home/catalog
purchase
press resources
e-mail
mystery farm records
po box 3147
chicago, IL 60654
info@mysteryfarm.com
|
We've Been Lost, the sophomore release by the Layaways, was released on December 7th, 2004.
Press materials, images, and sound files are below.
Need more info, want to interview the band? Please contact jason@mysteryfarm.com. Thanks!
retail one-sheet
Sound Files
Silence - 192k mp3
The Long Night - 192k mp3
Images
album cover 200x200 pixels
album cover 115x115 pixels
the layaways - we've been lost
David Harrell - vocals, guitar, bass, and keyboards
Mike Porter - vocals, bass, guitar, and percussion
Nathan Burleson - drums, percussion, and vocals
Last year's debut release by the Layaways, More Than Happy, was a critical success,
drawing praise for its mix of 60s-inspired vocal harmonies and 80s-style new wave rhythms.
The Big Takeover said "These are songs that you want to take home with you, curl up with,
hold them close -- and pray that they are still with you when you wake up."
Splendid wrote "...this album is less a case of trying to spot each influence than trying to
keep track of all the hooks." And PopMatters said "...these 12 tracks evoke the spirit of early
Beatles, R.E.M., and the best of the Cure."
Yet the plural band moniker was a misnomer: At the time, the band consisted of a single
Layaway, guitarist/vocalist David Harrell who had overdubbed 99% of the record's parts
in his home studio. But Harrell had planned all along to put together a live band,
hence the band name as opposed to a "solo" release. So when the offer came for a slot at
the 2004 International Pop Overthrow (IPO) fest in Chicago, he quickly recruited
long-time friend Mike Porter to play bass and sing. Porter enlisted friend Nathan
Burleson on drums and backing vocals and the group commenced serious rehearsals.
After an acclaimed IPO performance and other area shows, as well as college radio airplay
across the country for More Than Happy, the new band opted to keep the momentum going.
They rehearsed new material and headed into Chicago's Wall to Wall Recording in June 2004
to start work on a follow-up release. "It's an inspiring place," says Porter. "A dimly lit
basement with red shag carpeting on the walls -- it took me back to what my parents would
call a 'den' when I was growing up. Plus, where else can you draw inspiration from both
Aretha Franklin and Marlon Perkins?" (Franklin recorded there years ago, and Mutual of
Omaha's Wild Kingdom show did post-production there in one of the studio's past incarnations.)
Backing tracks in the studio were followed by overdubs at Harrell's home studio,
Porter's living room, and the band's rehearsal space on Chicago's West side. "Recording at the
rehearsal space was always interesting," says Burleson. "We'd record a tambourine overdub
and then play it back to hear a bit of guitar shredding from one of our heavy metal neighbors
in the background. You can't hear it on the finished track, but I like to think that the
spirit of [Ozzy tribute band] Izzy Izbourne made it through on some of the songs."
The group then headed back to Wall to Wall to mix the completed tracks with Dan Dietrich,
whose recent work includes a slew of acclaimed local and national artists, including Andrew
Bird, Head of Femur, and the Redwalls. Mastering was handled once again by indie-rock
uber-producer Eric Masunaga (Sebadoh, the Dambuilders) at his Modulus studio in Boston.
The final result is We've Been Lost, an 11-track mix of hooks, harmonies, and aural hors
d'oeuvres. Harrell and Porter's songs mix new-wave-influenced indie-pop with hints of folk
and psychedelic rock, and have drawn comparisons to Guided by Voices, the Jesus and Mary Chain,
and the Pernice Brothers.
Eleven songs, 40 minutes, and dozens of hooks. We've Been Lost will make a fast trip from
your iPod to your brain and have you humming along in no time.
A CMJ Top 200 radio campaign began in January and the Layaways will hit the road for a
string of Midwestern shows in March.
|
