheless jovially touring Europe, is not possible.
(...) Listening to Also one becomes aware again how little those simple genre labels reveal as a matter of fact. A singer/songwriter approach is combined with an inclination to experimental rock. Effect pedals can be bliss, if you are purposefully seeking unusual sounds." - Abendzeitung Munich (Germany)
"Sometimes an album is simply good. (...)Also may be muted in its sounds, but its ideas loom large. Lyrics are important--but not self-important. (...) There is a vague anthemic strain to some of these songs, but not in that jack-your-fist kinda way. More of a stirring climax than a punctuated boom. Also takes its time. If you give this album an hour, it will repay you tenfold." - Aiding and Abetting
ALSO’s 'Music Belongs in the Background' haunts that mystical space between dream state and consciousness even while delivering rock music that moves straight ahead. (...) It actually clamors to be turned up loud, accompanying you on travels like the Church’s Starfish—ethereal, driving Britrock." - MusicSpectrum.org
Discography
2003 Morning (EP)
2005 Send Them Off Smiling... (EP)
2006 It Was Fine To Be Kind
2011 Music Belongs In The Background
The current release "Music Belongs In The Background" received airplay on various indie & alternative radio stations in the USA and Canada.
It charted the CMJ Top 200 and is featured on Pandora.
Their debut radio single "The Disappearing Heart!" received airplay and charted Top 40 in several indie/alternative stations.
ALSO self-release.
Photos
Bio
ALSO started life as a band in 2003 when they self-recorded their first release, Morning. Since then, they have produced an EP, Send Them Off Smiling (2005), and two full-length studio albums, It Was Fine To Be Kind (2006) and the recently released Music Belongs In The Background (2011). Formed in Los Angeles, ALSO is comprised of Drew Conrad (vocals/guitars), Mark Zelen (bass/keyboards) and Scotland Stephenson (drums/percussion). In August 2011 Emvy joined the ranks on keys, mellotron and effects, rounding up the line-up as a 4-piece.
In describing the concept of the band, frontman Conrad says, "The glass is half empty, true, but it is also half full. We are all aware of this analogy, but the profundity of this seemingly simple concept is very much a constant theme in our music. The concise word itself, also, sums up contrast as much as open-mindedness, and serves as a constant reminder that even dead-end life situations can be seen from different perspectives. This sophisticated approach is reflected in the bands music. Conrads vigorous, deep voice grumbles, admonishes, satirizes and praises as he takes on precarious topics such as disorientation, a decline in values, and suicide. Though his lyrics are not for the feint-hearted, the listener is invariably caught by the hopeful spiritedness of the music. The tight and driving rhythm section of Stephenson and Zelen creates a vibrant framework for well-wrought layers of guitars and soundscapes.
Upon release, the bands current release 'Music Belongs In The Background' quickly charted in the CMJ Top 200, the premiere chart in the U.S. for measuring the airplay of alternative/independent artists. The album is broad stylistically and emotionally, boasting huge soundscapes coupled with moments of a dark and ethereal moodiness, while maintaining a consistent feel throughout that is very much ALSOs own sound, which makes categorizing it a troublesome task. Yet critics have placed the band somewhere between dreamy Brit pop, post-punk and neo-psychedelic art rock. Some fans like to compare them to Echo & The Bunnymen, The National or The Smiths, while others are intrigued by a sonic fragility described as similar to The Antlers. Whether delicate and ghostly or decidedly explosive, their songs never seem unnecessarily pompous: an intimate and profound thoughtfulness hovers over them at all times.
Ultimately ALSO prove their latest effort is anything but what the title suggests: Even if Music Belongs In The Background needs a couple of spins before it fully unfolds... you can indeed apply words such as gem or masterpiece for the three-piece's sophomore record, as listening to it is like traveling to a band's cosmos from which you can barely escape. (German publication LAXMag, April 2011) Nor does being an unsigned act keep the band at home. Along with their two studio releases, ALSO have self-funded four European underground tours, including stops in the musical capitals of London, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Paris, and Berlin.
While their records have always featured keyboard lines and alternative melodies, the three could not incorporate them while performing live. Since August 2011 Emvy has been part of the line-up on keyboards, mellotron and effects which brings new influences and dramatically boosts the ethereal nature of the live show. They are currently writing new material and preparing tours through 2012.
Links
