DT: OCTOBER 17, 2012
FR: LIBBY COFFEY/MITCH SCHNEIDER–MSO
PONDEROSA
CONFIRMED FOR NEW YORK CITY SHOWS:
CMJ SHOWCASE
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19
AT THE LIVING ROOM @9:15pm
AND
“ITUNES LIVE FROM SOHO”
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19
FROM THE APPLE STORE IN SOHO@6:00pm
VIDEO FOR FIRST SINGLE
“NAVAJO”
PREMIERES TODAY ON
PREMIERES TODAY ON THE FRONT PAGE OF
PUREVOLUME.com
“Imagine The Everly Brothers’ close harmonies tumbling through a psychedelic car wash.”
–Jim Farber, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, (8/5/12)
PONDEROSA are confirmed to perform two shows at the CMJ festival in New York this Friday, October 19 at The Living Room (154 Ludlow St NY, NY) at 9:15pm and as part of the “iTunes Live From SoHo” series at the Apple Store SoHo (103 Prince Street, NY, NY) at 6:00pm. Praised by Paste magazine for “combining psychedelic, soul and Southern rock to create music that’s hauntingly beautiful and irresistibly catchy all at the same time (7/31/12), the Atlanta-based band have been garnering critical acclaim for their sophomore disc POOL PARTY out now on New West Records.
Watch the exclusive premiere of the group’s captivating first single ‘Navajo’ now on the front page of PureVolume.com: http://www.purevolume.com/news/pondrosa-navajo-video-premiere. “We unwittingly hired a director who was also a Scientologist,” jokes lead singer KALEN NASH. “We came in with one idea and he somehow ended up making a video about aliens.”
USA Today has hailed “Navajo,” noting: “A dark groove haunts the soaring chorus and chiming guitars…” (6/19/12). Paste also said, “’Navajo,’ the debut single, is more than the album’s first breakout song. It’s indie rock at its finest. Instantly interesting and catchy to boot, ‘Navajo’ is a track you’ll want to spend some time with” (5/22/12). And Consequence of Sound noted that “‘Navajo,’ the lead single, has just the right combination of reverb and bombast, especially when the song hits its stride in the chorus” (8/2/12).
Watch the PONDEROSA video for “Navajo” exclusively on PureVolume.com
http://www.purevolume.com/news/pondrosa-navajo-video-premiere
PONDEROSA–KALEN NASH (lead vocals), JOHN DANCE (keyboards/vocals), JONATHAN HALL (bass/vocals), KRIS SAMPSON (lead guitar) and DARREN DODD (drums)–teamed with producer Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, MGMT) for POOL PARTY whose 10 tracks burst with neo-psychedelic sounds, amorphous guitars and earthen harmonies. “Black Hill Smoke” sounds like the Everly Brothers lost in a Phil Spector–inspired Twilight Zone. Album closer “Cold Hearted Man” features a stark, wrenching vocal from singer KALEN NASH, sung with acoustic guitar and ambient keys that make this meditation on sin and mortality one of the album’s most chilling moments.
More critical reaction for PONDEROSA’s POOL PARTY:
“Forget the timing alone; this is the album that will make you crave the long, lazy nights and hot sticky days long after the heat has retreated. Pool Party is a series of sleepy ballads drenched in the nostalgia of our youth. Its lyrics are brimming with former loves and faded memories, and with every new song it ticks off yet another experience many have known.”
— Megan Farokmanesh, PASTE, (8.6-out-of-10 CD review, 7/31/2012)
“…the sound is now pensive, spacey pop with elements of Pink Floyd’s atmospherics mixed into an arty, wistful but accessible cloud. …it’s a step in the right direction as these songs blend together to yield lovely, predominantly pensive music enhanced by overdubs of percussion and multi-layered waves of strummed guitars.”
–Hal Horowitz, AMERICAN SONGWRITER (4 out-of-5 CD review, August 2012)
“Their expansive new deal is a majestic dream-folk sound akin to more baroque peers like Fleet Foxes or Loud Valley. … ‘Navajo’ is an epic beauty.”
–Bao Le Huu, ORLANDO WEEKLY, (4-out of 5 star CD review, 8/2/2012)
“Pool Party is a sonic wonderland, a multi–hued destination where dreamlike psychedelia meets well–crafted harmonies, where southern–basted rock ‘n’ roll shakes hands with ambient color washes and reverb.”
–Bill DeYoung, CONNECT SAVANNAH, Savannah, GA 8/29/12
“‘Navajo,’ the lead single, has just the right combination of reverb and bombast, especially when the song hits its stride in the chorus.”
–Jon Bernstein, CONSQUENCE OF SOUND, (8/2/2012)
“…southern gothic dream pop…”
–Steve Leggett, ALL MUSIC (7/31/2012)
“…expansive, celestial sonic quadrants. Soaring, interstellar harmonies, booming drums, spatial textures, offbeat tangents and reverb aplenty are a few of their newfound traits on full display for the new elpee, which brings them closer in approach to that of groups like Band of Horses, My Morning Jacket and Athens’ Futurebirds.”
–Jeff Clark, STOMP AND STAMMER, (5/28/2012)
“…mesmerizing, as in ‘Navajo,’ where the rumbling tension gives way to an emphatic release of energy, or on ‘Pool Party,’ which builds into a kind of heavenly chorale.”
–Lee Zimmerman, BLURT, 7-out-of-10 star album review (8/8/12)
Press Releases:
http://www.msopr.com/n/client-roster/ponderosa/
PONDEROSA tour dates:
DATE CITY VENUE
PONDEROSA CMJ LIVE PERFORMANCE @ NEW WEST RECORDS SHOWCASE | ||||||
Fri | 10/19 | New York, NY | Apple Store SoHo (6:00PM) | |||
Fri | 10/19 | New York, NY | The Living Room (9:15PM) | |||
Wed | 11/21 | Atlanta, GA | Center Stage Theater | |||
2013 Tour Dates | ||||||
Sun | 2/24 | Miami, FL | Great Stirrup Cay | |||
Mon | 2/25 | Miami, FL | Great Stirrup Cay | |||
Tues | 2/26 | Miami, FL | Great Stirrup Cay | |||
Wed | 2/27 | Miami, FL | Great Stirrup Cay | |||
Thurs | 2/28 | Miami, FL | Great Stirrup Cay | |||
Fri | 3/1 | Miami, FL | Great Stirrup Cay |
PONDEROSA.
Ponderosa Assets:
Ponderosa (photolink): http://msopr.com/files/pon-1374-300dpi-small.jpg
Pool Party, album cover: http://msopr.com/files/ponderosa-_ac.jpg
Watch Ponderosa’s debut live performance of “Navajo” via Paste: http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/av/2012/08/video-premiere-ponderosa—navajo-live.html
Ponderosa online highlights: http://newwestrecords.com/pages/ponderosa-highlights/
###
For PONDEROSA publicity in the U.S., contact:
Libby Coffey/MSO–818-380-0400 x224, LCoffey@msopr.com
Mitch Schneider/x235,MSchneider@msopr.com