Grown Up Avenger Stuff

Just when you thought alt. rock lost its charm…

Enter Grown Up Avenger Stuff. (No, I’m not poorly attempting to describe a Joss Whedon film.)

GUAS are full of pep and punch. They’re the new kids on the block with a band-birthday of about three years. And they are armed with awesome.

Though they sit on a traditional four-piece lineup, I feel they’re doing something different for the stage. Rather than losing all attention to the leading lady or getting lost in a generic swamp of sound, each member stands out while complimenting everyone else. You’re acutely aware of each instrument and the way they power up Deirdre’s blazing rocket of a voice.

John’s fingerwork is fantastic; Hunter’s bass is the glue that holds the badass together; and Tyler’s rhythm is so furious I’ll bet his drum sticks sizzle after a show.

I find them not only raw, but relatable. They look like real people who just so happen to eat, breathe and sweat music.

They’ve got the same bite as Spiderbait, a similar gumption to Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. To the joy of audiences everywhere they’ve been globe-trotting, all for the sake of promoting their 2012 album, Alive.

This disc is short and bittersweet. It exhibits a surprising amount of musical maturity for a debut. Morning Noon and Night keeps you tied back to contemporary rock vibes, while songs like Here reflect a zeal that can only be attributed to punk influence. All in all, it’s a moshpit birthed from their brainwaves.

The cherry on top of this smooth sundae? They produced Alive themselves. That kind of hands-on dedication really gets me tingling. It’s a big fat something when bands dare to take creative control into their capable hands. The result will almost always merit a thumbs up. - BiggerThanBeyonce

Thousands of bands since the early 1960’s have had “front-women” instead of “front-men”. Narrowing this list down a bit further it would be interesting to see the list of successful indie and punk rock bands that have had front-women. That being said, it takes a certain savoir-faire to be the female leader of such groups. This especially when your first starting up and you want the male dominated world of underground rock music to take you seriously. Bands like The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Garbage, Hole, The Kills, have all stood out both instrumentally and vocally (mainly because of the badass female presence they have projected onto their music scenes). The same goes for North Carolina’s very own: Grown Up Avengers Stuff. GUAS is a four-piece indie rock band that is lead by distinct punk rock vocalist Deidre Kroener. GUAS is Deidre Kroener (Vocals), Tyler Thomsen (Percussion), Hunter Thomsen (Bass), and John Thomsen (Guitar). Packed with powerful guitar riffs, head banging percussions, and lead singer badassness; Alive is their latest five-song EP you won’t want to miss.

The songs on Alive seem like they have been given a little more attention in the editing and production department in comparison to Disagreements With Gravity (GUAS’s first studio album). The first song on the EP “Morning Noon and Night” is this fast paced Alternative Rock track with some serious percussive footwork. This song commands your attention. The guitar and instrumental section of this piece sound like something off a Queens of The Stone Age album. Add Kroener’s lyrics, passion, and energy and there you have the first song off GUAS’s latest EP. But something about the studio version of this song doesn’t sound as raw and uncut as one of the tracks off their first album. I’m not saying the piece is overproduced, but rather that the song is missing an element of imperfection. The next song on Alive you will want to check out is: “Here”. Here has this scale sounding guitar riff (or pattern), which makes the song sound unique. Like the first tune off the EP Kroener’s front-woman passion and energy really soars to new heights on this one. With an Emily Haines’s (Metric) inspired sound, Kronener manages to differentiate herself by constantly changing the dynamics of her voice on a song like: Here. Some notes she holds for a very long time, whereas others are quick and short attacks in their delivery. A real nice piece of ear candy. Speaking of dynamics on this album, how about GUAS’s title song: Alive. Compared to the other pieces on this EP this song really breaths due partially in fact to the enormous amount of variation in the song’s instrumental department. A catchy guitar riff that fits effortlessly with Kroener’s theme of time “t-ticking away”, Alive is definitely one of the more memorable tracks off of this EP.

Their EP Alive is 100% in your face punk rock badassness. If you’re a fan of Queens of The Stone Age, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and/or Dead Sara, you must have a listen to Alive. My guess is you won’t be disappointed. - Red House Reviews

This is a band will rock your socks off. They’re out and out brilliant and just designed to have fun with the genre. Their music is loud and brash and their arrangements make them sound a little like an unpolished garage band…but that’s what makes them alternative.

Each single shares a similar vibrancy and energy to get you up off of your backside and bouncing about. There is something extremely sexy and a bit overly confident about the way that GUAS go about their business but you don’t get annoyed about it; it’s alluring; it’s the way indie rock artists are given that extra leeway to unleash all of their inhibitions and provide visceral rock.

There have been so many bands that this four-piece have been likened to, but none of the comparisons can quite ready you for the approach used in Alive. It’s not always as lyrically astute as a Florence and the Machine classic; it’s not always as electronically heretical as a Goldfrapp EP and, to be honest, GUAS don’t really offer up much chance of imitating the commercial appeal of our very own Republica.

Alive has only five songs to it which is a little disappointing as it would have been an experience to gauge more of what the band is about – essentially, this group, who model themselves on superheroes often, haven’t quite displayed all the superpowers at their disposal with this one. Still, with that in mind, they’re good enough to keep a listen out for. Join me, will you? - Music-News

Their tag-line reads “your friendly neighborhood rock band with super powers” and Grown Up Avenger Stuff certainly know how to thwart the evils plans of humdrum manufactured pop. Hailing from North Carolina, Grown Up Avenger Stuff are Deirdre Kroener (vocals), Tyler Thomsen (percussion), Hunter Thomsen (bass guitar) and John Thomsen (guitar). The group formed in 2009 and have garnered quite the North American following with their heavy touring schedule of the US and Canada. With festivals and international dates under their belt, the band show no signs of curbing their ambitions.

2012 saw the release of Alive, a 5-track CD that can be previewed on Bandcamp. The music is reminiscent of Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs and Garbage. Deirdre Kroener definitely has the stage-presence and the lungs to be mentioned in the same sentence as Shirley Manson and Karen O. Morning Noon and Night is perhaps the strongest track on the disc. The relentless riffs accentuate the lyrics: ”You traded your guitar / for some bullets and a horse / You say you hate to use that gun /but your hands been forced”. The dark passion in Kroener’s singing sums up the energy in the band.

Clearly Grown Up Avenger Stuff know how to rock but as their name suggests, they have a lighthearted side too. Last week saw the band singing Christmas carols and wrapping presents in the their hometown of Charlotte, NC. - PopBucket

Charlotte, North Carolina’s Grown Up Avenger Stuff is made up of the brothers Hunter (bass), Tyler (drums), John Thomsen (guitar) and a singer named Deirdre Kroener. Together they hammer out some super-powered exciting music that rings with a positive edge. A bit ska, a bit rock, a bit cabaret stage show madness and a bunch of cheek, Grown Up Avenger Stuff will stoke your inner child and shake the dust from your weary old person bones. Their second release is a short, tight, and sweet little EP called Alive and it’s about as rousing as it gets. Five songs that will get the heart beating faster as a shankin’ skankin’ dance springs to your step and a cute little smile plasters upon your lips, this I can promise.

Unless you’re dead, but even then, imagine them live! Holy crap!!

Alive wastes no time coming to life. The tribal beat of the opening cut, “Morning Noon and Night” is enough to grab you by the collar and shake you awake, then it gets all raunchy with its fuzzed out guitar and bratty punch. Tracks like “Now” and “Here” are ultimately empowering, energetic as heck, and ripe with lyrical content bordering on conflicted yet confident and self-aware.

Beautiful noise by a band that slays on so many levels while fronted by ace vocalist Deirdre who effortlessly plays the balance between all powerful high end timbre and low end raging growl. To say the woman is a powerhouse would only be scratching the surface. It is her endurance and range that impresses me the most, although I’ve always found something so undeniably exciting about a woman singer who can scream her throat bloody and invoke a certain sweetness all during the course of a couple of songs. Even better when she’s part of a band that is serial killer.

Grown Up Avenger Stuff gets the music loving part of my heart all excited. The band is quick and to the point, kind of like punk rock on a positive bent. Kind of like a dramatic rock opera but dirty and proud. Kind of like a musical BBQ party held in a muddy backyard with only 30 guests, a few toddlers and 3 misbehaving dogs. Kind of like really good music.

~ Nathan Pike - All Whats Rock

When the lead singer is dressed up as a superwoman (cape and all) and the other three members of the band look like they are either afraid of you, or you should be afraid of them, there is automatic intrigue. Hailing from Charlotte, North Carolina, Grown Up Avenger Stuff is a quartet who describe themselves as your “friendly neighborhood rock band with superpowers”, and is made up of family members, Deirdre Kroener on vocals, Tyler Thomsen on percussion, Hunter Thomsen on bass and John Thomsen on guitar. Since their inception in 2009, the group has made quite a name for themselves as an Indie-rock band to look out for in and around Charlotte, North Carolina due to their dynamic live shows and unique sound.
In today’s music scene (underground or otherwise) it is difficult to find a female lead singer with as much attitude and arrogance as Grown Up Avenger Stuff front woman, Deirdre Kroener. Reminiscent of an early Gwen Stefani, Kroener has just the right amount of rasp, fearlessness and strength in her voice to make everyone shut up and listen, or jump around and sing along. This is most obvious on the band’s latest 5-track album, Alive.
With a range of high energy punk rock songs that are fun and quirky, but also deep at times, Grown Up Avenger Stuff’s latest album showcases the band’s depth and versatility. Take the title track “Alive”, Kroener sings: “Can my dreams – my love – transcend this infinite space? /I’m just trying to get by/ I’m just trying to find the light/ When everyone knows you’ve got to look deep inside.” On “Here” drummer Tyler Thomsen shows off his unrelenting skills as a percussionist, while “Perfect” is easily the most funky and soulful out of all of the five songs on the album.
Signed to Spectra records, the band’s mission is to “save the world” one song at a time. Writing and producing all of their own music, touring the country (and Canada), it is obvious that these superheroes are indeed real, and well on their way to completing the task at hand. - MuteMag

Sounds like: Heart, Queens of the Stone Age, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
What's so good?
By Christiana Bartolini | January 8th, 2013

Charlotte, North Carolina’s Grown Up Avenger Stuff is hot on the scene since their latest album, Alive, was released in August. They’re now on a world tour and gaining much deserved momentum for their high-energy style.

With many awards under their belt over the past few years, it’s obvious to see how they’ve accrued so many accolades. Singer Deirdre Kroener’s vocals are seriously killer. She fearlessly takes the reigns and belts her way through each and every song with power and conviction. The instrumentals are a quintessential mix of alternative rock and indie much to the likes of Heart, Queens of the Stone Age, and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

I urge you to check out Grown Up Avenger Stuff’s album Alive and listen to the raw talent and fury that this band so flawlessly exudes. - Indie Shuffle

(Text protected - see review url)
- Indie-Mag

The terms "indie" and "alternative" have become almost as commonly used in today's music industry as iTunes. Still, no matter how often they're used to describe the scores of unsigned rock bands in today's music industry, there is always someone who comes along and epitomizes what indie and alternative truly mean. This time, that someone is Grown Up Avenger Stuff (GUAS).

Fronted by the vocal talents of Deirdre Kroener, GUAS is mostly comprised of family members. Tyler Thomsen (Percussion), Hunter Thomsen (Bass), and John Thomsen
(Guitar) come together with Deirdre to create true indie alternative rock music and prove
that Grown Up Avenger Stuff is everything they describe themselves to be: "Your friendly
neighborhood rock band with super powers."

On their 5 song EP release, ALIVE, the band gives us a taste of the Charlotte (NC) music
scene. Reminiscent of bands like Queens of the Stone Age and Florence and the
Machine, GUAS boldly goes where every underground rock band should go. Songs like
"Morning Noon & Night", "Perfect" and "Here" give the band a strong chance at
competing for gigs in today's over saturated market of independent music.

Vocally, Deirdre does a nice job of creating the necessary foreground that every rock
band should have. Her passionate delivery of each lyric and melody draws you in and
keeps you engaged while the Thomsen boys bruise their instruments' egos in the
background. I'd recommend this band to anyone who enjoys alternative indie rock.
- I Am Entertainment magazine

"There is something new and fantastic developing in the rock music scene in the South and for the moment it's off the radar of the big music industry. Grown Up Avenger Stuff is a perfect example of this great new music - they have a unique sound and approach and they have been building quite a buzz" - news-lib.com

Angular rhythms, unpredictable art-rock leaning arrangements that don’t sacrifice catchiness, heavy riffs, subtle dynamics, and a demonstrative female vocalist who sometimes dons a superhero costume and whose voice swells from demure and kittenish to a commanding wail, as if Jello Biafra and PJ Harvey raised a daughter on riot grrrl. - Charlotte Observer

"One of Charlotte's best bands in my opinion" - Divakar, DJ 106.5 WEND, Charlotte

Noisy pop supernova Grown Up Avenger Stuff are buzzing big from their debut, Disagreements With Gravity. Their bipolar mix of punk, grunge pop, shards of metal and industrial sludge isn’t new, nor is the band’s ability to stop and turn on a shiny dime. The real attention-getter is frontwoman Deirdre Kroener. By turns brassy, sultry and vulnerable, Kroener growls and screams with Karen O/Kim Gordon gusto, but also channels rock blues belters in the Grace Slick vein. - Creative Loafing Vibes

"Angular rhythms and a punk edge mixed with dark, bluesy grooves, unpredictable arrangements, and a singer who goes from kittenish to commanding. Call it accessible art rock." - Charlotte Magazine

"Certainly the most talented family band emerging in Charlotte today" - Charlotte Music Examiner

Grown Up Avenger Stuff gave the crowd an intense, engaging and entertaining set that demanded the audience’s attention. - NinerOnline (UNCC Online Magazine)

"To those who have yet to see Grown Up Avenger Stuff show their stuff: this band is a must-see." - Shutter16