The Youngers

“The Youngers are not just the cutting edge of where music should be right now, they hold to the roots. Their style is both unique and reminiscent of some of the greatest Rock and Roll of our time, timeless and groundbreaking.” - Johnny Cash's Son

"The Youngers represent what real Americana music is all about - solid sing-along anthems, solid songwriting, solid stories and a solid and believable lead vocal." - Robyn Gatsby

"a combination of country, rock and ringing guitars so deft you’d be hard-pressed not to hum the verses and sing the chorus their second time around." - Hyperbolium

“On the Youngers' impressive debut, Output, Bartolo delivers well-crafted originals that belie the album's generic title. His songs tend to be streaked with melancholy, with Bartolo's hangdog vocals matched by mournful music that can be sweetly soothing when it's not kicking up the occasional rocking ruckus.”
- Nick Cristiano

“The press kit says to imagine a car crash between Hank Williams and Neil Young. Fair enough but I'd have to add that Kevn Kinney is the EMT that shows up. The soaring riffs of the opening track firmly peg the CD into a rock Americana gothic landscape that would indeed make Neil Young proud. But Todd Bartolo's world weary voice, despite the twang, has a rhythm and cadence that sounds surprisingly deep south modern for Pennsylvania boys. The Youngers have mastered an ensemble sound that few start up bands manage. No one dominates the song. It's clearly a song-writer's CD. The lead vocals are always front and center, but the guitar lines are clear and articulate and emotionally connected to the vocals. Add to it the occasional harmonica, lap steel, accordion, and fiddle and you have a CD that is good company while you're driving down the road.”
- Calvin Powers

“The Greater Philadelphia area is known for many things, but country music isn't one of them. Not yet, anyway. Todd Bartolo has been building a nice alt country/ bluegrass/ newgrass following in Berks County, about 30 minutes north of Philadelphia. His latest outlet is the Youngers, a band he co-founded in 1999 with bassist Randy Krater. They knocked out as much bluegrass as anything else during the formative years. "Bluegrass is pretty much where we started out," the 29-year-old Bartolo said by phone from his home. "At first, I wasn't really sure what I was going for. I just wanted to get together with someone. But I never saw myself doing that full-time." When the duo grew into a quartet, Bartolo couldn't resist the urge to turn up the volume. "The songs that I was writing weren't bluegrass material. I wanted to get a little more electric and it just evolved into a rougher, alt country kind of a sound." Suggested by Bartolo's girlfriend, the group's name comes from an infamous 19th-century gang of outlaws. The new Youngers' sometimes rocking, sometimes acoustic sound comes from the four members' collective influences, which range from Bob Wills to the Guess Who. "We all complement each other because we all have different backgrounds," Bartolo said. "I have a lot of old country influence in me from my parents. I also like the Americana and singer-songwriter stuff, Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Waylon [Jennings] and Johnny Cash. "Jesse [Nocera] has more of a classic rock influence -- the Who, Guess Who, Johnny Rivers, Chuck Berry. We're all into older stuff, roots rock and old country." Echoes of all those artists can be heard on the 10 cuts of the quartet's 2005 release, "Output." "'Long Way Home' is pretty much a rock and electric song," Bartolo said. "Later in the album, 'Arkansas' has more of an acoustic, laid-back kind of feel. It has a rootsy kind of sound." Bartolo is confident that he is bringing the Youngers to a part of the country that appreciates music like his.”
- Bill Craig

“Set with an old-school country/folk core, The Youngers craft a downbeat, bear-drenched sound that "stirs rural" under Bartolo`s plaintive drawl. Casting bar-stool poetry and the eternal prose of the forever heartbroken, Bartolo leads the group through lethargic road house and slow-simmered alt. country, with the occasional jangly roots-pop number and bluegrass folk item thrown in for good variety. The rootsy rock of opening cut "Long Way Home" features some searing lap-steel solos, courtesy of Bartolo, sounding out the fanfare for the band`s ten track excursion through straight forward, yet emotionally wrought (and sometimes wrangled), set of tunes.”
- Miles of Music

“The Youngers create outstanding original roots-rock with respectable dash of country influence, imbued with a classic, timeless quality.”
- George Graham

"I enjoyed meeting and recording with the Youngers. After listening to their CD and their blend of country rock with straight talking lyrics about the heart, the highways and the railways, I believe that they have put together a very eclectic and emotional project that should make any listener recall their own heritage." -Ronnie McCoury - Ronnie McCoury

"The Youngers bring together hard-driving rock, alt-country, and a hint of bluegrass, along with clever, heart-felt lyrics....in other words, they represent the best in Americana today. They're great live, and they're great in the studio with this new release." Martin Anderson Music Director & Mid-Day Host, WNCW - Martin Anderson

"The Youngers bring out the 'heritage" of roots Americana music in Pennsylvania . Listening to them is like imagining a group of older men on a store front porch jawing their life's tales while whittling craft with fairly sharp knives."Burr Beard Program Director WXLV 90.3FM
- Burr Beard

"The Youngers (nearly a decade old) are for anyone who appreciates tight musicianship delivered with a sound that's still just a little rough around the edges."-- Asheville Citzen Times - Asheville Citizen TImes