The Press

THE PRESS
NOXIOUS SAUCY BEAST
GOODNIGHT RECORDS
It is rare for an entire band to equally share the duty of providing
vocals. This experiment pays off tremendously for The Press. All three
members of the band have differing voices and singing styles, and so the
result is a very dynamic and varied EP. Rooted in rock, punk, and
alternative, NOXIOUS SAUCY BEAST offers memorable moments of melancholy
indie rock, as heard in tracks "Trade Blows" and "Fattest Pigeon". But
these sections of the EP are only one piece of their multifaceted sound.
The opening and concluding tracks are brash, with guitars and drums
changing pace often. I'm constantly reminded of the scarcity of albums
containing an ideal combination of both originality and catchiness.
NOXIOUS SAUCY BEAST is a near perfect blend of both.
-Anthony - Skratch Magazine

The Press delivers more than a clever name on the band's EP "Noxious Saucy Beast." It delivers evidence of musical evolution and sensible creativity in an indie generation that has become increasingly overcrowded.
Upon graduating from Boston University in 2003, The Press' Michael Henry and Dave Schnieder wanted to do something beyond cubicles and employee lounges.
So the duo created one of the most innovative and provocative records of the year. Standing somewhere on the edge of genius and insanity, The Press spits out an explosively disruptive sound that is both Modest Mouse and Pavement, peacefulness and unease, but catchy singles remain intact. - Charleston Post & Courier

There’s a gratifying feeling to tapping your feet under a dinner table. No one knows you’re doing it, yet the incessant rhythm in your head keeps you in a good mood. That’s what the first few listens to The Press’ Noxious Saucy Beast is like. The EP is daring, innovative, and the fun sneaks up on you.

The remarkable thing about Noxious Saucy Beast is how the music shifts from rolling, fluid guitars to lush piano strains, and how meticulously these shifts match the group’s vocals. The best example would be “Saint Pete: Maitre D’,’” which starts off slowly, but the melody swells into a tidal wave of twinkly rhythms and beats.

One of the most delightful parts of the EP is how the band shares lead vocal duties. Members Michael Henry, Dave Schneider and John Walsh bring distinctive singing styles that draw comparisons to everyone from David Byrne to Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock. The emotional peak of the EP, both lyrically and vocally, comes in “Fattest Pigeon.” It’s unfortunate the EP doesn’t list the vocalist for each song, so I can’t give credit to the proper band member who handled this song.

Speaking of Modest Mouse, the current wave of indie rock may have anesthetized the market for bands like The Press. But the overcrowding could be a blessing in disguise, because while Mouse’s hit “Float On” has sunk deeply into commercial waters (a version appears on the Kidz Bop 7 album), a band like The Press is a breath of fresh air. Their music bends any specific genre and snaps it back into a unique, cohesive sound.

Noxious Saucy Beast combines complex rhythms and inventive production without neglecting memorable, can’t-get-out-of-your-head tunefulness. The upbeat, rock steady tune “Senor Rodriguez” ends with the line “We hold the rainbow.” It’s time you get your hands on this EP as well.

– Marc Cuenco
- Mondoclut Magazine

“Swirling, strange, sold post-punk quirkiness that doesn’t sound like anything else and builds in intensity upon each subsequent listen. This is growing on me as one of the genuine pleasant surprise CDs of the year.” - Roctober Magazine

from www.leoeur.com

Self described as "music for children and lovers"; The Press is a breath of fresh air for the indie scene. The Press has just released their debut EP "Noxious Saucy Beast" on Goodnight Records. The trio offers smart lyrics backed by ear-pleasing riffs and drum beats. Noxious Saucy Beast opens with "Three Point Three" which showcases these boys talents for what they are, talents. The album then unfolds a smash, and my favorite on the record, "St. Pete, Maitre D'" where the haunting voice of the boys (all three of them sing, and as I am not so sure which is singing on this track, I will not name one) accompanies its instruments very well. "Fattest Pigeon" is chock full of heart wrenching lyrics, and organs. Each of these boys have amazing, powerful voices that add to the "up-tempo" beats they have supporting them. All of the elements The Press has brought together have given them a very unique sound. The Press has been compared to bands like Modest Mouse, The Pixies and The Fall, so they are very worth the listen. In short, the record is amazing and something everyone should check out at least once. And with a name like "Noxious Saucy Beast" why shouldn't you give it a try. It has become a regular rotation around here, and we wouldn't lie to you. The Press is going on a States tour in June/July and a European tour in August so if you get the chance you should also check them out live. - Le Coeur Online

these guys put on the best live show that I have seen in months, and had everyone in the house dancing about ... their influences seem to include at least Q and not U, Modest Mouse, CYHSY and maybe the Wolf Parade but they are anything but derivative. Their live show is a high energy group effort that has each band member singing at some point. If you ask me these guys are destined for greatness and if you live in the north east you should definetly try to catch them this month
- http://b3nson.blogspot.com/2007/02/press-rock-albany.html

In my never-ending quest for good semi-local music, I have had little success. When people ask about musicians from Georgia, usually they only want to hear about Ludacris, REM or the B-52s. The Press, an Atlanta-based indie rock trio, is giving me something else to talk about. Innovative and interesting, The Press has released a pop record with real promise. The group's EP, "Noxious Saucy Beast," was released last April and generated the kind of indie buzz a band can only dream of. Instead of taking the typical brokenhearted and whiny-voiced sniveling, The Press sings about sex, love and confusion without all that posturing that ruins indie rock for the rest of us. Definitely one to see, if only to add to your list of "I saw them before they were on MTV2" breakout stars. Emergency Broadcast System and Jett Rink also perform. - Jessica Clary

http://www.savannahnow.com/stories/022206/3667461.shtml - Savannah Now

The Press is an indie-rock foursome that’s recently moved here from Atlanta. The band juxtaposes Modest Mouse-ish grandeur with endearingly madcap passages on its strong new EP, "Milk, and the Times that Never Were." - Time Out NY

Tightly chaotic The Press delivers frenetic pop

Originally published June 16, 2005

by Jedd Beaudoin
jbeaudoin@f5wichita.com

Their tour van doesn't have a CD player and thus the members of The Press, a panic rock outfit based in Atlanta, will be forced to listen to NPR and religious radio programming. Every now and then they might have to talk to each other.
Not that that's much of a problem for the band's founding members Michael Henry (guitars/vocals/drums) and David Schneider (more of the same).
Schneider and Henry have been friends for several years now, having first met in college in the great city of Boston where they studied English and kicked around the music scene. They share living quarters back home in Georgia and plan on being crammed into that accursed touring vessel for at least the rest of the summer, crisscrossing the dives and dust-covered dance halls of this great nation — the very one that spawned the fast friendship between them, one born of mutual tastes and perhaps an infinitesimal amount of jealousy.
"Dave was in a band with a friend of mine," Henry recalled. "I was always going to shows and trying to break up the band. It worked. Then we moved to Atlanta because it's cheap."
"The first few times we talked," Schneider said, "it was always after a show or at a shitty apartment party. So we were always kind of drunk, saying, 'I like that too! Oh, yeah!' I like songs with winding arrangements and I don't like guitar solos that much. That's what I was excited about at the time."
Back in Atlanta the band began swinging its creative pickaxe in earnest, writing material, honing its sound and playing the odd live show, though not every performance was worthy of documentation and distribution on Easy Tree. "We've played so badly in front of people that we don't really get embarrassed about playing bad," Schneider chuckled. "It's not like we packed the house in Atlanta."
"When we moved down here neither one of us had really fronted a band. So we spent a lot more time writing songs and demoing them," Henry said, adding that a revolving batch of bass players did little to help stabilize the early lineups. "Until the last six months we were more of a studio band, but now it's great. Our live shows have come a million miles from where we started."
On record the group is tightly chaotic and reminiscent at times of Modest Mouse and Talking Heads at its most frenetic, paranoid best. Much of this is demonstrated on the band's newest recording Noxious Saucy Beast, which opens with "Three Point Three," a track rife keen observations of suburban/urban (Who can tell the difference anymore?) paranoia and the growing alienation of the 21st Century and closes out 25 minutes later with "Senor Rodriguez," a dance-inducing freak-out number with vocals that sound as though they were squeezed from the sheets after a long and intense bout with night sweats. If it's not always easy to discern precisely what songs such as those and "Fattest Pigeon" and "With One Hand" are about exactly you can rest assured that the lines speak beyond the boundaries of the individual experience with eyes cast toward the larger world.
"It's fairly observational and not sarcastic but sarcastic," Schneider said. "A lot of it was written around the election, not that the songs are about that."
"It's not 'Go Democrats!' or 'Hurray, Democrats!'" offered Henry. "But there's an awareness of the time that the songs were written in. … There are general themes of confusion. I find myself confused a lot."
"I tried to abstract things a little," Schneider said. "We're playing these songs in front of people and we're not of the mind that our personal grievances or whatever we're sad about are worth shouting through a loud PA system."
If these friends don't always agree with the lyrical approach of bands in their general vicinity neither are they wholly sure about the music scene in their hometown, a scene that they're not sure has embraced them — low rent or not. "Sometimes it's hard to know if you're well liked down here," Henry said. "But that's just speculation."
"It's a big city with a lot of bands but there are three very different scenes, all within a few miles of each other on the same road," Schneider said. "The Close was voted best live band in Atlanta by Creative Loafing last year and their shows are often poorly attended, which is too bad. So, there's a scene [for bands like us] but not always people there to support the band. Though Atlanta has a thriving hip-hop scene. That's everywhere."
"And the zydeco scene is on fire," Henry cracked.
Joined by bassist John Walsh and drummer Greg Perry, Schneider and Henry (sans zydeco repertoire and turntables) will perform at Headway Skate Park, 200 N. Osage at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 17. The cost is $5 and will get you access to The Press, This Great October, Hands of the Fallen Brethren and Ghost of Graffiti. - F5 Wichita

(excerpt from interview/write-up)

"Their chances for success are high and their up-tempo, unpretentious and fun, fun, fun pop melodies are catchy enough to spark and spread like wildfire..."

- NOW Magazine Toronto