Eagle and Talon

Eagle and Talon

I caught up with the women of Eagle and Talon relaxing at Paru's Indian Vegetarian restaurant.

"I want a bowl of chickpeas," proclaimed Kim Talon, the band's disarmingly charming singer. Meanwhile, drummer Alice Talon, whose wry frankness borders on the hilarious, was explaining why she's no longer a vegetarian: "I'd rather be a heathen than something in between."

Alice grew up in Cleveland and studied English lit in college before moving to Taiwan, where she learned Mandarin and took her first drum lessons. Several years later she felt like an "expatriate languishing," so she relocated to L.A. That's when she met Kim, a recent arrival from Winnipeg, Canada, by way of New York, who was trying to start a jazz trio and writing simple pop-punk songs on the side. "I was 16 or 17 when I started writing songs on the guitar, which I didn't know how to play—which I still don't know how to play," Kim said, giggling. "But if you had taken lessons," Alice interjected, "your songs wouldn't exist."

This is surely true. The music of Eagle and Talon is wonderfully underproduced. The hollow, tinny notes of a child's Casio keyboard swirl around choppy guitar licks and no-nonsense drumbeats. Kim's voice, sweet and strong, braves the rapids of this melodic current with powerful self-assurance.


- Jessica Gelt | La Times Magazine - West

Two girls, one on “guitar/words” from L.A. by way of Winnipeg and one on “drums/Casio” from L.A. by way of Taiwan by way of Cleveland, playing an artlessly jagged post-punk that’s got fun in it even when it’s being serious.
- THE VILLAGE VOICE

"Los Angeles girlie-punk duo Eagle and Talon ripped through a rousing opening set full of artfully executed noise: a guitar and drums-based affair fused with primal feminine abandon reminiscent of both ‘‘Guyville”-era Liz Phair and the quirky timing of early Throwing Muses. (Christopher John Treacy)
- BOSTON HERALD-Christopher John Treacy

Eagle and Talon present a minimalist interpretation of rock and roll...This [LA]-based duo comprised of Alice and Kim Talon writes none-too-intricate, power-chord-driven rock with infectious melodies and beautiful harmonies. The self-titled EP’s highlight is “Kidnapped in the Yukon,” which begins with breathy female harmonies a la Sufjan Stevens’ Seven Swans and continues with a powerful, anthem-like chorus proclaiming, “You’re a devil in the waterbed / Your eyeliner is frostbite.” - COLUMBIA SPECTATOR

Earlier this week, I stumbled upon some video footage from a 1997 Sleater-Kinney show at CBGBs. After the initial rush of nostalgia (I wasn't at this particular show, but it was right around the first time that I saw the band live when I was a teenager), it was impossible not to notice how incredibly young the band comes off in the clip. Front woman Corin Tucker looks as though she just graduated from high school. Even though the band's performance was exciting and inspiring, they were hardly the tight, polished punk rock veterans that they are today. Mind you, this is hardly a complaint. Though the mature, super-professional, modern incarnation of Sleater-Kinney is extremely impressive, I do miss the fresh-faced enthusiasm and artistic self-discovery of their early days.

Los Angeles' Eagle & Talon remind me quite a bit of this old Sleater-Kinney, not just in the way that they lay down catchy punk riffs with an urgency that distracts the audience from noticing their musical minimalism, but in how singer/guitarist Kim Talon alternates between expressive nuance and a full-bodied roar without any trace of timidity. There's an obvious youthfulness to the performance, but rather than sounding weak and amateurish, it manifests itself in the form of unforced girlishness (Talon gushes: "You are like cookies and like cake in one!"), and the sort of manic energy that comes from realizing how much power and freedom can be tapped into by playing rock and roll music.

- ASSOCIATED PRESS- ASAP

The LA Times wrote that Eagle and Talon's music is "wonderfully underproduced" . . . and that's the first thing I noticed, the fact that the songs have edges, that Kim and Alice seem comfortable being inexact.

But the problem with edges (and the whole "deliberately unprofessional art-rock thing") is that it can all be a rouse, a means of hiding the fact that the band is incapable of writing a f'ing song . . . I mean, if there isn't a song somewhere and at some point, then you've got nothing more than theory (you might as well be the "Robert Christgau Band," and I think this is why Sonic Youth sucked until Steve Shelly joined).

Anyway, that's why I think Eagle and Talon work. They're aggressive and raw, and there's also song and subtlety, even if that's not apparent the first time you hear the chords that probably aren't even chords.

- RBALLY.NET

This is one of the bands that is sort of keeping the rock alive, but they go against my earlier comment about not liking music made by women. It's just two girls, one on guitar (and it's an electric, none of that Tegan and Sara/Murmurs stuff here) and one on drums. Someone plays bass on the recording, but there are only two members. They're pretty awesome. When a girl knows how to play guitar, it's mega-hot, but most girls only own an acoustic and every time they pull it out they're like, "Let me play you this Ani Difranco song I figured out," or "Can you teach me that Iron and Wine song from Garden State?" But when a girl pulls out an electric, I just want to make out with her on the spot. Girls, you CAN rock. You're not confined to this folky stuff just because that's what Joni Mitchell and Ani Difranco did. Get out there and do it.
- STUNOFAGUN.BLOGSPOT.ORG

Angular. Isn't [that] a funny word to describe music? It makes me think of high school geometry class and protractors and stuff. But angular is also an often used word to describe certain kinds of indie rock that have a vague punk influence, and make music in a sharp and pointed way like Mission of Burma. Eagle and Talon make music that has angularity. It can be sharp and precise and pointy.

The first song Dropped Down on the EP is the runaway single, all other songs get compared to this one. It's got all the makings of listenability: it's short, it's appealing, you can latch onto it right away. The rest of the EP is interesting, but is not as strong as the first track.

Check these guys out for a quick foray into the LA underground. They're So Sharp brings retro-vintage keyboards into the mix with an almost wurlitzer sound. It adds a nice sense of retro kitsch to the already smart music. Bird That Breaks is a choppy workout of back and forth chords that makes you bob your head back and forth as you listen to it.

As far as I can tell, its just the two girls. Kim Talon and Alice Talon. Nice. What happened to the Eagle?

RATING: ***** 4 out of 5 stars - THESPACELAB.TV- Corey Tate

If at first you mistake track one of L.A. duo Eagle and Talon's EP as the coolest Sleater-Kinney song you've heard in ages, we forgive you; Kim Talon's sweetly strident vocals are the best tribute I've heard to S-K. But Kim and Alice Talon have much more up their sleeve using just drums, guitar, Casio, and weirdo turns of phrase ("You're a devil in a waterbed/Your eyeliner is frostbite"). Most important, Eagle and Talon have that extra je ne sais quoi that makes their debut really exciting and, at four songs, not nearly long enough. I'm waiting for the full-length to drop, ladies. - BUST MAGAZINE

This LA duo is going to be the death of the stigma that has been placed on any drums and guitar duo since The White Stripes decided that writing a Coke commercial would be a good idea. Imagine Sleater-Kinney stripped down to the bare essentials and with an extra-umph of energy. These gals are poised to take over any venue lucky enough to have them. They’ve had plenty of support on the internet, so I’m sure you can find something from them to sample, but be sure to pick up the full EP when they play in your town. - STUCK MAGAZINE