Apollo Up!

Apollo Up scores big, breaking waves of rock mayhem in devastatingly fun fashion, presenting a hyperkinetic pop rock/indie bomb of creativity and raw fury. Chariots of Fire throws passionate vocals and punchy guitars at the audience, driving ears and souls in circles with a collection of music that is catchy, giving off a buzz of energy, pushing and pulling the heartstrings with a superb degree of emotional weight.
- Shawn Haney, Copper Press

[Apollo Up]'s impressive new release, Light the End and Burn It Through, is a dynamic whirl of wiry guitar stabs, ropy whiplash rhythms, intense vocals and serpentine song arrangements -- it's what The Police might sound like if they formed today in the American underground and were raised on a steady diet of Fugazi. - Mike Breen, Cincinnati CityBeat

Theory 8 Records’ Apollo Up headlined the evening, bringing an onslaught of riff-driven, in-your-face prog rock. Frontman Jay Leo Phillips’ monstrous guitar tone nearly peeled the skin off our faces.
- The Spin, The Nashville Scene

[Jay Phillips] sings like a huskier Elvis Costello (circa late '70's) and plays ringing, churning guitar like he's backing you into a corner. - Kristin Whittlesey, Spin Magazine

Theory 8 Records’ Apollo Up headlined the evening, bringing an onslaught of riff-driven, in-your-face prog rock. Frontman Jay Leo Phillips’ monstrous guitar tone nearly peeled the skin off our faces.
- The Spin, The Nashville Scene

With their second full-length, Chariots of Fire . . . Apollo Up! have put out a soundtrack for frustrated idealists, apocolyptics, and conspiracy theorists the world over, a relentlessly tense tour de force that shifts between melody and catharsis in a way that's reminiscent of the guitar work and vocals of Jawbox. - Eric J. Ianneli, Copper Press

With their second full-length, Chariots of Fire . . . Apollo Up! have put out a soundtrack for frustrated idealists, apocolyptics, and conspiracy theorists the world over, a relentlessly tense tour de force that shifts between melody and catharsis in a way that's reminiscent of the guitar work and vocals of Jawbox. - Eric J. Ianneli, Copper Press

EDITOR'S PICK: Armed to the teeth with throaty vocals and energetic guitars, Apollo Up do the post-hardcore thing with loud results . . . This band has the goods and then some!

- Smother Magazine

Here is a refreshing burst of rock music that defies trends, respects dynamics, makes precision sound effortless, and kicks the listener in the head with solid slabs of rock . . . Varied tempo and time signatures abound, but things never stray too far from the straight-ahead rock focus, avoiding the "air-sickness" that other rhythm-shifty Nashville bands have oft been accused of . . . Recorded in Nashville by Mercator's Jeremy Ferguson, the record soars with big, bright guitars and a monstrous bass tone . . . This is one of the best rock records Nashville has produced in a long time. See them live. Give us more. - Chris Driver, PopShot

Smart, herky jerky loud rock with balls and fire . . . Apollo Up is one great big refreshing jolt of originality . . . Infectious rhythms, spastic guitars, and great masculine vocals collide to create a big massive whirlwind of nifty modern rock. (Rating: 5+)
- LMNOP, babysue.com

The music of Apollo Up isn’t spacey, as their name might suggest, but is more like an expression of the tension in mission control as the astronauts are about to die and fail in their attempt to stop a giant meteor from crashing into the earth. And let’s say these mission control operators are Q and not U, the Ventures, Fugazi, Roadside Monument, and Mega Man. Apollo Up sway from jazzy staccato urgency to dirty garage punk to flowing post-rock anthems and are not afraid to use a synthesizer or a cowbell if they need to. - Jared Cheek, Bandopler