The Inner Banks

SPIN
Artist of the Day (12/6/06) - "The musical pastiche of The Inner Banks is an exercise in euphony, with each disparate sound complementing the piece as a whole. Epics from anthills, each track is grand in scope yet completely unassuming, a piece of a soundtrack that never swells but always delivers."

SMOTHER
Editor's Pick - "Produced with a fine tooth comb, The Inner Banks is an ambitious venture that unleashes about a million sounds at once and hopes to collapse into a rhythm that each individual listener will anoint as one of their own. Bask in this glorious songwriting glow for a moment because it will pass—only a handful of likeminded geniuses come forward through the murk of musicians every year and the Inner Banks are cream of the crop."

PLAYBACK:stl
"Did I mention that I love this record? From the peerless textural grace of instrumentals 'Electric' and 'Acoustic' (the tunes that bookend these proceedings) to the unerring perfection of 'Glittering Sky' (with its gorgeous vocal duet between Schutz and Greta Gertler and some sweetly sad piano), to the killer up-tempo keyboard riff and elegant strings on 'Siberia,' to the surprising lap steel playing by Michael Gomez on 'Buried West' and 'Anthem'’Äîthat latter song (featuring Schutz again) an obvious highlight, with one of the most stirring melodic buildups I've heard in several years-it's all...just...wonderful."

TERRASCOPE (UK)
"The Inner Banks [self-titled debut] is crammed with shimmering pop nuggets well worth discovering. With chiming guitars and soft pealing bells 'Electric' is a mellow delight underpinned with delicate string and a candy heart. The same sweet touch is employed on 'Glittering Sky' but this time some aching vocals bring everything into focus in delightful fashion. Elsewhere 'Siberia' has a rockier sound, although this is softened by the strings, as well as some fine electric piano playing, whilst 'Anthem' is the sound of Americana played by Air. Those of you who live in places where summer is arriving should pick this up to play in the sunshine, those of you who don’t should pick this up to remind you of the warmth."

KQED Arts & Culture
"It is lovely and full, with a harmonic (not polyphonic!) swell to it that manages to be uplifting without merging into Christian Rock territory. Lead singer Caroline Schutz has a dreamy, pretty voice that could lead to some opportunities to sub in for Elizabeth Frazer, should the two dudes in the Cocteau Twins ever try to recreate the old band. The main difference is that you can actually understand Schutz's enunciations, which is nice."

COPPER PRESS
"David Gould, like Sufjan Stevens, Tim Gane, and David Axelrod, is a pop auteur, a producer, arranger, and songwriter capable of turning out svelte four-minute pieces that are at once challenging and digestible."

POPMATTERS
"The seven buoyant and luscious tracks on The Inner Banks are exquisitely arranged, with fingerpicked acoustic guitar figures yielding to swelling strings, electric piano melodies accented by brushed drums and muted horns, and Caroline Schutz’Äôs crystalline voice singing impressionistic lyrics, as she does on only two cuts, 'Glittering Sky' and 'Anthem'. Elsewhere, her lovely vocal contributions are wordless ooh's and ahh's. Perhaps the only other band I know of operating in a similar stylistic realm is Zero 7, although that act is less folky and more overtly pop. Never mind these attempts at finding musical touchstones for the Inner Banks. They have crafted a gorgeous, warm, gently winding debut worth returning to again and again."

3HIVE
"I'll be hogtied if this Brooklynite composer David Gould (The Bootleg Remedy) and his partner/wife/vocalist Caroline Schutz (Folksongs for the Afterlife) don't make me want to go to North Carolina even more than ever before. Something about these songs — they're warm, resolute, timeless, pretty — and how they mirror what I imagine North Carolina will be like. Who knows? Maybe I'll hate it there. But I doubt that. So I guess I know what I need to do (book a flight). And I guess you know what you need to do (listen to The Inner Banks)."

EARDRUMS
"Songs that are perfect for early mornings."

WOLF NOTES
"Holy Christ, the song 'Anthem' by The Inner Banks is amazing. This is Sufjan, but with hooks; This is the perfect hypothetical combination of George Harrison sitar riffing (if he were playing banjo), Neil Young’s 'Old Man,' and the last Air album. This is otherworldly chamber music, but we don’t feel as though we're about to be handed a Gideon Bible."

TRANSFORM ONLINE
"Too often, groups of this approach get lost in translation, trying to push the envelope but ending up lost in a drudgery of uninspired material. I am happy to say that this release is truly something magical, more inspired than other releases of said genre and distinction."

THE DAILY TAR HEEL
"With each note gently placed in its proper spot, the EP's soaring strings, dexterous finger-pi - various