Limbs

"[Stages proves] that things can still be made with true dignity, decency and quality without counting on any support of the present decrepit record industry... a disc that demands absolute attention, a recording of irresistible musicianship, that speaks to the listener through intriguing, dynamic, complex and bold pieces." - Cielo Liquido Radio (Bandajoz, Spain)

"Stages is a magically artistic vision that needs to have your fullest attention so that you can explore all of it's songs minor idiosyncrasies." - Smother Magazine (Manassas, VA)

"...brilliant little release... The rhythms are adventurous and creatively disjointed, the songs are decidedly unstructured and freeform in nature, and yet the band still swaggers with attitude. The result is a unique sound that fails categorization." - Mish Mash Music (Martinez, GA)

"...Intriguing, introspective fare spinning line after line into the breeze. All you have to do is reel them in." - Aiding & Abetting (Takoma Park, MD)

"With this, their second full length release, the New Yorkers proclaim themselves to be the cherubic offspring of Don Caballero; the studious son who works hard, keeps his nose clean, gets along with everyone he meets but when all is said & done when you have a father as complex and difficult as theirs something’s going to rub off. The resultant mix of jagged, rambling guitar, spasmodic rhythms and a near angelic lead vocal is played out in a mind scrambling variety of time signatures and tempos... If you like a challenge, give any one of these tracks a listen, or preferably all in turn, and you’ll be hooked." - Losing Today (Rome, Italy)

"One of the very first bands EF wrote about back in its infancy, Limbs have also clearly grown some since 2005; today, they’re jammed firmly in our cerebral cortex again courtesy of a new album Seeds On Stone. The beauty is they remain the same tightly-coiled unit as before - think the Armistead Burwell Smith-side of Pinback - while sweetening up the math-y melange of twitchy twists and turns in the process." - Ear Farm (Brooklyn, NY)

“[Limbs] have concocted some intriguing, non-formulaic post-rock that lands somewhere between the dense sonic layers of Polvo and the odd, fractured rhythms of Slint... This five-song EP is best suited for late-night brooding since the intricately layered guitars combined with the fuzzy bass lines and tight drum chops provide a hazy ambience for the moody post-rock melodies.” - Delusions of Adequacy (Rochester, NY)

The three members of Brooklyn trio, Limbs are soon to release their first, as of yet untitled, full length. On their 2006 EP, “Suspension,” not only do the ups and downs of their music transition smoothly, but the lyrics are simple and carefully strung throughout the songs. Playing together since the early part of 2005, Oisin, Chris and Jeff have figured out their own way to do things. As if being in a band isn’t already enough work, these guys self-record, have self-released two EPs and also like to organize their own shows around NY.
You guys often curate your own shows, how is this beneficial?

We see it as another part of being in a band. We try to play with people that we can relate to as much as possible, often you just have to set those shows up on your own.

Do you have any favorite local bands right now?

Proton Proton, Villa Vina, The Forms, Print!

Do you have any favorite places to play in New York?

Some of the alternative spaces are nice for shows, although we haven’t played most of them, just attended. Cake Shop is a favorite for what they are doing on Ludlow St. of all places. It’s probably easier to say what our least favorite venues are, but that’s not really necessary.

You’ve played a few shows outside of the city, does this give you any kind of perspective on New York itself?

You realize you’re missing some of the things that people have in other places, but we’ve kind of figured out how we want to make this work here. We have space and peace of mind to develop as a band, which is what we’re really intent on.

What is the writing process like for you guys?

Sometimes we spend a lot of time arranging to get something to sound natural, other times things happen quickly. Lately we’ve been latching on to the core of an idea early on and letting it expand and contract into something concise as we arrange with it, its kind of combining both ways that we’ve written in the past.

Your lyrics are poetic; sometimes abstract. What are your songs about?

Most of the songs deal with that idea of committing to a reliable perspective. They’re about trying to relate or adapt and finding a logical place to stand.

What kinds of changes have you noticed as you’ve been writing, recording and playing more and more?

Oisin and Jeff both play guitar and bass so we’ve been switching and writing in some different ways, lately with two guitars. There’s a noticeable shift in dynamics when we change roles, the vocals and melodies are laid over differently and we each play the instruments in our own ways. Also, we’ve been working with alternate time signatures for a few months, but we try to make our use of them as streamlined as we can.

What do you feel like the biggest benefits would be of being on a label, what kind of things would you look for in a label?

Down the line having a tour set up for us would be ideal, being in good company, feeling like we’re not totally on your own… those are the kinds of things that come to mind when we think of a label, It’s not something we discuss too much at this stage, although it has come up now that we’re finishing a full-length. We’ll probably try and open a dialogue with this one if we can.

Musical influences aside, what else contributes to your approach as a band?

Being friends foremost and knowing what’s happening in each other’s lives. Walking into our practice space and being excited to be there together. It’s hard to understand how some bands can manage without that. - The Deli Magazine (New York, NY)

Limbs is an extremely tight three piece in a live setting. And that translates well on their second full-length, Seeds On Stone. The production of this album is really great in the way it showcases the band’s skill for constructing very thick and rich sounding grooves through rather surprisingly stripped down instrumentation and arrangement. There’s a certain near-math way to how the songs flow, with sudden, yet smooth, time and tempo changes that recall the post-rock feel of such bands as the Sea And Cake. And we’re always surprised to find our mind wandering to My Morning Jacket when trying to describe their sound — we doubt MMJ is exactly an influence on Limbs, so much as this is a coincidence, but the comparison just comes to mind for some reason. Really, the more we listen to Seeds On Stone, the more we enjoy it and we’re pretty sure the same will be the case for you. - StereoactiveNYC (New York, NY)