Press for the Positions

Excerpt of a review from Spendid Ezine:

"The Positions are so unapologetically pop that their senior-prom-core songs sound charming instead of abhorrent. It's a fine line to walk, but it's one that all pop artists must navigate when they're working with such cornball elements from the '60s and the '80s. Who can deny the boldness required to reference The Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me" and Tiffany's Tiffany in the same song, as The Positions did on the finger-snapping "Back to Me"? Combining the two elements is like putting whip cream on a cake made only of frosting; if you're in the mood for something sweet, then fuck yeah!. This may all seem somewhat wussy, but there's something undeniably ballsy about Bliss! It's just as much a statement about the jaded musical climate in which we live as it is a judgement upon the audacity of writing a song like "I Need You" while not being a member of The Chi-Lites, but it seems downright gutsy to be so... umm... happy?"

Read more of the press clippings for The Positions here.

Press for Mantissa

Excerpts from a cover feature published in Southeast Performer:

The cover: link.

"Boring Mantissa clearly are not, and the attention they have received despite never seeking anything more than another outlet through which to record music is a testament to their unplanned ingenuity. Though most who have been involved with Mantissa have or had at least one other band or project, the current line-up is primarily focused on where involvement with this band will lead, creatively and personally. For a band with next to zero expectations to start with, Mantissa has evolved into something few could have predicted. Though they still have much to prove now that their base of contributors has solidified to an extent, Mantissa aren’t concerned with anyone else’s standards apart from their own."

Read more of the press clippings for Mantissa here.

Press for Pagoda

From CMJ Magazine:

"The tracks on this Washington, D.C.-based group’s debut record are short and sweet and provide a warm, fuzzy soundtrack for life’s most reflective and dreamy moments. Pagoda packs the album’s 30 minutes with light, airy, layered guitar pop, taking a page from New Zealand rockers such as the Clean and the Verlaines as well as ’70s rock icons like Big Star. Opener “Cajun Pride” is an entirely instrumental affair, echoing guitars seamlessly intertwining with plucks of a lap steel and barely there drumbeats. Disc highlight “Superbreakout” is among the album’s poppiest tracks, drawing influence from the Clean’s earliest efforts; the song’s instrumental outro finds the band at their tightest and most comfortable, gradually piling on reverb, distortion and hollow drums that increase in power and prominence as the track comes to a close. “Ham On White” adds a ’70s-rock-meets-countrified-folk flavor to the album, while the ironically titled “Piano Song” focuses more on noisy guitars instead of tickling the ivories and once again buries Licciardi’s mysterious vocals. Dearly Departed is at times eerie, but as a whole is a beautiful and refreshing debut."

Read more of the press clippings for Pagoda here.

Press for The Fairline Parkway

From the All Music Guide:

An immediate comparison to a soft-spoken act such as Belle & Sebastian will come to mind when listening to the debut from the Fairline Parkway. And though both bands share a love for season-changing chamber pop, the Fairline Parkway pull it off with just two core members. Zachary Okun (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards) and Raj Gadhia (guitar, vocals, keyboards) fill out the record with daydreamy {folk-rock} that could easily be the soundtrack for a lazy summer day in the open fields or a walk in a winter wonderland. "Street," the first track, comes on a little strong, but it's smooth sailing from there. The piano trickles, percussion is gentle, and vocals are whispery through lovely tunes such as "Bores Me" and the drum machine-assisted "Epilepsy." Slide guitar (along with guest vocals from Kathryn Anderson) brings to mind early Mojave 3 on "Threadbare.

Read more of the press clippings for The Fairline Parkway here.