Argyle Smile

Absolutely wonderful in it’s simplicity! Argyle Smile delivers a soothing mellow and yet vibrant collage of harmonies and rhythmic vibes that cooled me right out from the first chords strummed on their opening track “Every Song”. Very cool sounds.

With strong song-writing, great melodies and some seriously well thought out production, these cats walk you through a musical experience that’ll have you humming along and reaching out for a cool one to enjoy the warm summer days or the cool evenings of autumn out on the patio. Very nicely done Argyle Smile…

Catchy, charming and with a heavy dose of love for the human spirit, Argyle Smile’s music is just what the industry ordered. No fluff, no pre-packaged B.S. just some real down home melodic music. Much like Paul McCartney’s influences ingrained in the sounds of the Beatles, Argyle Smile offers up it’s own blend of pop-folk sounds and does a spectacular job of it to boot… This is definitely one time where a band really does sound as cool as it’s influences.

Jam on Jared and Dana… - The Music Biz Buzz & Duss Rodgers

This Wednesday at Rio Vista Inn, Anaheim-based Argyle Smile is back together again. A couple months ago, the lovely keys player/vocalist Dana Chambers made the move to San Francisco and Argyle Smile shows came to a halt. Now, Chambers is back in OC and ready to reunite with her bandmates for an unforgettable show at the Anaheim bar. It’s going to be a great excuse to party on a Wednesday. Get a feel for the band if you’re unfamiliar by watching their outstanding music video for “Every Song.” - Everyday Noise

"Argyle sounded great too."
"I'll try and catch them again."
"They had a ukulele [...] so 10 bonus points for that." - Long Beach Gigs

"That's right. The band Argyle Smile, which is one of my favorite things since I bought some girl scout cookies last week, made a pretty epically awesome music video. Upon seeing it I instantly fell even more in love with Jared and Dana..." - The Misguided Follies of Kyle (music blog)

In Anaheim, there is a band that you would probably never expect to reside there. This band is a nice bunch of characters that quietly strum ukuleles and lightly hit a glockenspiel. They’re called Argyle Smile. The five-some is Jared “Jare-Bear” Parsons (vocals, ukulele and guitar), Dana “Bo Bana” Chambers (vocals, autoharp, glockenspiel, shakers and tambourine), Nicholas “Captain” Gehris (keys), Jon “Onion Steak” Stoleto (bass) and Jeff “J-Ram” Ramirez (drums). A song that is definitely one of the best released by a local artist last year goes to Argyle Smile’s “Every Song.” It’s pretty much just Dana and Jared in the recorded version, and the song reminisces about a potential love interest. Just watch the amazingly genius music video that Alex Lamb filmed and directed for the song. Fuse TV acknowledged how unique the video is and made it available on Fuse On Demand. Now you can watch it on your TV but only through early January. The band started showing up in the OC music scene mid-year, so though they are fairly new, the band is working the Orange County circuit fast and well. They have a great journey ahead. - Orange County Music Awards

Abundant Charm

In March, Anaheim’s Argyle Smile released a video for “Every Song,” a track off their recently released EP, Tipsy Turvy, and by all rights, it should become a YouTube sensation in the vein of OK Go’s “Here It Goes Again.” In the clip, directed by Long Beach’s Alex Lamb, a series of toppling dominos (not the most original trick, but used well here) assists the protagonist—the band’s co-vocalist/guitarist/ukulele player Jared Parsons—through his morning ritual, setting off a variety of Rube Goldberg-esque contraptions. Later, at an art gallery, Parsons encounters co-vocalist/autoharpist Dana Chambers, with the dominos acting like an iTunes visualization of their silent, awkward, ultimately fruitless flirting. What it lacks in treadmills it more than makes up for in charm.

Charm is also in abundant supply on the five songs that make up Tipsy Turvy. The gentle harmonies between Parsons and Chambers sparkle, especially on the ukulele-driven “Every Song.” Their use of such antiquated instruments continues in “Chirp-Chirp Chiroo,” bolstering the already-catchy chorus of “If I look like I know what I’m doing, then I suppose that’s one thing I’m doing right.”

Argyle Smile are essentially a duo, but in concert, the band enlist additional members, including Kyle Deven, bassist for fellow Anaheim band We Are the Pilots (see “Anaheim’s We Are the PIlots Prepare to Take Off,” April 8). Live, Argyle Smile also play some much peppier tunes than the ones on this EP (closer “Whoopsidaisical,” despite the fun-sounding title, is seven slow-paced minutes). “Tentative” is the only real upbeat song here, suggesting the band are going in a quieter, moodier yet somehow still uplifting direction—well, as quiet and moody as a band with a name like Argyle Smile can reasonably get. - OC Weekly