Underwater Country Club

Underwater Country Club:

Show up at gigs, meet the band and ask lots of questions. If you reach out to them afterwards, they will most likely respond and keep your band in mind for another performance. Most venues will let you on a bill as an opener at 8pm or an open mic on a strange Wednesday. Show up to this gig like you’re playing Madison Square Garden, and you’ll be sure to get noticed. - 14th Street Magazine

Thanksgiving 2013 is in the books. CoolMom’s extended family come to visit us every year. We usually spend Thursday, Friday, and Saturday together celebrating the holiday, shopping, and catching up with each other. That means that I usually can’t get out to see any of the shows over Thanksgiving weekend.
This year wasn’t any different. While out to dinner with everyone on Saturday, I got a text asking me if I planned to see Philadelphia’s Underwater Country Club during their stop at Asbury Park Yacht Club. Alas, I was booked; but that text reminded me that Underwater Country Club had released an EP this summer that I’d been meaning to check out. It was the perfect excuse to do some last-minute listening as I started compiling my list of the things I really enjoyed this year.
Formed by brothers Andrew and Skip Robinson, the Philly quartet also includes Anthony Coppa and Jack Crawford. On ep, Underwater Country Club produce some jangly, melodic, almost anthemic pop that calls to mind the meticulous songcraft of someone like the Shins’ James Mercer or The Connells on their classic album Boylan Heights.
“Skeptic Lens” opens ep with a surfy guitar jangle and combines that with acoustic guitar, clever and literate lyrics, and some power pop percussion. ep‘s other two tracks — “Calling Back For You” and “The Money Song” — don’t stray too far from that template and further showcase Underwater Country Club’s ability to produce pristine, intelligent power pop.
So I didn’t make it out this weekend, but time with family plus the discovery of something that I may just have to include as one of my favorites of 2013 isn’t too bad. And according to Underwater Country Club’s Facebook page, I’ll be able to catch them when they swing through Asbury Park again on January 10th at Asbury Lanes. - Speak Into My Good Eye

Music video review by Speak Into My Good Eye - Speak Into my Good Eye

Andrew Robinson of Underwater Country Club Sits down for a candid interview with The Deli Magazine of Philadelphia - The Deli

With their unique take on alternative rock, Underwater Country Club presents themselves as a formidable group with inventive style in their recent album. Fairfield junior Andrew Robinson, who is the band’s lead singer and guitarist, also writes the music and lyrics for the band. As the band’s leader, he creates a sound that is relaxing while at the same time mentally stimulating with their lyrics.

The song “Pastels Wagers” presents the singer’s experience of going to church on Easter Sunday and being sarcastically intrigued by his Jesus’ “cute little stories.” This subtle humor in their lyrics syncs up with their melodies and compositions to manifest a sense of longing within their work. From listening to the music, you feel as though the band is trying to find an expressionistic voice to advocate their sentiments, and they do so with stunning clarity.

What gives the album a sense of diversity is the way in which the songs introduce themselves with a piano riff, a short guitar intro or just a steady silence that grows to a fulfilling auditory expression. Songs like “Scene The Dark” and “Devil’s Swing Set” exhibit a musical experimentation that is poised with poignant lyrics and inventive titles. In this, the songs interconnect with a sense of individuality yet maintain the simulacra of a flowing melody.

Robinson has stated that among his favorite bands are Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse, and from listening to the album, one can get a sense of this influence. Underwater Country Club possess both the rhythm of a guitar based alternative rock band, while maintaining a sense of electronic staccato. Amidst this well crafted sound are the lyrics that hold a great pertinence to the intrigued listener.

Like Arcade Fire, Robinson and the other members of Underwater Country Club seem to center their songs around one character’s experience within the influences of an environment that he or she feels trapped in or incapable of fully connecting with. From this, we find a musical expression that presents the simplicity of human emotions while at the same time advocating their complexity and multidimensionality.

The music business also happens to be the family business for Underwater Country Club as well. “I play with my brother primarily who is a percussionist,” Robinson stated. He also commented on the fact that they play with musicians from different schools including Fairfield but advocated this family connection saying, “My brother and I are the core components.” Coming from the musical well-spring of Asbury Park, New Jersey, this brother dynamic proves that their musical synthesis is one that intrigues as well as entertains. They present an artistic expression that goes beyond the superficial nature of most music without being too full of itself. Because of this Underwater Country Club is perfect to listen to while doing work or simply hanging out to enjoying the passing hours. To enjoy this music, you can find it streaming online or contact Andrew Robinson.

- The Mirror

Sometimes the most interesting acts at an event are the ones added latest to the program. Certainly that’s what the members of Underwater County Club are hoping for when they appear at this year’s Middlesex County Fair today.

“This is our first appearance, we got on the bill a little late,” said Skip Robinson, one of the band’s founders. “But we're excited to be performing at the festival.”

And for fairgoers who tend to shy away from the fair’s more standard music, they may also be excited to see the Underwater Country Club. As a recent article in The Fairfield University Mirror News Paper raved (one band member is a Fairfield student), "With their unique take on alternative rock, Underwater Country Club presents themselves as a formidable group with inventive style.

“Robinson and the other members of Underwater Country Club seem to center their songs around one character’s experience within the influences of an environment that he or she feels trapped in or incapable of fully connecting with. From this, we find a musical expression that presents the simplicity of human emotions while at the same time advocating their complexity and multidimensionality.”

Certainly the phrase "unique take on alternative rock" doesn’t narrow the band’s style down too much, but the musicians themselves list their primary musical influences as Paul Simon, Belle & Sebastian, The Beach Boys, and Wilco.

Not unlike the Beach Boys, the band traces its history back to brothers, in this case Skip and Andrew Robinson.

“We rotated a series of bass players till we decided to utilize our childhood friend Tom Dalzell, who lived down the road and would car pool to Christian Brothers Academy prep school with us,” said Robinson. “We recently added Catherine and Anna Wolk (sisters) from Bridgeport, Connecticut this year. The sisters met Andrew while studying music at Fairfield University.”

The name of the band doesn’t relate to any one event, but ties to all of the band members in one way or another. ”Underwater Country Club as a name is mysterious in its origin,” Robinson said. “Stories say the Wolk sisters crashed a golf cart into a golf course lake, Skip lifeguards at a country club that is going bankrupt, and Andrew spends most his time underwater on the swim team at Fairfield University.”

Names are names, however: Robinson would rather talk about the band’s music.

“Andrew is the primary songwriter,” he says, noting that he occasionally writes both on his own and with his brother. “The Wolk sisters have also begun to write songs for the band as well in recent months. Writing is done on our time, and the material and arrangements are always complete before entering any studio or recording session. We have a good idea of what we want things to be for UWCC.”

They’ve written enough, in fact, to populate a CD. “Pantones,” the band’s debut album, is available via iTunes. “The CD is one-hundred percent ours,” Robinson said. “We are unsigned, putting out the record on our own dollar. We completed the record in two six-hour days.” The band recorded the CD at Lakehouse Music in Asbury Park in the fall of 2010, and released it in February of 2011.

This Middlesex County Fair is just the latest stop in a whirlwind tour the band has been making over the past few months. “We’ve played over 45 shows this summer,” Robinson said. “Expect more next summer, and some more over the spring months. Listeners will be surprised for what the future holds for UWCC and will have something new to listen to, whatever that may be, in their stereos, iPods, and computers by Christmas.”

Underwater Country Club plays at the Middlesex County Fair on Sunday, Aug. 7, from 2 to 4 PM
- East Brunswick Patch

Underwater Country Club is going to be playing consistently at the bar Trinity and the Pope in Asbury Park this summer every Thursday starting at 9pm. The band has a whole new batch of songs that are ready to be recorded at summers end so be sure to check them out a few times this summer while they unleash more and more material on you each set. If you haven’t been to Trinity and the Pope before it is located on Matteson Avenue behind Old Man Rafferty’s and is a beautiful distinguished bar. The building used to be an old bank which gives it that old Asbury Park feel and the place is extremely classy looking but doesn’t force a business casual attire on you. So if your a hipster like me, wear your jean cut offs, fedoras, and v neck down to your belly button and come see a great rock band perform every Thursday for the entire summer. For all information on the band, check the links below.

Underwater Country Club Facebook

Lakehouse Music

Ogden Clothing Website

Trinity And The Pope Website

- Ogden Clothing

On Wednesday June 22nd the group currently known as Underwater Country Club made their Summer 2011 debut at Langosta Lounge in Asbury Park. The night was warm, humid but beautiful and perfect for a night filled with Indie Rock. Andrew Robinson was calm and collected at the bar drinking a Dos Equis while Anna, Catherine and Skip socialized with friends before they hit the stage. When the time came for the band to perform they were cheered by friends, lifeguards, Ogden representatives and local Asbury “scenesters” when they ripped into their hit song “Surfing Lessons.”

Throughout the set the crowd was smiling and having a good time enjoying song after song while enjoying some fine Latin beverages, I mean you can’t beat $5 Margaritas and $3 Latin beers while listening to some good Indie Rock music all night. About halfway through the set the band hit through a few newer songs such as “Saline” and “Mile Marker” the latter being one of the more popular songs among the lifeguard attendees. The band closed with my new favorite song they just wrote “Distraction” that most of my colleagues agreed was the strongest song of the set and couldn’t have ended the night better. Afterwards the band walked off stage drenched in sweat after performing around 8 songs in just under an hour. If you haven’t checked them out live, please do, they are playing every Thursday at Trinity And The Pope and TBA soon again at Langosta Lounge. Check back here for more info on their schedule and check the links below for more.

- Ogden Clothing