Language Room
Austin, Texas, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | SELF
Music
Press
What sets Language Room apart from other indie acts is exceptional songwriting and craftsmanship. Their recordings are accessible with hooks that take hold of the listener while keeping their indie-rock cool. One of the reasons we think the band has such a big future is their sound is sophisticated enough to gain approval from hipsters while retaining the accessibility needed to attract the more casual music fan. Simply put, Language Room makes good music that listeners can dig into. - The Examiner
Language Room are one of the better bands currently working in the Austin scene. Their post-alternative sound deftly combines pop sensibilities with a degree of creativity. Unlike most bands that feel ripe for mainstream success, Language Room knows how to emphasize composition in their works, and that makes for songs that are always interesting. - The Horn
Most of you are probably hearing Language Room for the first time, but I bet there is something that feels familiar in their sound. This Austin rock quartet wears both their emotions and influences on their sleeves. From the pulsing, staccato licks The Killers are known for to the aggressive vocal delivery that draws from 90s alternative rock, Language Room present a mature and well-rounded sound that is incredibly accessible. The four-song set Skin & Heart & Lungs, released early this year, is a telling and notable step up from their 2010 debut, a great sign for their future potential. I’m surprised they’ve stayed under the radar for the past few years, but maybe 2013 is lining up for a proper introduction to the greater music community. - Operation Every Band
Language Room's alt-rock debut is slick and radio-friendly, but the local quartet performs with the earnest sincerity of Clarity-era Jimmy Eat World and has an ace up its sleeve in guitarist Scott Graham. - Austin Powell
“As rich in creative schemes as it is hungry geeks with a “try anything once” approach to everything from bacon desserts to bicycle-powered bars, Austin’s a fertile Kickstarter breeding ground. The first – and first successful – Kickstarter campaign here was undertaken by alt.rock band Language Room, which asked for $10,000 to finance a used RV and tour behind its debut LP, 2009's One by One. It raised $10,328, setting a local trend of tilting toward the victorious.” - Austin Chronicle
Rarely do young bands release profound music with their debut album -- Language Room, is an exception to this rule. The entire album from start-to-finish highlights the balance of virtuosity, heart and bluster - an epic poem written for the musically obsessed. - The Hollywood Bureau
"A damned tight band that boasts radio-friendly rock-with-passion." - Sean Claes, editor of Insite Magazine - INSITE Magazine
Working with Language Room is truly every producer's dream come true. The band is incredibly talented, with clever hooks and beautiful melodies- drawing on influences ranging from Muse to the Beach Boys. I couldn't be more proud of ONE BY ONE. From day one the band had the mindset that they wanted to make a meaningful record...not just a collection of singles,but rather a complete story with a classic sound and intellegent lyrics. We worked very hard to create something special and I believe we accomplished that and more. 2009 is going to be a breakout year for this still relatively unknown act. The modern music world landscape may be a little murky...but Language Room shines like a gem. - Matt Noveskey
“You really get a feel for their lives as both musicians and people, and you can feel their story developing in front of you, from the claustrophobia of the road to a video of their mom playing an impromptu piano recital. There’s a Flickerstick quality to their story. (And +5 music nerd points if you got the reference.) And as you read our Q&A with the band below, you’ll be quickly struck by the same thing that nicely surprised us: they started out as total skeptics that Kickstarter would ever work for them. They just didn’t see how it could possibly happen. Ten large later, they have a different story to share.” - Kickstarter
“The Texas alt-rock band does play up to contrast, however. Melodically, anyway. Listen to track two on the disc, ‘Run Out of Road,’ and you’ll think you’re in store for a mellow acoustic tune highlighting Sapio’s. But just under a minute in, the song takes a turn with a crescendo of instrumentation. ‘I originally wrote the melody on acoustic and I thought it would be fitting to start the song out that way and then build to the whole band coming in and adding in horns eventually,’ shares Scott Graham. ‘We created this full musical number that’s almost over the top, but like all of our songs, it all starts with finding an initial sound or mood and then building on that.’” - Fender News
Maybe you don’t like some of the other recordings on this list. You’re turned off by the lo-fi recording quality, bracing sounds or challenging structures. Language Room has got you covered. Their pop-rock is eminently approachable with its clean sound and soaring hooks, without ever sounding too saccharine. “Open Air” could sound right at home on KGSR alongside any of its current programming, while “Breachers” offers a bit of a darker edge. Language Room are the band that are cool enough to appeal to the East-siders and accessible enough for the West-siders. - Ovrld
ATX indie rockers Language Room have always had a proficient knack for crafting an emotive explosion with their music. Lately though, as their new video indicates, they’re honing the skill of containing it. The results are just as stirring stripped-down as they are plugged in. - Sonic Vault
Monday we headed to Bourbon Girl on Sixth Street for Vivogig’s Tech party where we fell in love with Language Room, an indie band who has been performing in town since 2007. The quartet led by Todd Sapio and Scott Graham recorded their first full-length album with Matt Novesky of Blue October in 2009. A fan at the show Monday described the band as an intelligent cross between Elvis Costello and Death Cab for Cutie. That may be a fairly apt description, but you can decide for yourself by streaming their tracks. “Open Air (All I Ever Got From Love)” is an especially well-crafted tune which the band included in their set Monday. - The Examiner
Austin based indie pop/rock quartet, Language Room bares its translucent body down to skeletal remains on their latest EP, “Skin & Heart & Lungs”. Produced with funds from a successful Kickstarter run online, by Dwight Baker, who’s worked with other Austin based artists like Alpha Rev, Kelly Clarkson and the Dixie Chicks, heartbreak looms heavy within each of the four mini sonic selections. Placing them in the Arcade Fire, Coldplay and Mumford and Sons lane, girls who dig sensitive rock souls (like I do, coincidentally) will come running, equipped with extinguishers to put out the bitter, heartbroken fire and apply aloe to burns from relationships past (ok, perhaps I have an overactive imagination). [...] Even designing a prototype for the perfect girl on “Breachers”, you get the sense it won’t ever end well. But luckily for the band, the EP, with an amusing cover displaying a possessed teddy bear conquering a city Godzilla-style, reflects quality production, maturity and proves they are definitely “enough” to succeed. - Music Emissions
“[Skin & Heart & Lungs is] a smart, hook-filled rock-pop collection, bulging with passion and gleaming with top-shelf production values.” - Austin Independent Music
Language Room is an Indie/alternative rock band based in Texas, my first approach on their music was it was awesome and great up beat music, well for the people who know me, when it comes to music i am a critic, well i favored many types of genre i could say i like them all but when it comes to bands ( even if i like the genre they are playing ) and i feel or they didn’t satisfy my taste i would totally give them zero, so about this band Language Room at first i am just searching for a fender guitar on the internet when i come across some advertisement/contest on their website, i was like “this is cool maybe could share it to my website” and i made some section for them, and at first i really didn’t know who they were but later than today as i was recapping my articles and tried viewing them and when i came across to their page again i am in doubt if i am going to watch their video because many new bands arise on which you could watch them on tv but in the first place they aren’t suppose to be there, but Language Room was different as i’ve decided to watched their music video titled In Lines, after the first few seconds and hearing the intro of the drum beats i was fucked with my own stereo typing mind and really says “fuck they were good” i was blown away and even want to stomp on every beat, well for me i would like to see them on bigger stage because they have future and i really see them as big one day ( i hope so ) they really got it rather than some puny bands that feels big when they are just clowns on stage. - Paolo Cudilla
“Todd’s voice is welcoming and his music connects with a positive vibe that pulls you in and makes you wonder what’s around the corner.” -Brian Garcia- Producer/Engineer for Kelly Clarkson, Our Lady Peace, Avril Lavigne, King's X - Brian Garcia
"...a perfect gift for all of us!"- Producer/Engineer of Pink, Richard Marx, The Transplants-Owner 27 Sounds - Dave Carlock
"The surprise band of the month was Language Room. Look for this band to explode onto the national music scene at any time. With a cutting edge, alternative-style sound, the lead singer Todd Sapio had the crowd rocking and asking for more." - Shannon Miller
"Intelligent, indie-alternative, much like Radiohead and Dinosaur Jr., Language Room assaults your senses like a steamroller. There is everything to like about this disc: smart melodies, strong vocals, good modern hooks, instrumentation that fills out a song, and stellar production." - Brad Snyder
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
NOTE: The band is billed at SXSW as KIONA, the band name under which the forthcoming album will be released under. The transition will begin at the festival.
The trajectory of indie/alt band Language Rooms career has been determined by a strange brew of happenstance, fan support, and a certain resourceful thriftiness. In 2007, old friends Scott Graham and Todd Sapio ran into each other on the streets of SXSW after not seeing each other since they both lived in Los Angeles years prior. They began collaborating and eventually brought in Scott's brother Matt on bass. Their 2009 debut album brought in critical acclaim, with the Austin Chronicle hailing the band as "slick [...] with an ace up its sleeve in guitarist Scott Graham."
Later in 2009, they would become the first Austin area entity to successfully use the now-popular crowd-funding platform Kickstarter. They would then successfully complete another campaign in 2011 to release the most recent EP "Skin & Heart & Lungs", produced by Dwight Baker. This EP has been hailed as a positive transition point in their song-writing style and energy. Ovrld, who named Language Room as one of the top Austin bands of 2012, describes the release as "eminently approachable with its clean sound and soaring hooks, without ever sounding too saccharine."
The band's 2013 has consisted of tours, a live DVD filming, an official stint at SXSW, opening slots for Blue October, IAMDYNAMITE, and a Silent Film, and a hugely successful PledgeMusic campaign where the band raised over $11,000 (and counting). With the success of this campaign, Language Room is currently recording their sophomore full-length effort, which is shaping up to be a continuation of the well-rounded indie/pop/experimentalism they are becoming known for. This album is projected to be released in early 2014 with singles coming as soon as October.
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