Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"Bands that crave upward mobility might as well emulate the true penthouse players such as The Cure, Radiohead, U2, and Smashing Pumpkins. Elevator Division, a Kansas City quartet whose songs deluge listeners with gothic grandeur, inspires frequent comparisons to these top-floor talents. Eschewing the happy-fun-slide hooks of K.C. scenesters The Anniversary and The Get Up Kids, Elevator Division explores murkier melodies without sinking too deep into tar-pit territory. In the past years, this Elevator has gotten the shaft due to poor distribution and sub-par tour transportation, but with a new van and a reliable label (Second Nature), the group seems to be pushing all the right buttons."
-Andrew Miller / The Portland Mercury
- The Portland Mercury
The best moments arrive when the band flexes and mixes its affinities for the old-school, college-radio days: some U2, a little R.E.M., but especially the Cure.
-Timothy Finn / The Kansas City Star
- The Kansas City Star
The Elevator Division show the maturity and confidence of a band that has found their own unique approach and are now working it for all it's worth. They deserve your attention.
--Josh Kazmin / Splendid
- Splendid
When music is done well it takes you to another place where you are free from your surroundings. It can totally transform your mood and shape how you face the rest of the day. The Elevator Division has mastered their music field so well that they can change one's entire outlook.
-HM Magazine / Sept-Oct 2001 Issue 91
- - HM Magazine
Beautiful is the only way to describe this great new song from America's finest new heroes of melodic guitar rock.
-Dale Oliver / www.matchboxrecordings.co.uk - www.matchboxrecordings.co.uk
Discography
Imaginary Days // LP // 1999 // Ashland Records.
Movement // LP // 2001 // Department Records.
Whatever Makes You Happy // EP // 2002 // Department Records.
Years // LP // 2004 // Second Nature Recordings.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Over the course of six years, Elevator Division have unashamedly embraced 1980's guitar-inspired new-wavers like U2, The Cure, and Big Country, putting them in the ironic position of sounding "fresh" as the sun settles on "Modern Rock." By sharing the bill with such bands and artists as Glen Philips (of Toad The Wet Sprocket), Pete Yorn, Elbow, The Faint, Denali, Pedro The Lion, Shiner, Cursive, La Guardia, Secret Machines, and many others, Elevator Division have managed to share their unique musical vision with a broad audience.
Passionate like Jeff Buckley, with chiming, bouncing guitars and bass hooks borrowed from The Dream Syndicate, The Cure or even Coldplay, Elevator Division is suddenly positioned to be a fork in the evolutionary road of the sounds and aesthetics associated with alternative rock and roll. To punctuate their deviation, Elevator Division stepped away from the emo-factories and noise-labs of prominent Kansas City-area studios and producers, and found themselves choosing to record with Larry Gann, known for his work with (gasp!) Grammy Award winners Elton John, Oleta Adams, and Natalie Merchant. This was a clear and deliberate move, with spectacular results: the shimmering, elegant, "Years." The international release of this great new album is September 21st, 2004 on Second Nature Recordings.
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