BALLERINA BLACK

In city never hesitant about giving its bleeding hearts to the U.K.’s crown princes of mopery, there’s always room for Ballerina Black, the Los Angeles trio who continue to produce some of the sleekest pre-millenial alt-rock around. The new EP “Whails” is their first substantial release since the 2012-13 “Injureless” EP trilogy (they teased with two singles in 2014), and it finds the trio of Bobby Moynahan, Esli Sugich and Scott Eton in typically fine atmospheric form. “Blue-ish Grey” has the tint of a more jangling Cure, while “Heaven Sent” suggests Smithery at its most obvious. Lead track “Gravity” isn’t the first song with that title to try to defy the forces of nature, but owing to its insistent bass line it’s the one best for dancing by yourself. - BuzzbandsLA

I have a thing for bands with a style. Sure, if the music sucks shit the fucking style matters naught, but music I like coming from a band with their stylistic shit together makes my man meat moistened and my manfingers move.

One of the few bands that I can picture after a mere mention of their name is the LA post-punk/amazing vegan chefs Ballerina Black. I picture them in black denim, a few members in black button downs, maybe a black fedora on the one with a flower print v-neck and a black sport coat on top of that, and they look disinterested as fuck.

And five seconds after I wrote that I checked out their website and HOLY BALLS ON A VENEZUELAN MASSEUSE NAMED MASSEUAZUELAN, I WAS RIGHT!

Ballerina Black have this mope-rock shit down, and it doesn't just make me want to listen to them more, it fucking makes me want to wear sunglasses at night at the dinner table while crossing my arms and refusing to answer any question posed to me with anything but a shrug and a grunt. I ain't even sayin' I'm at my parent's dinner table, this fucking table is my own and I'm setting a poor example for my children, but fuck them man, they don't even understand me.

Ballerina Black make me want to fucking take public transportation bro. Serious. I just want to sit in my black cool clothes feeling so fucking cool even I'm bored with myself as myself is so cool I'm already bored with myself's coolness bro.

I hear Ballerina Black as the less enthusiastic version of White Lies meets 30 Seconds to Mars, but with way less intensity and way more bored American sass, but dude, I ain't even shitting on their breakfast burritos, I fucking love this band.

Their new EP, Whails, is a less dramatic continuation of their "meh" attack on energetic musicians, as every previous release from BB has been just as disinterested, but this just feels like they're fucking done trying to impress you with their "I'm not impressed" and they're comfortable enough with how they approach rock that it's not just their approach, it's their aforementioned style.

Taking the beauty from the seemingly ugly and positioning it just so, Ballerina Black have made yet another handful of songs fit easily inside my vault of music I fucking love. Shit, "Gravity" has turned into the song I play air guitar to in the shower, using my undercarriage as a sufficient place with which to pick my air-bass.

I don't just want this EP to never end, I want the repeat button with the arrows butt fucking each other to nod just as slowly and knowingly as I have been since they sent me this shit a few weeks ago. If you don't buy this, you are a super asshole. - Syffal

I came to this track not really knowing what to expect, as I was unfamiliar with Ballerina Black – but I found this particular tune to be rather catchy, and I was surprised by how quickly it endeared itself to me even upon my first couple of listens. It’s a song I would expect to fare relatively well – its hook is somewhat memorable and I found myself singing it after awhile.

Lush arrangement and poetic, but not horribly cumbersome, lyrics make this a song for movement – this is a track to drive to, to walk to, to dance to – but it is also a song for mental movement. It is a track to think to, as well. I actually found myself reminded of bands like The Railway Children; there is an element of that sumptuous mid-eighties New Wave sound represented here – a bit darker, but quite handsomely dressed in the same sort of brilliant guitar melodies and steady, up-tempo undercurrents. On a difficult day, it was an understanding friend showing up with ice cream – it doesn’t deny the sadness at its core, but neither does it wallow there. A promising addition to my personal playlist. - Strangeways Radio

Cattle Arithmetic, the debut album from Los Angeles based Ballerina Black released globally on January 1st, 2010 and features the excellent lead-off track ‘Leaves’ that we are bringing you today.
Aside from two of the members being constantly mistaken for the lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the guitarist for Radiohead, their sound is dramatically reminiscent of post-punk 80's and the grunge infused 90's. “The best compliment we’ve ever received, for me, was from a fan after a show. He told me we sounded like Nirvana doing Cure covers. Those bands are two of our biggest influences and have always inspired some form of hope for me, in spite of their dark parts and elements of despair.”
You can find and purchase all of Ballerina Black’s music at the Bandcamp link below, as well as a few choice freebies if so inclined. - Charles Stepczyk, Insomnia Radio.net (Feb 28, 2011)

For Ballerina Black, one of our longtime favorites and friends, this past April has given them much to be thankful for. Recently signing their 1st deal with Universal Music Group – launching the local LA boy’s music worldwide, yesterday, on 4/27. Support.
In support of the Album Cattle Arithmetic they have not one, but two music videos in the works to support the album. BB has struck a chord with the underground and above ground music scene and captured some very loyal fans along the way. Like us. These fine fans (not us for legal reasons) that have taken it upon themselves to plaster LA and most of Hollywood with ballerina Black posters and stickers everywhere from bathroom stalls to bridges to show their support. And do interviews:
http://insurgencyinc.com/2010/08/03/black-ballerinas-illegal-activities/
The mighty BB also just added two new band members. Welcome drummer Anthony Anthos. They met Anthony through a mutual friend Reg B and welcomed Tony to see them perform at The Greek Theater when they opened up for the band Interpol. As soon as we hit the first rehearsal with Tony we knew that he would work out. The newest member to the band is Scott Eton. We’ve known Scot for a while, he used to play keys for Bobby back in the day. The band has always wanted a synth sound in their band so now they got it thanks to Scot. - INSURGENCY INC. (Apr 28, 2011)

Let me begin by saying that I wasn’t expecting much from a band named Ballerina Black. A band’s name tends to give off the subtle impression of an album’s content. Given this, one might assume Ballerina Black to be a contrived mixture of some sort of pseudo-intellectual pop music, but that person would be wrong. It would seem that Ballerina Black, like the Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin or other bands with unusualmonikers, might have more to offer than its name would suggest.
The band’s latest album, “Cattle Arithmetic,” starts off strong with the track “Leaves,” which opens with a peppy bassline that builds into an overwhelmingly lush instrumental backing. Grungy with an influence of southern California mellowed punk, “Leaves” offers a snapshot of the complementary multiple personalities showcased on this album.

“Kelly Pain,” the second track, finishes off the genre worldview of Ballerina Black with a healthy dose of Gothic ramblings and sets the listener up for an album that sounds mostly like different permutations of the first two tracks.

This is not to say that this album is boring or not worth listening to. If you enjoy the sound of The Cure’s late-’80s foray into the Gothic genre, then this album, which sounds like a slightly more updated version of that signature melancholy moaning, will resonate with you. As much as there’s a touch of The Cure frontman Robert Smith’s gravel in the vocals, there’s also a good heaping of a lighter tonality which might be more familiar to fans of AFI lead vocalist Davey Havok.

There is an evident flow throughout “Cattle Arithmetic,” and even songs such as “Squeeze Through” and “Rivals,” which are less vocally and lyrically creative than others, have a great feeling of soft dirtiness about them. “Squeeze Through” exudes its strong bass undertones into a pool of filthy, dark satisfaction, while “Rival,” has a heavier, more metal version of the thudding backbeat.

“Cattle Arithmetic”features some songs you should listen to just because of their titles, which, honestly, do a great job of appealing to the inner 12-year-old in each of us while also speaking to the song’s content. Titles such as “Microphones in the Mattress” provide apt visual description of what we should expect aurally and delivers a rhythmically thudding base and lyrics that convey all of the plaintive sadness of going solo.

A well-rounded album, “Cattle Arithmetic” draws the listener into its dark bowels, smothering us in the suffocating beauty of its raw emotion.

The sound that Ballerina Black has plied throughout the album seems founded on a lush blend of guitars and basses complementing their brand of vocal yearning. Combine this with its angst-filled lyrics and Ballerina Black should be popular with the younger generation that needs a creative outlet for its angry self-obsession.

In light of all of this, whether “Cattle Arithmetic” is actually good seems irrelevant. It fills a necessary niche and just like the people who will enjoy listening to them, Ballerina Black doesn’t seem to mind being quietly popular.
Tune in to KSLC 90.3 FM to hear tracks from Ballerina Black’s debut album “Cattle Arithmetic.”
- Eric Tompkins, The Linfield Review (Apr 30, 2011)

"elements of British New Wave and melds it with elements of the grunge from the Pacific Northwest. " - Ian, 1146 Miles (Mar 18, 2011)

"Fans of the early Factory Records sound will savor the reverb-wrapped mope-rock of Ballerina Black. Full of solid hooks and riffs, this powerful threesome mixes grunge aesthetics with pop-y post-punk."
- Los Angeles Times - Los Angeles Times.

My (Ballerina) Black Birthday!

Today is my birthday and I am the trick my mother played on the world! All hail me!


It turns out that the band I cannot stop listening to sent me a birthday gift in the form of their latest video! Guess who? Why, it’s BALLERINA BLACK. Microphones In The Mattress happens to be one of my favorite songs right now, and video director and all-around badass Ballerina Black wrangler James Toth wanted to spread the love. I do things back-assward. It’s my birthday, but I think you need a gift! Come and get it. It’s called Microphones in the Mattress. Thanks, James!

You can see this live at Club Moscow on December 1st, and you’re going to be seeing a lot about this band here at DefyAuthority.NET because I love them and I am intrigued by the group dynamic at work. There’s something very Warholian and Manic Street Preachers at work with these guys, and I find that enthralling. - Lauren Rothman

Fans of the Cure, all-black wardrobes and anything Factory Records should get their dancing shoes on for Ballerina Black, the two-year-old L.A. trio that, like its forebears, turn mopery on its ears and into something cathartic. Frontman Bobby Moynahan and mates Esli Sugich (bass) and Tony Antos** (drums) have the formula down — in-your-face bass lines, wounded vocals, driving beats, a hint of guitar bite. They released their debut album, “Cattle Arithmetic,” earlier this year, watched a few of their songs land TV placements and gigged everywhere from small spaces to the plaza at the Greek Theatre prior to Interpol’s show. The latter, of course, was a perfect fit. - Kevin Bronson (BuzzBands.La)

"Fans of the early Factory Records sound will savor the reverb-wrapped mope-rock of Ballerina Black. Full of solid hooks and riffs, this powerful threesome mixes grunge aesthetics with pop-y post-punk."
- Los Angeles Times - Los Angeles Times.

The Master Of Metaphors - Jon Hershfield - IsGoodMusic.Com

"A blend of 80's mope rock and Grunge-Pop, the LA trio's sound best experienced during their raucous and inspired live performances." - The Fold - Silverlake Lounge

"Ballerina Black's Electrifying new EP is a blend of energized Mope Rock with an early Factory Records ambience"
- L.A. Record - L.A. Record

"The thunderous Los Angeles 3 piece, Ballerina Black, has brought back the shimmering reverb-drenched sound of post-punk 1980's with contemporary hooks and hints reminiscent of 90's grunge"

- Los Angeles Weekly - Los Angeles Weekly

If Joy Division was pop. . . this would be it. Add it to your playlist. Live it, Love it! - Davd - Project Opus

Tonight out in Glendale at THE SCENE, it's FS newcomer BALLERINA BLACK performing with GO WEST YOUNG MAN, TASSO, THE GRAMMERCY RIFFS and THE LOST LIBRARIES in an event to help save INDIE 103.1 FM called "Bring Indie Back". We've dropped a couple of their tracks on the WOXY show, but the band has finished their self-titled EP, which is now out on iTunes. They go back in the studio to record 2 more songs while finishing up work on an album. They are planning a tour of the West Coast in april. - Future Sounds

Kaum hat Ceremony zu Recht einen Preis eingeheimst, revanchiert er sich mit einem weiteren Musiktipp. Ballerina Black aus Los Angeles. Waviger Pop oder poppiger Post-Punk. Sie selbst bezeichnen ihre Musik als Post-Punk mit der Ästhetik des Grunge.Wie es beliebt.

Gegründet wurde die Band 2007. Kern des Trio ist Sänger / Songwriter Bobby Moynahan und Bassist Esli Sugich. Der Dritte im Bunde ist unbekannt. Wahrscheinlich ist es der verschwommen im Hintergrund des Bildes zu sehende Mann, der mit seinem Schicksal hadert. Aber wer weiss das schon. Im September 2008 ist eine EP mir vier Songs erschienen. Zwei Songs davon gibt es Dank Creative Commons für nix. - Schall Grenzen

The Mircophones in the Mattress is the first song that begins to play on their Myspace. Instantly I'm brought back to the 80's punk/pop scene, full of hard rhythms and catchy melodies. The bass has that well known power to make your foot instantly start tapping and your head bobbing. Ballerina Black are well established in L.A where they live. Their live shows are without a doubt spontaneous, and the have the charisma and skill to back it up. I had the chance to chat with Bobby Moynahan, the singer/songwriter of the group. These guys will be crossing borders into Canadian territory verrryy soon! - Acid City Magazine

You may recognize them from that spot on ESPN or perhaps it was one of those promos for Gossip Girl. Maybe you just haven't heard them at all, in which case, you should. The post-punk pop trio ironically known as Ballerina Black formed a mere two years ago and have already hit airwaves 'round the world. Ballerina Black's emotive lyrics laced within their catchy beats and melodic guitar riffs are brought to life on Cattle Arithmetic, the band's debut album. Bobby Moynahan, Leonard Nimms and Esli Sugich met one fateful day at Spaceland and have since shared what they call musical "instinct and feeling" about one another. - The Deli Magazine

We recently interviewed another one of our favorite LA bands Ballerina Black who has a penchant for sniping their posters all cover our fair city. Here’s the result.

The basics: Ballerina Black consists of Bobby, the Liechenstein quoting, guitar playing leader of the pack, Esli, one of the biggest Hendrix fans of all time and the killer bassist, and Nimms, a young Michael Jackson fan and the behemoth on the drum kit.

This incredibly considerate band – no lie, they may seem all hard edged on stage, but they are actually awfully personable and polite, even to us – had no idea what they were getting into. We asked them questions. They answered. We judged.

Yes, that’s right, this wasn’t an interview, this was a competition. It just seemed more fun that way.

Read on, then go see them live if you live in LA and buy a fucking tee shirt. Bands need money, people. - INSURGENCY INC.

Much of the music that made its way to Buzz Bands LA this year came in the form of EPs and mixtapes — which, owing to their nature, make it difficult to come up with a big favorites list. I tried, although this is more a list of “notable” releases. And I probably left some worthy ones off the list below. (Feel free to chime in.) So get know people like Miya Folick, Sego, SWIMM, Sun Drug, Paul Begmann, Riothorse Royale, the Shelters, Spelles, Hunny, Forebear, Wages, Yellow Red Sparks and the Moth & the Flame, if you don’t know them already.

Below is a huge playlist of songs from more than 50 of the EPs

The list, in alphabetical order:

Alge, “Diamond Inseams”
The Bad Years, “Beautiful Liar”
Ballerina Black, “Whails”
Scott Bartenhagen, “Black Dane”
Paul Bergmann, “Romantic Thoughts”
Blonde Summer, “Paradise”
Boogie, “The Reach”
Boroughs, “Boroughs”
Rene Brown, “The Wave”
Corsica Arts Club, “Corsica Arts Club”
The Dead Ships, “EP I”
Decorator, “Transit”
Deebs & Jarell Perry, “Shift”
Dekades, “Dekades”
Dorothy, “Dorothy”
Dutch Party, “Astral Nights”
Miya Folick, “Strange Darling”
Forebear, “Cody”
The Fontaines, “The Fontaines”
GUIDES, “Abstract Mind”
Howls, “Come On”
Hunny, “Pain / Ache / Loving”
Imaginary Persons, “Imaginary Persons”
James Davis, “James Davis”
Kid Cadaver, “Roam”
LA Font, “Hangtime Vol. 1”
Media Jeweler, “$99 R/T Hawaii”
Mirror Talk, “1997”
The Moth & the Flame, “Young & Unafraid”
Molly Moore, “Shadow of the Sun”
Nicky Blitz, “Hawk”
Nightair, “Nightair”
Nobody, “Prodigal Son”
No Win, “No Win”
Open Mike Eagle, “A Special Episode Of”
Opus Vitae, “Opus Vitae”
Phantoms, “Broken Halo”
POWERS, “Legendary”
Riothorse Royale, “The Guest House”
Roah Summit, “Giant”
Sego, “Long Long Way From the Fringe”
Sin Fin, “Volver”
The Shelters, “EP”
Spelles, “Spelles”
Sun Drug, “Sun Drug”
SWIMM, “Beverly Hells”
Their Wedding, “Naked”
Together Pangea, “The Phage”
Transviolet, “Transviolet”
Gavin Turek & TOKiMONSTA, “You’re Invited”
Vōx, “vōx”
Wages, “Sacre Coeur” and “L’oeil”
Wes Period, “Photosynthesis”
Wildling, “Wildling”
Yellow Red Sparks, “New Fangs Old Pangs”
1st Vows, “The Green EP” and “The Red EP” - Buzz Bands LA