Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Humans and machines get along swimmingly in their world, but it's always clear who's controlling whom - Kristin Blix's sensually accented vocals are absolute flesh and blood; reedy, whisper-in-you-ear verses balooning into obvious but effective hooks amid metallic bass lines, mutant guitars and all manner of expertly arranged techno babble. Don't expect keyboard prodding geeks. Their vivid image and the double-barreled appeal of Blix and bassist Silver Sorensen are both alluring and appropriate...this five-piece display subtly accomplished songwriting and a stylized sonic flamboyance rare among today's club fodder. They either fall between fashion stools or straddle them brilliantly, yet they stimulate on enough levels to almost guarantee a good time. - Los Angeles Weekly
Cute L.A.-based Norwegians (brunette girl. blonde girl, redhead boy, brunette boy) doing synth-and-guitar-hooked dance oriented pop rock, somewhere in between Garbage/Republica and The Hives/Caesars. Their CD opens with a dis ("You're so seductive / you should be kissed / congratulations now you've made the critics' list...sing like a nightingale / don't understand a word...Don't wanna be like you"); second song namedrops Molly Hatchet and Jerry Springer. Nifty!. - The Village Voice - NY
Friday, August 26, 2005
Somewhere between Blondie's new-wave thrashing, Garbage's sassy
electropunk and pristine Top 40 pop lies the music of Guards of Metropolis. The half-male, half-female quartet originally coalesced in a Norwegian chocolate factory but soon embarked on an extensive U.S. tour, earned endorsement deals and actually had to turn down the Jagermeister Music tour because of conflicts. Now ensconced in Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., recording its full-length debut, "Alligator," Guards of Metropolis is showing even more confidence in its brash pop sound - if the song clips of new tunes on its Web site (www.guardsofmetropolis.com) are any indication. With Mark Lemhouse. 9:30 tonight. The Winchester, 12112 Madison Avenue, Lakewood. 216-226-5681.
$5.
- The Plain Dealer - Cleveland, OH
Discography
Whatever It Is - EP
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
The first time the members of Guards of Metropolis came together to rehearse, it wasn't in a dank basement, a state-of-the-art recording studio, or any of the other traditional locations bands typically use to hone their musical vision. It was in an abandoned chocolate factory on the outskirts of Oslo, Norway while a furious blizzard raged outside.
Within 3 months of their first string of European concerts, the band left the Old World behind them for a 50 date U.S. tour which quickly garnered them glowing critical reviews, industry attention due to the "considerable buzz" (Hits Magazine) the band was creating, and an enthusiastic public response to their melodic pop rock sound, confrontational lyrics and intense live performances.
And all this solely on the strength of a six song self recorded demo.
Now you can discover what the excitement is all about with the release of Whatever It Is, their new 4-song EP release.
Along the way they've endured immigration hassles, hurricanes, and even a name change (they first toured the U.S. as Softcore), but they're still the same band:
Two girls from Norway’s Arctic Circle. Two guys from sunny California...
Influences from the laid-back northern reaches of Scandinavia and the frantic West Coast of America collide on the Guards of Metropolis' debut EP in a shimmering example of the best that both countries have to offer. A fistful of angst-driven rock and roll riffs tempered by the layered harmonies that Scandinavian groups are famous for lay the groundwork for this rock-pop manifesto. Think ABBA meets AC/DC...and then think again. Each song comes as a stylistic surprise, and singer Kristin Blix's lyrics filter the American experience through a foreigner's eyes; the title track "Whatever It Is" is a hard hitting slam against the U.S. Commander in Chief's reckless behavior while "Exhole" name checks such American "icons" as Jerry Springer and Molly Hatchet.
Rage never sounded as pretty as it does on this stunning debut!
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