Abram Shook

http://www.austinsound.net/2009/02/09/sound-off-the-great-nostalgic/

The Great Nostalgic is gearing up to release their debut album soon, and we’ve been looking forward to this one since catching the band last fall. There’s a wealth of talent in the group (see below), but the driving force behind the quartet is Abram Shook, who brings the same explosive and unexpected turns to the Great Nostalgic’s sound that he contributed to the Laughing. And their sound is certainly cut with a decent dose of nostalgia, hearkening a wild Bowie-esque pop mixed with a touch of the Cure, but there’s also more than enough contemporary, Arcade Fire-ish flourish to keep them squarely set in the present. Catch them this Friday, February 13th at Club DeVille as they help Golden Bear celebrate the release of their long-awaited new EP, Everest, with Pink Nasty rounding out the bill. - austin sound

http://www.austinsound.net/2009/02/09/sound-off-the-great-nostalgic/

The Great Nostalgic is gearing up to release their debut album soon, and we’ve been looking forward to this one since catching the band last fall. There’s a wealth of talent in the group (see below), but the driving force behind the quartet is Abram Shook, who brings the same explosive and unexpected turns to the Great Nostalgic’s sound that he contributed to the Laughing. And their sound is certainly cut with a decent dose of nostalgia, hearkening a wild Bowie-esque pop mixed with a touch of the Cure, but there’s also more than enough contemporary, Arcade Fire-ish flourish to keep them squarely set in the present. Catch them this Friday, February 13th at Club DeVille as they help Golden Bear celebrate the release of their long-awaited new EP, Everest, with Pink Nasty rounding out the bill. - austin sound

http://trinitystardust.blogspot.com/ - Trinity Stardust blog

The Great Nostalgic is 1 of 9 Austin bands to watch in 2009. - Austin Chronicle

http://austinist.com/2009/05/01/the_great_nostalgic_-_review_and_sh.php

After leaving The Laughing to pursue his own project, Abram Shook took his music in a different direction but kept his original intentions while switching focus.

His old band filtered melodrama and anger through a veneer of irony and excessive sounds and visions, while The Great Nostalgic is a project more comfortable with sincerity. This translates into a warm listening experience for their self-titled debut, even when the material becomes chilling as on "The Kingdom," where Shook intones "When we were young/ your parents took you from me" over a wash of guitars and synthesizers.

A surprisingly ominous work, The Great Nostalgic looks to friction as a guidepost, and looks to moody mysteries for inspiration. A happy find for fans of locals The Corto Maltese or The Sour Notes, the latter of whom will share the stage with The Great Nostalgic for their cd release show at the Hole in the Wall tonight.

The confrontational guitar tone is tempered by Shook's more tender vocal delivery. While most songs reach into the four-minute range, the band doesn't shy from epic productions, infusing "Legend," for example, with a soft acoustic intro that blossoms into an aural assault of brass and other varied instrumentation. - The Austinist

This winter, Austinist wanted to take some time to check in with some of our favorite local performers, artists and musicians to see what they enjoyed in 2008. Our request was simple: give us a few things that you enjoyed listening to this year, and feel free to include releases that might not have been released in 2008, but that found their way onto your turntable anyhow.
We were happy to talk to Erik Wofford, primary producer at Cacophony Recorders, the master behind such albums as the Black Angels' latest, some White Denim, Bill Callahan, the Calm Blue Sea and (many) others. Not surprisingly, he stayed very busy in 2008, and opted to share with us the albums he worked on this year that were most exciting / gratifying for him. We very much look forward to hearing what comes out of Cacophony in 2009, but until then, here's what he's most proud of from '08:

The Great Nostalgic Forthcoming LP, tba: Abram Shook, the mad genius behind The Great Nostalgic used to play bass/keys/sax/percussion/etc. for The Laughing. He has taken that love for all things extravagant and applied to it his new band, but put a pop sheen on it. At the heart is a little bit of Bowie and maybe some Talking Heads with orchestrated pop on the edges. The record was started over a year and a half ago and has been finely crafted by at least six different engineers. I mixed most of the songs along with a couple by Andy Sharp and Danny Reisch, culminating in mastering by myself. In the midst of working on the record, Abram and I went down to Baja, Mexico for a week long surfing/taco trip. That was The Great Escape, Great Nostalgic style. This debut record will be out in early 2009.
- The Austinist

http://www.austinsound.net/2009/04/29/the-great-nostalgic-the-great-nostalgic-sr/

There’s a quintet that bubbled very quietly to the surface here in Austin, fecklessly catching the gaze of media and passers-by. Melding music’s finer points with human tendency and memory, their sound mildly manifests in an almost opulent mess of selectively twangy baroque that politely bows to its grand new wave — yet still indie — roots. Mellifluous in the same way that the best vinyl sounds after you’ve been away for too long, the Great Nostalgic’s debut album is much, much more than it seems.

Primary to the band’s heart and momentum is Abram Shook, who spent due time with other musical endeavors that include The Laughing, before transplanting his Boston roots to the southwest. His fixation with memory, ruminating on, and ultimately purging it, is bewitching. The album is an exercise in remembering what listening to music felt like, what it used to mean, and what it should mean again. Abdicating an evening to an album because it’s all you have, that and time to navigate through memories that aren’t yours but still strike somewhere deep is the journey — at least one portion of it. Nearly each action linked to the process of plucking from your record collection and getting comfortable is meaningful, and the Great Nostalgic suffuses its sound with that intention.

Not at all cloying, but sweet and nostalgic in ways that nudge you to remember who you were when you were younger, “County Line” navigates through a landscape and the tragedy of expectations unfulfilled that shares meaning for its author with listeners who’ve no real place, but can still connect on a human level. Because some sentiments are universal, regardless of our chagrin. Kittenish and wide-eyed “Young Lovers” brims with plucky guitars and tip-top drums that escort the tune along its poppy way, easily keeping listeners’ attention with well-placed bass lines and an overall almost sunny feel.

Although no members of the band are on the record, they work off of the malleable bedrock of Shook’s design and inhabit their places well, breathing a different kind of life into the live performances. Their particular taste of new wave culls the genre’s deepest roots for the most artful ways to convey their brooding, yet still bright, musing habits, weaving in elements of The Velvet Underground alongside (really, really early) Duran Duran and even crumbs of The Beatles. Shook’s affinity for things sepia toned memories and illustration bolsters the feeling of watching memories in reverse.
- Austin Sound music blog

http://austintownhall.com/2009/03/04/the-great-nostalgic-st/ - Austin Town Hall blog

http://austintownhall.com/2009/03/04/the-great-nostalgic-st/ - Austin Town Hall blog