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bellglide

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Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Bellglide ep review"

"If this area dream pop outfit's Mitch Easter produced EP is any indication, there's bright hope for the band's future." - The Charlotte Observer


"Singles/EPS"

BELLGLIDE: Addiction

This Tarheel combo emerges from the ashes of psych-popsters Laburnum and, on its Mitch Easter-produced debut, goes for the grand gestures without fearing the proverbial pratfall.Ê The U2-worthy nerviness pays off:Ê "Addiction" sounds triumphant, like the closing-credits them of a beating-the-odds teen movie, a shimmering slice of reverby guitars and baroque piano that gradually rockets into anthemic orbit.Ê No small credit is due to Kate Gregory, who could show Liz Phair a thing or two about passion.Ê the other two songs, alternately shoegazey and trancey, are just as cinematic.Ê Bellglide is North Carolina's most radio-ready newcomer in years.Ê

Ê - MAGNET May/ Jun 2004


"The Cutting Edge With Mitch Easter"

"They're (Bellglide) really, really good" - Mitch Easter - Playback St. Louis


"Bellglide"

Recorded by Mitch Easter (REM, Pavement, Dinosaur Jr.) this magnificent debut is a certified indie pop gem, featuring three gorgeously crafted tunes that sparkle with refined elegance and a haunting atmospheric allure. Kate Gregory leads the way, her beautiful, beguiling vocals and memorable hooks diving and soaring over a warm blanket of shimmering guitars and propulsive rhythms. A stellar debut rich with talent, emotion, and melody. - REASONY.COM


"Bellglide"

By Leila Regan 5.27.04
When you hear a soaring voice reaching into the heavens backed by a hard-rocking wall of guitars, strings and piano, the easiest thing to do is write the sound off as another Evanescence. But when further attention is paid to North CarolinaÕs Bellglide, we find that thereÕs more: A textured, luscious, melodic album bound tightly together by the talent of the groupÕs four members. Taylor ShortÕs guitar can fly from Radiohead to Pearl Jam, courting Kate GregoryÕs voice like a tender lover. John CatesÕ drums and Adam RothÕs bass march to every different beat, keeping the most unruly and furious of times.
Having already released a critically successful EP, the band takes this full-length albumÑproduced by Mitch Easter (Pavement, R.E.M.)Ñas an opportunity to leave behind the hard-rock sound a bit, slow down the pace and add some melody. ÒEverydayÓ has a guitar solo that could be the electric twin of Rod StewartÕs ÒGasoline Alley,Ó while GregoryÕs vocals caress the song like a warmer Paula Cole. Softer, singer/songwriter colors run through most of the album.
ÒNatural DisasterÓ sounds emotional and radio-friendly without being drivel. The reflective ÒFiniteÓ offers a hushed pause in the album, scented like Rachael Yamagata and bound to fit perfectly into an episode of Smallville. ÒGo AheadÓ brings in the jam-band rhythms of Rusted Root to compliment the guitar reverb, and GregoryÕs ever-changing voice moves from silky smoothness to passionate strength and back again, all in one breath. With her range and the bandÕs versatility, Bellglide has established itself as a group to keep an eye on. - PASTE


"Staff Event Pick"

Back when ex-Laburnum members Adam Roth, Taylor Short and John Cates were looking for a vocalist to front their new band, Bellglide, they auditioned more male musicians than anyone since Winona Ryder. They finally decided to ink a female singer, Kate "Slappy" Gregory. New to the stage, Gregory was a bit raw, and too often attempted to sing over the music instead of with it. Meanwhile, the menfolk were busy making sure they had enough E-bow room for their late-period-R.E.M take on shoegaze. On this 3-song EP, Gregory sounds remarkably more assured, as do her band mates. Produced by Mitch Easter (R.E.M., Pavement) and mixed by Greg Calbi -- two guys who know more than a little about spit-shining melodic rock -- it's a great appetizer to the full-length the band is currently shopping to potential suitors. Anytime a woman fronts an all-male band these days, everyone compares them to Evanescence. However, there's a difference in having quiet-loud dynamics and actually being dynamic, a lesson it seems Slappy and Co. have learned rather well. Grade: B+-Timothy C. Davis - Creative Loafing


"Bellglide"

"Bellglide's transcendental strums and hums can best be descrived as a premature Radiohead." - UNCC-University Times


"Bellglide"

North Carolina band Bellglide makes a valiant attempt on this debut EP produced by Mitch Easter (Pavement, REM, etc.), and while it's not perfect, this quartet shows a lot of promise. Fronted by a 21-year-old globetrotting singer named Kate Gregory, Bellglide weaves an appealing pastiche of sound made for shoegazing. This self-released three-song EP is (slightly over-) produced by Mitch Easter (Pavement, REM). Can't wait to hear more.
Brian J. Bowe
March 2004 - Creem Magazine


"Bellglide:EP"

Where The Cranberries and Radiohead meet Evanescence, there is Bellglide. A hard alt-rock female-fronted band, this group has hard core rock done right, and I'm hardly a fan of metalish alternative music. Just when it gets too "hard" for me, a piano interlude balanced it out with classically-tainted keys, as lead singer wailed beautifully. Their song "Addiction" is a dreary yet soaring chamber of electric guitars in synchronized sonariztion. All I want to hear is more from this band, and I can't wait to.
Favorite Tracks: Addiction, Change My Mind
Rating: 4 stars - Discoveringartists.com


"Bellglide"

It's so refreshing to finally hear an unsigned band with a vocalist who can actually sing. On top of this very important factor, the other band members are all evidently good at what they do. But what immediately strikes me about Bellglide - after listening to all three tracks - is their succesful ability to write incredible melodies. Relatively upbeat with insightful lyrics, Bellglide could be compared to other female fronted band Comfort Zone because of the complimenting harmonies and powerful vocal melodies. For me the stand out track would be Track 1 as when the chorus kicks in the chorus really kicks in. However, all three tracks are potential hits which is obviously a rare thing to come across in any band signed or unsigned.
-Ash, March 2004
Favourite Track: Track 1 - unsignedcentral.co.uk


Discography

Bellglide E.P. (self released Dec 2003)
available at www.bellglide.com or www.awarestore.com

Streaming audio available at www.bellglide.com
1. Addiction
2. Go Ahead
3. Change My Mind

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Bellglide: from Charlotte, NC : began : 2002 : alt. rock/pop/ atmospherics a la Coldplay, PJ Harvey, Cardigans, Liz Phair, Catherine Wheel.

Bellglide began like many bands do when people with like-minded influences find each other by way of a flyer posted on a billboard on some college campus. This flyer was posted by the remnants of a Charlotte, NC band that had seen moderate success as an ambient rock outfit called Laburnum. After some internal strife 3/5 of the band carried
on searching for the right singer.

Enter Kate Gregory (known as "Slappy"), a 23 year-old female student at the local University [UNC-Charlotte] who responded to the flyer, led to the first meeting with the current lineup. Kate's knack for good vocal melodies as well as her strength at playing piano and rhythm guitar, brought immediate cohesiveness to the group's already solid playing. The fact that Kate had grown up as an army brat living in England, Turkey and the U.S. just made things all the more interesting. Bellglide was formed and the first few shows generated large crowds. The band then headed to Kernersville, NC with Mitch Easter [Pavement, REM] at Fidelitorium Studios to record their first batch of songs. The result of that session was a self-titled EP that the band released in early 2004.

The debut EP garnered strong reviews in national publications: Magnet, Paste, Creem and others, both print and online. This helped continue the momentum landing the band in several national showcases (Atlantis Music Conference and Dewey Beach Music Conference) and gained label interest. The band also ventured outside of its region to play as far north as NYC at Piano's. Bellglide's EP also achieved national online distribution through Aware Records. The EP did so well that MUZAK licensed some of the songs for airplay in their client Bluenote's stores. Several of the songs were also picked up to be used in the soundtrack for the independent film The Rest of Your Life. The band has shared the stage with many alternative darlings such as Ambulance LTD, Elephant, Longwave and Sea Ray. In Charlotte, Bellglide was chosen to appear on the side stage for national act Evanescence and supported Concrete Blonde in Chapel Hill. Bellglide finally rounded out the year 2004 by attracting the attention of Allan Tepper who they entered into a management agreement with. Allan has an extensive career in music publishing and along with him the band hopes on reaching new heights in 2005.