Ann Courtney & the Late Bloomers
Gig Seeker Pro

Ann Courtney & the Late Bloomers

New York City, New York, United States | INDIE

New York City, New York, United States | INDIE
Band Rock Pop

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

Press


"small nuclear plant"

"Ann Courtney and her band have made a propulsive, energetic debut album. Ann's vocal has enough energy to power a small nuclear plant"--Anna Maria Stjarnell, www.collectedsounds.com - www.collectedsounds.com


"small nuclear plant"

"Ann Courtney and her band have made a propulsive, energetic debut album. Ann's vocal has enough energy to power a small nuclear plant"--Anna Maria Stjarnell, www.collectedsounds.com - www.collectedsounds.com


"Album of great poise"

"'Crocodile' is an album of great poise, which sounds like... well, it sounds like Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers, no-one else; furthermore, if you get my drift, it feels like that 'difficult' third album - done right."--www.howmarvellous.com - www.howmarvellous.com


"Album of great poise"

"'Crocodile' is an album of great poise, which sounds like... well, it sounds like Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers, no-one else; furthermore, if you get my drift, it feels like that 'difficult' third album - done right."--www.howmarvellous.com - www.howmarvellous.com


"ACLB Blooms"

"In one moment, Ann Courtney fronts this bright-eyed bushy-tailed quintet with a wicked self-assurance and rock moxie. In the next, she lays herself bare with the dulcet tremors of heartache. Peggy Lee meets the Pretenders in a happy collision of rosy ballads and rag rock." -Arthur Schnakenburg - The Brooklyn Post


"Ann Courtney Rocks the House"

"One of the best live acts in the city"--Pete Harris, Indie Sounds NY - Indie Sounds NY


"Ann Courtney & the Late Bloomers"

Ann Courtney, whose friendly presence behind the bar is one of the nicer things about Rockwood, turns out to also be one of the best artists to play at Rockwood. The totally packed room rocked with some great songs, well played and sung by Ann and her excellent band, the Late Bloomers. Ann's voice falls somewhere between Eleni Mandell and Chrissie Hynde, and it is a total pleasure to hear her sing. Ann also plays electric rhythm guitar and is ably accompanied by Ben Byleen on bass, Michael Lupo on drums, Lizzie Carena on piano & vocals, and David Giambusso who plays some great electric lead guitar. The band has two primary speeds, rockin' and slow burn, and both totally work.
In addition to all that, Ann's show has some nice touches like a light-up arrow through the heart logo on the stage, and a three song giveaway CD that was passed around in a cute little box. If you're in the New York area, go hear Ann play, she'll shoot you through the heart just like those stage lights.
- William Kates (Music & More)


"Ann Courtney & the Late Bloomers"

Ann Courtney, whose friendly presence behind the bar is one of the nicer things about Rockwood, turns out to also be one of the best artists to play at Rockwood. The totally packed room rocked with some great songs, well played and sung by Ann and her excellent band, the Late Bloomers. Ann's voice falls somewhere between Eleni Mandell and Chrissie Hynde, and it is a total pleasure to hear her sing. Ann also plays electric rhythm guitar and is ably accompanied by Ben Byleen on bass, Michael Lupo on drums, Lizzie Carena on piano & vocals, and David Giambusso who plays some great electric lead guitar. The band has two primary speeds, rockin' and slow burn, and both totally work.
In addition to all that, Ann's show has some nice touches like a light-up arrow through the heart logo on the stage, and a three song giveaway CD that was passed around in a cute little box. If you're in the New York area, go hear Ann play, she'll shoot you through the heart just like those stage lights.
- William Kates (Music & More)


"Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers To Release Their Debut Full-length Crocodile On April 28th Through The Cougar Label"

Ann Courtney has an entrancing voice, suited equally to textured numbers evoking PJ Harvey and Nick Cave and uptempo kiss-offs recalling Chrissie Hynde and Kristin Hersh. Her presence is equally enthralling, as she takes the stage alongside with her NYC-based rock band The Late Bloomers, staring out into venues filled to capacity, long gazes drawing in anyone she lays eyes on.

On their debut full-length effort Crocodile (in stores April 28th through the Brooklyn-based imprint The Cougar Label) Ann & The Late Bloomers navigate a rough-hewn precision neatly and directly.
The band wastes no time before announcing their intentions, as 'Perfect Medicine' finds Courtney offhandedly tearing down a paramour ('he's wretched, so you can have him') over a steadily accumulating rhythm, David Giambusso's taut guitar extending the song's boundaries, accentuating its outer edges.

Across Crocodile's length, Courtney delivers brutally sarcastic lyrics: 'Can't you see I need a good talking to?' she deadpans on 'Don't Be a Fading Bruise." Her voice at times shifts from infuriated to beguiling and back again - an apt translation of Courtney's stage presence.

The album's second half heads into more atmospheric territory: 'Shut Your Mouth' is driven by violin and dark harmonies, while 'Strong Arm' and 'Down For the Winter' are steered by Lizzie Carena's piano and the hypnotic rhythms of drummer Michael Lupo and bassist Benjamin Bylenn. By the end of Crocodile's ten songs, one's emotions may be exhausted and yet remain buoyant; it's both exhilarating and exhausting, though Courtney's playful energy and sense of give-and-take retain a charged, upbeat sensibility throughout.

Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers recently appeared on Fox network's Fearless Music Show where they performed two songs from Crocodile, which can be viewed here:

"Perfect Medicine" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiUfd6FmHYs
"I Keep A Pilot Light" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-cZNEOAyPA
For more info on Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers:
http://poprockawesome.com
http://www.myspace.com/aclbloom
For more info on The Cougar Label:
http://www.cougarlabel.com - www.top40-charts.com


"Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers To Release Their Debut Full-length Crocodile On April 28th Through The Cougar Label"

Ann Courtney has an entrancing voice, suited equally to textured numbers evoking PJ Harvey and Nick Cave and uptempo kiss-offs recalling Chrissie Hynde and Kristin Hersh. Her presence is equally enthralling, as she takes the stage alongside with her NYC-based rock band The Late Bloomers, staring out into venues filled to capacity, long gazes drawing in anyone she lays eyes on.

On their debut full-length effort Crocodile (in stores April 28th through the Brooklyn-based imprint The Cougar Label) Ann & The Late Bloomers navigate a rough-hewn precision neatly and directly.
The band wastes no time before announcing their intentions, as 'Perfect Medicine' finds Courtney offhandedly tearing down a paramour ('he's wretched, so you can have him') over a steadily accumulating rhythm, David Giambusso's taut guitar extending the song's boundaries, accentuating its outer edges.

Across Crocodile's length, Courtney delivers brutally sarcastic lyrics: 'Can't you see I need a good talking to?' she deadpans on 'Don't Be a Fading Bruise." Her voice at times shifts from infuriated to beguiling and back again - an apt translation of Courtney's stage presence.

The album's second half heads into more atmospheric territory: 'Shut Your Mouth' is driven by violin and dark harmonies, while 'Strong Arm' and 'Down For the Winter' are steered by Lizzie Carena's piano and the hypnotic rhythms of drummer Michael Lupo and bassist Benjamin Bylenn. By the end of Crocodile's ten songs, one's emotions may be exhausted and yet remain buoyant; it's both exhilarating and exhausting, though Courtney's playful energy and sense of give-and-take retain a charged, upbeat sensibility throughout.

Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers recently appeared on Fox network's Fearless Music Show where they performed two songs from Crocodile, which can be viewed here:

"Perfect Medicine" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiUfd6FmHYs
"I Keep A Pilot Light" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-cZNEOAyPA
For more info on Ann Courtney & The Late Bloomers:
http://poprockawesome.com
http://www.myspace.com/aclbloom
For more info on The Cougar Label:
http://www.cougarlabel.com - www.top40-charts.com


Discography

To Your Health! EP (2003)
the pollyanna EP (2006)
Crocodile (April 2009)

Photos

Bio

Ann Courtney & the Late Bloomers began one spring day in 2003, with college graduation looming. A student of the theater at Fordham University, Ann Courtney confronted the uncertainty of a life on the stage by rejecting the premise. Instead she cast herself as the front-woman of her very own rock band, enlisting her dearest friends and lovers to play the supporting roles. Armed with acoustic instruments and petulant hearts, they undertook to express Ann’s soul-stricken musings and planted the early seeds of a fully stacked and rapacious rock and roll band.

The daughter of American diplomats, Miss Courtney spent her formative years in far- flung regions of the globe. As a pubescent in Pakistan in the 90’s, she first encountered the gender injustices that thematically informed much of the band’s music. It was there, beaming through a friend’s satellite television set, that she discovered PJ Harvey on MTV Asia.

On arriving in New York, it would not be long before Ann Courtney discovered the full compliment of vagaries and triumphs that city has to offer. She fell in love with a guitar-playing cast-mate who broke her heart and left her crying like Loretta Lynn’s “Honky-Tonk Girl.” She quickly shed her illusions and enlisted the lothario as her lead-guitar player.

Enter Late Bloomer David Giambusso. Raised on the rocky shores of Cape Cod, his electric guitar summoned echoes of Joey Santiago and Jonny Greenwood and gave counterpoint to Ann’s vocals.

College roommate Lizzie Carena took on keys and supporting vocals. A bona fide late bloomer, Lizzie’s awkward adolescence gave way to a particularly graceful and charismatic young adulthood, inspiring the band’s name. Her musings on the piano and spot-on vocal harmonies composed the strong pop nostalgia central to the group’s sound.

Bassist and fellow Fordham classmate Benjamin Byleen hailed from the hinterlands of Wisconsin and brought with him a classically trained ear and a philosopher’s mind, both of which he employed in massaging Ann Courtney’s arrangements.

Together the four enlisted drummer Michael Lupo, a veteran of the NYC indie noise band, Kinetic. The heavy artillery of the Late Bloomers, his addition to the group in 2005 vaulted the band from acoustic quartet to hard-hitting electric juggernaut.

Ann Courtney & the Late Bloomers had two independent releases, “To Your Health!” (2004) and “the pollyanna EP” (2006). They released their first full-length album on the Cougar label in April 2009. Recorded at The Fort with engineer Jim Bentley, “Crocodile” is a female melodrama of yearning, shame, masking, and defiance. Aching and ecstatic in equal turn, the record mapped new terrain in the group’s musical discovery.

In September 2009, Courtney dismantled Ann Courtney & the Late Bloomers and birthed a new project, Mother Feather. Teaming former Late Bloomers Carena and Lupo with Rich Girls front-man Matthew Basile on bass and Thisway guitarist Christopher Foley on lead guitar, Mother Feather is the evolution of ACLB’s sound into a more pop-based, theatrical dance-rock outfit.