THE VANDELLES

Artist Information

Biography

Over the course of the past five years or so, The Vandelles have come to command their own corner in the local music scene. They occupy a territory that covers the Pulp-rock stylings of early Jesus and Mary Chain colliding with a sandy island of slinky hula riffs and harmonic dissonance. The bands roots are in New Brunswick, where they formed during their college years, from the members of two separate bands. Soon after, they found themselves playing in Texas with The Black Angels, but have since relocated to Brooklyn. They emote California style to the max, like a beached orphan of X, making their eastern seaboard ties all the more remarkable.

The band features an all-female rhythm section, Lindsey and Honey bash out thunderous riffs while Jasno Swarez squeals feed-backing solos, all set to tropical-themed rear projections. They take all of the beach vibes of a Ventures record and run them through a static cracked sound wave, adding a gleaming finish to their vintage approach to both songwriting and sonic allocation. They come on like a hazy dream, full of just the right amount of nostalgia to get the senses up and running.

Their first EP grabbed them an MTV spot, as well as countless live shows, including a pre-SXSW southeast tour with The Warlocks that brought them through seven different states and culminated at the Austin Pych Fest. August 2010 they released their first full length "Del Black Aloha" with the cult hits Lovely Weather which was featured on ABC's Body of Proof October 11th 2011 and Bomb the Surf featured in several films and most recently in EA Games Need for Speed The Run released November 15th 2011.

The Vandelles were a headlining act at Iceland Airwaves 2010 dubbed "the coolest band from America to play the festival". In 2011 they played 2 official showcases at SxSw in support of their "Summer Fling" EP released March 14th 2011. Their sophomore LP titled Strange Girls Don't Cry was released August 6th 2012, and one month later the band found themselves touring with the Jesus and Mary Chain to sold out crowds with both girls singing "Just Like Honey" on different nights of the tour.

The band is currently in production on their third album and a followup EP to Strange Girls to be released by early 2013

Instrumentation

Jasno Swarez - Vocals, Guitar
Honey Valentine - Drums
Lindsey Ann - Vocals, Bass

Discography

THE VANDELLES EP (October 2007)
Safranin Sound (US)
1. Fever of the Beat
2. Swell to heaven
3. Die for it Cowboy
4. Lovely Weather
5. Dead Wave
*This ep included a secret track - a cover of bjm's "not if you were the last dandy"


DEL BLACK ALOHA (Limited Edition 300 Print)
March 2009, Self Released
Dash 'N Dive
Get Down
Lovely Weather
Roving Rex
Going Downtown (demo)
Chain Walking
Fever Of the Beat
Blue La Strip
Bomb the Surf
California Killer (demo)
Die for it Cowboy
Die for it (reprise)
Bad Volcano (demo)

THE VANDELLES EP (Jan 2010)
SVC Records (UK and EU)
1. Lovely Weather
2. Swell To Heaven
3. Die For It Cowboy
4. Fever of the Beat
5. Dead Wave
+extra track

DEL BLACK ALOHA (Official Release)
July 2010 physical print, August 2010 iTunes Worldwide - Self Released
Dash N Dive
Get Down
Lovely Weather
Roving Rex
Going Downtown
Chain Walking
Fever of the Beat
Blue LA Strip
Bomb the Surf
California Killer
Die For It Cowboy
Bad Volcano

SUMMER FLING (hand screened print - exclusive SxSw 2011 giveaway)
1. Get Around
2. My Time
3. Summer FLing
4. Aloha From Hell (The Cramps cover)
5. Losing Touch With My Mind (Spaceman3 cover)

SUMMER FLING (itunes EP, March 14th 2011)
1. Get Around
2. My Time
3. Summer Fling

Strange Girls Don't Cry (Digital release August 6th 2012)
1. I'm Way Ahead of You
2. Double H
3. Good Boys Don't Lie
4. Strange Girls Don't Cry
5. Nocturnal
6. All Aloha
7. Way Through You
8. Miles Away
9. Into the City
10. Never See the Summer Again

You Turn Me (Free Digital Single October 24th 2012)
Original song "You Turn Me On" written by Beat Happening

Official Website

http://thevandelles.tumblr.com

Links

• Twitter
• Facebook
• MySpace
• Last.fm
• Bandcamp

Audio

• 03 Wild Sun MP3
  Listen   Download
• You Turn Me MP3
  Listen   Download
• I'm Way Ahead of You MP3
  Listen   Download
• Double H MP3
  Listen   Download
• Strange Girls Don't Cry
  Listen   Download
• Lovely Weather - Del Black Aloha Spring 2009
  Listen   Download
• All Aloha MP3
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• Lovely Weather
• California Killer
• Bad Volcano

Video

Bad Volcano Live at the Austin Psych Festival 2009

vandelles-youturnme w intro.mp4

Photo Gallery

Press

• Harvard Crimson | Beat of the Bay: The Vandelles [+ Show ]
  

  It’s rare these days for a relatively unheralded warm-up act to blow you away, but that’s just the e...It’s rare these days for a relatively unheralded warm-up act to blow you away, but that’s just the experience I had two months ago at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston. I was there to see shoegaze behemoths The Jesus and Mary Chain, now aging and creatively exhausted like most ‘80s post-punk groups, though still apt to put on a great show. As I waited outside the club in the cold to show my ticket, I could hear coming from deep inside a loud, trembling wall of noise, interspersed with a deceptively delicate vocal performance. It was instantly compelling. It sounded like shoegaze, but it sure as hell wasn’t the Mary Chain. “Who’s that?” I asked the bouncer. “That’s the Vandelles,” he said.
  
  I’ve now seen the Vandelles twice, at the Paradise and then a couple of weeks ago at the Deep Heaven Now festival in Somerville. Despite hailing from Brooklyn, they are regular fixtures on the Boston music scene and occupy a fascinating niche in the broad alternative-rock genre. Shoegaze as a genre too often seems to be in its twilight, the gorgeous soundscapes of the Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, and Ride having been superseded by epigones like Slowdive and Chapterhouse. Contemporary indie bands such as The Pains of Being Pure At Heart seem to labor all too dutifully under the burden of maintaining the ‘80s shoegaze legacy—the Williamsburg economy sustains itself mostly on reverb pedals—but the Vandelles are the first group I’ve heard who genuinely seem to be developing the form, pushing the boundaries, and making something new.
  
  “You can go in so many directions,” says Honey Valentine, the band’s drummer, emphasizing the irreverent and at times playful approach the Vandelles take to their work. Valentine is the beating heart of the group’s sound, taking a central, propulsive role. Sometimes her drumbeats seem vaguely militaristic, at other times almost tribal.
  
  The Vandelles as a whole dabble in other styles besides shoegaze. The guitar riffs are firmly rooted in surf rock, and lead singer and guitarist Jason Schwartz also cites psychedelic groups the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Black Angels as key influences. You can hear this in their music: it’s a kind of wispy, ethereal quality that’s hugely pronounced in concert. For example, on “I’m Way Ahead Of You,” airy harmonies float menacingly over a droning guitar, fusing together these disparate sounds to create something impressively distinctive.
  
  The group’s show at P.A.’s Lounge for DHN was especially satisfying, with a more languid, laid-back vibe than that regularly produced by the occasionally sterile patronage at the Paradise. The Vandelles definitely operate best in an intimate setting; despite their shoegaze roots their music is playful rather than aggressive. P.A.’s was an excellent showcase for the group’s strengths: Schwartz’s charismatic vocal performance, a relentless rhythm section led by bassist Lindsey Ann, and a strong propensity for good, old-fashioned noise. This was exemplified in their single “Lovely Weather,” which is built on a delicious old-school riff, Valentine’s aggressive drum attack, and layers upon layers of feedback.
  
  The Vandelles are currently on tour, but they should be back in Boston soon. “We have a lot of friends here,” Schwartz says. When they do, they’ll be well worth catching. Too much alternative rock today operates under the shadow of its illustrious ancestors; it’s refreshing to encounter a band that aspires to carve out its own tradition.
  
  —Staff writer Caleb J.T. Thompson can be reached at calebthompson@college.harvard.edu.

• Aktivist "Strange Girls Don't Cry" album review 5 out of 5 stars [+ Show ]
  

  English translation: Every time I think that rock ‘n’ roll has died and has been rotting 6 feet u...English translation:
  
  Every time I think that rock ‘n’ roll has died and has been rotting 6 feet under the surface of the earth, I get awaken by a slap on my cheek. The new record by “The Vandelles”¬¬—which feels like a charming slap on the cheek from your girlfriend when you show up drunk at her door at 5AM — makes me want to get up and run around screaming, “Wake up, people!” I think it was only an unfortunate accident that their debut album hadn’t become more popular. The “Strange Girls Don’t Cry” reveals a completely new, uncompromised, and at the same time, the most endearing side of the Brooklyn band. Equally perfect sounds and melodies from a relatively inexperienced band, are really hard to come by nowadays. Girls don’t cry and they take us on a trip with an overt self-confidence, gracefully dancing along the swaying walls made of guitars, with killer top-riffs, and romantic sleepy melodies seemingly straight from the “cheesy” top 40. There is no doubt/discussion about the form and the substance of this album. You either get onboard, or you sip your cocktail, looking out as the adventure disappears with the sunset. You can dance to this album; you can have sex, or do drugs, or even cry. And I still press a “repeat” while quietly whistling the closing riff of “Nocturnal”. - Michal Kropinski
  
  November 2012 Print Issue Page 26, http://issuu.com/valkea/docs/a161_ww

• Noisevox Music Video of the Day: The Vandelles, "You Turn Me"
  

  Directed by Claude Cardenas, original song "You Turn Me On" written by Beat Happening

• Washington City Paper - Jesus & Mary Chain, The Psychic Paramount, The Vandelles @ 9:30 Club [+ Show ]
  

  http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2012/09/10/photos-jesus-mary-chain-the-psych...http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/artsdesk/music/2012/09/10/photos-jesus-mary-chain-the-psychic-paramount-the-vandelles-930-club/

• Lindsey Ann sings Just Like Honey with JAMC at 9:30 Club
  

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJTvQV821t4

• Grimygoods video premier "Miles Away"
  

  Miles Away directed by Claude Cardenas, Staring Ashly Nichole, Written by Christo Buffam

• SPIN Picks 7 Undiscovered Bands Worth a Listen [+ Show ]
  

  http://www.spinmagazine.com/articles/spin-picks-even-more-undiscovered-bands-worth-listen The Van...http://www.spinmagazine.com/articles/spin-picks-even-more-undiscovered-bands-worth-listen
  
  The Vandelles
  Hometown:NYC
  Recommended if you like: The Jesus and Mary Chain, A Place to Bury Strangers
  Why we picked them: Noisy, guitar-driven shoegaze that's as antagonistic as it is melodic.
  
  Listen: The Vandelles, "Bad Volcano" (DOWNLOAD MP3)
  
  Recently, SPIN and music community website Sonicbids teamed up to bring worthy new bands the attention they deserve. Tonight at midnight (EST), Boston radio station WFNX will broadcast the eighth and final installment of the SPIN/Sonicbids Emerging Artists' Showcase, featuring seven cool unsigned bands from around the world, hand-picked by SPIN.com staffers from more than 500 submissions. (Tune in to 101.7 FM in the Boston area or listen live online via wfnx.com). Scroll down to meet these up-and-comers, snag a song from each, and click their website links to find out more!
  
  
  
  

Setlist

I'm Way Ahead of You
Strange Girls Don't Cry
All Aloha
Good Boys Don't Lie
Way Through You
dash n dive
lovely weather
dead wave
losing touch with my mind (spacemen 3)
bad volcano
Aloha From Hell
Summer Fling
Get Around
My Time

Basic Requirements

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