"The dog days of summer replace the street bustle of open windows with the cocooning thrum of the air conditioner, almost unnoticed. Like the Sea and Cake, Austin's Black Before Red craft their own hermetically sealed world of rhythmic subtlety on "Underneath Gold". An organic hum fixes guitar harmonics, finger snaps, synth squeals, trumpets, and Marc Ferrino's trumpet-like vocals in a pristine lounge-pop space. It's the bass, though, that pulls this all together-- smooth yet verbose, Kevin Schneider's playing brings French pop group Phoenix out of their (deceptive!) dentist's office and onto a long, American road trip. Through it all, though, "Underneath Gold" seems more about watching a heatwave intently from indoors than participating: "There's girls here in summer clothes/ Christ, temptation," Ferrino sings." - Marc Hogan, Pitchfork (July 2007)
[plus streaming mp3 of "Underneath Gold"]
A first listen reveals very brisk, metronomic and bright pop music laced with subtle flourishes of horns and peppery acoustic guitars that dance along with the lovely vocal melodies—very cool, quiet little songs. It's often reminiscent of mid-'70s Kinks with that delicate modern indie sound that the kids love. Sensitive boy stuff this, not dissimilar to a brittler Spoon or even The Walkmen. Throw some Beach Boys' "bah-bah-bahhs" over key parts and there you go. This one was like a wine review, no?
- Eric, 75 or Less (July 2007)
"Earlier tonight as I was trying to get through a stack of new cds that I had uploaded to my iPod, I came across a song that completely caught me off guard. It’s sound seemed to come straight out of the Broken Social Scene canon of music with it’s laid-back mood of dominate bass lines, muted horns and gentle harmonies. What song is it you ask? It’s called “Underneath Gold” from the band Black Before Red who are based in Austin." READ MORE
- PJ, The Yellow Stereo (July 2007)
"Now I'm in the best mood ever... Between well-crafted melodies & amazing harmonies lies some really, really happy laid-back pop. In the best sense of the term."READ MORE
- It Covers the Hillsides (July 2007)
"Black Before Red is an indie-rock quartet based out of Austin, TX. They have a sound reminiscent of The Beatles, or Pinback, or Violent Femmes, with a little Shins, but whatever you think they sound like this band offers unique compositions that make them worth listening to repeatedly. "
- Dallas Does Indie(July 2007)
"Black Before Red is clearly a band to keep an eye on. Debuts like this don't come around very often."READ MORE
- Davide Brusie, Minneapolis F***ing Rocks (July 2007)
"Black Before Red delivers enough good songs to convince any doubter and it’s a record that is getting better with each and every listen."
READ MORE
- Herohill (July 2007)
"I like songs where you can't tell if the handclaps are fingersnaps, if the trumpets are just the sound the singer makes when he opens his lips. Black Before Red offer a Broken Social groove, a before-the-night dancebeat, a series of eye contacts. "There's girls here in summer clothes." A string of necessary nothings: "Yeah / in your head yeah yeah yeah / yeah / oh-oh oh yeah (yeah)." Bodies passing through doorways, new hands in hands, a summer counted in heatwaves."
- Said the Gramophone (July 2007)
"austin’s black before red creates the type of mood that is sadly missing in my day to day life. that kind of vibe/mood can only be felt by fully engulfing thyself into the eagles’ classic “peaceful easy feeling” or by giving black before red’s awkwardly titled belgrave to kings circle a whirl. they are really nothing like the eagles at all except they give off that cool early 70’s california vibe mixed with the “jacking the ball” era the sea and cake."
- Captain's Dead (July 2007)
"The simple drumming, the gentle working of the piano and the acoustic strumming, the perfectly smooth harmonies; all of it screams retro. Yet, even with each throwback moment there is one that comes out full of twang or something else that isn’t to be expected... Belgrave To King’s Circle is a versatile pop machine that entertains at every corner."
READ MORE
- John Laird, Austin Sound (July 2007)
"...they work within the town’s infamous framework, occasionally borrowing from the west coast pop of decades earlier. It’s still an overwhelmingly Austin sound that Black Before Red possesses though. Which not surprisingly means this disc is very, very good."
READ MORE
- Russ Hockenbury, Absolute Punk (June 2007)
"Although this is their debut album, the band can hardly be called “freshman.” They are one of those groups that seems to have been around forever, undergoing multiple lineup changes as members came and went--to join Okkervil in one case--before finally coalescing into an ideal mix and settling in to make their ideal debut album. Recommended!"
READ MORE
- Indie Surfer (June 2007)
"'Matagorda' is my favorite since it most resembles and indie rock showtune... Overall there's that roadtrip California feel that wisps to and fro with piano and melodic guitar chords."
READ MORE
- Three Imaginary Girls (June 2007)
"In June and July I tend to need a little pick-me-up in the morning, something fast, short, and sweet for the bus ride downtown. Just when I was searching for something to use for this purpose, along comes Black Before Red, with their sugar-sweet melodies and perfect harmonies."
READ MORE
- Music For Robots (June 2007)
"Each member of Black Before Red has a specialty—no specialty—instead, the group is comprised of multi-instrumentalists who carve their own little niche into the indie pop world. It’s no surprise that a band this talented and ingenious would emerge from the well-stocked Austin, Texas scene. “Belgrave to Kings Circle” is stocked with rich compositions that are complex yet organic in nature; members of Zykos, the Lemurs, and Okkervil River helped out and lent a hand in crafting these fine numbers. Laid back harmonies give the album a smart pop feel."
- Smother Magazine (June 2007)
updated 7/18/07