Army Navy
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Army Navy

Los Angeles, California, United States

Los Angeles, California, United States
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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Army Navy at The Crocodile"

Army Navy bring to mind early '90s acts like Teenage Fanclub and the Swirlies--power pop reflected through a kaleidoscope of cashmere-soft fuzz, buoyant hooks floating helium high, and confectionary keyboard melodies. The L.A.-based band's eponymous EP carries with it a twee earnestness that floats like a butterfly and stings like a first kiss. Former NW resident/Pinwheel co-frontman Justin Kennedy has moved on from his days sharing vocal duties with Ben Gibbard in that band, and the Los Angles sunshine warms the dreamy days traversed on Army Navy's record. JENNIFER MAERZ - The Stranger, Seattle


"Army Navy EP Review"

L.A.'s Army Navy band may have temporarily cursed themselves with one of the most Google-unfriendly names ever, making it literally impossible to find mention of them in the online press. However, if one can judge future success on the strengths of their four-song debut, the group's obscurity will almost certainly be short lived.
With brilliant melodies beginning on first track "Dark as Days" and a Shins-ish danceability, these impressively crafted tracks reveal anew the bright buoyancy in feel-good, though not flippant, rock. This is music I would have listened to at 16, tooling down the open road in my first car, windows down, power-pop-jammed cassettes littering the dashboard. While not as introspective or fluffy as either (respectively), the track "Our Resting Heads" would make an ideal bridge between Sunny Day Real Estate and the Rentals on one of said tapes. This isn't to relegate Army Navy to the ranks of '90s nostalgia by any means—just ask the tastemakers at The O.C., who featured the unimaginably infectious "Snakes of Hawaii" on a March episode. I never dreamed I'd write words so industry-dorky, but catch these dudes before they explode. Seriously. - Zero Magazine


Discography

We have one self-released 4 song Ep. The tracks from the Ep can be heard on our website and are in rotation on KEXP, WOXY.com, Indie 103.1 LA, KCRW and XM Satellite radio. Songs from the EP have also appeared on popular TV shows including The OC, The Mountain, and Weeds.

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

‘The bands I grew up listening to had strong melodies, emotional integrity, and amazing songwriting. I feel like these elements are missing from music today. That’s what’s important to me. That’s what I strive for with this band.’
- Justin Kennedy, frontman of Army Navy

"I love it! Army Navy, I can’t recommend this band enough."
- John in the Morning, KEXP Seattle

Blending British pop melodicism with the early-nineties grit of the Pacific Northwest, Army Navy has created a familiar yet singular sound. As a tight-knit quartet, each member contributes something substantial. Justin Kennedy with his distinctive voice and jangly guitar, Louie Schultz with endearing keyboard melodies and guitar hooks; Ben Gaffin delivers driving, Kim Deal-inspired basslines, and Josh Zetumer provides tasteful drumming, the perfect foundation for the quartet’s remarkable take on pop music. Together they have found a delicate balance between melancholy and joyful resignation, an emotional core that belies their youth.

January 2004. Holed up in his Echo Park apartment, Justin was hard at work on his latest batch of songs. Justin was no newcomer to this sort of thing; the newly transplanted singer/songwriter cut his teeth co-fronting the seminal Pacific Northwest band Pinwheel with Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie). Growing up with groups like Mudhoney, Dinosaur Jr., and Built to Spill, Justin has the Northwest’s aesthetic of honesty and integrity in his blood. What makes Justin so unique is that from early on he was also seduced by sounds coming from the other side of the Atlantic. ‘Stone Roses, Teenage Fanclub, Pulp, these were all major influences.’

Through a mutual friend, Ben was given a copy of Justin’s bedroom demo. He and Josh had been playing together for years, but had both grown frustrated with mediocre songwriters. According to Josh, "Justin's songs were the only thing that stood out in a sea of boring demos." Josh immediately brought in Louie, a talented multi-instrumentalist/singer he'd been performing with in an avant-garde collective. Army Navy was born.

In their one short year the band has built up quite a buzz, and all without management. By August, they were a favorite on the notoriously fickle LA circuit, regularly packing venues like Spaceland and the Troubadour. They became known for their explosive live show, consistently performing with fellow up-and-comers The Like, Ben Lee, and The Helio Sequence. It was this reputation that compelled legendary producer Mitchell Froom (Crowded House, Suzanne Vega) to offer up the keys to his home studio.

Self-produced and engineered by Froom’s longtime collaborator, David Boucher, Army Navy’s self-titled EP is a taut, infectious morsel that begs to be played again and again. The EP was finished in October. By December, it was being played regularly on Los Angeles’s Indie 103.1, and the song “Unresponsive Ears” was licensed for use on the WB’s ‘The Mountain’. By January, the songs were added to rotation on tastemaker stations like KEXP Seattle, Indie 103.1 LA, WOXY.com, and XM, and these days Hollywood’s Amoeba Records can’t keep copies of the EP on the shelves. In March, television phenomenon ‘The OC’ on Fox placed “Snakes of Hawaii” in an episode.

‘It’s amazing to think what we’ve accomplished this year alone,’ beams Justin. ‘I can’t wait to see what happens next.’