Linear Downfall

Sure, there are a couple of Flaming Lips — co-founder Wayne Coyne and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd — in Electric Würms, but local quartet Linear Downfall makes up the bulk of the band. Their debut EP Musik, Die Schwer Zu Twerk shows just how perfect the match is, shifting gears between ceiling-bending proggy soundscapes and pounding krautrock. Both groups step out of their comfort zones, making a great barbaric skronk that no one else could replicate. - Nashville Scene

Video. - Nashville Scene

Next up for the band is a handful of dates, including performing at My Morning Jacket's four-day One Big Holiday festival in Riviera Maya, Mexico, this coming January as well as recording Electric Worms, a "musical ensemble" the Lips' multi-instrumentalist Steven Drozd is putting together. "I'm part of the ensemble but it's mostly Steven's thing," Coyne says. "We're using a lot of musicians, but mostly there's a group out of Nashville called Linear Downfall that are amazing – they're such good musicians and such freaks. We only did a couple of days at the beginning of September. I forget what the Miles Davis song is called, we literally recorded one of these really complicated electronic Miles Davis tracks with them. We have a session that is going to happen in the next week or 10 days or so that will probably decide when that's going to come out." - The Rolling Stone

"Linear Downfall, a neo-psychedelic rock band from Nashville, performed with the Flaming Lips at the Varsity. The group looked the part, especially Charlee Cook, a singer-bassist dressed in trippy candy colors and glitter."

"Meanwhile, a tuft of orange yarn that had been passed and unwound from person to person through the audience, symbolically connecting the assembled concert goers, reached the stage. With plenty of yarn still to be unwound, Linear Downfall’s Cook dropped to her knees, wrapping it around her head." - The Advocate

"In a sudden eruption of joy, the excited crowd focused its attention on the back of the room, where Coyne and crew proceeded to make their way through fans to take the stage. The Flaming Lips and Nashville experimental psychedelic rockers Linear Downfall then sped through a sound check.

And Linear Downfall was appropriately dressed for the occasion, with each member doused in rainbow colored outfits, with the exception of drummer Will Hick’s tiger-striped shirt and leopard printed pants."

"With five guitarists and two bassists practicing licks as Coyne grinned to the crowd and checked his microphone, the group looked like a company of race horses eager to bust through a starting gate.

“As soon as we’re done we have to run out of here,” Coyne started. “It doesn’t mean we don’t love you.”

They still came to rock, blaring all the electric guitars in a howling cover of “21st Century Schizoid Man.” The two bands then followed with a recently released song from The Flaming Lips’ latest album, “I’m Working at NASA on Acid.” It began softly with the acoustic echoes of Coyne on guitar, but ended with Hicks beating percussion to a pulp in a raging fit of rock." - lsureveille

"I swung by Nashville's best dive bar Friday night to meet my son and check out a local band called Linear Downfall. The venue was hopping and we ended up having a great time hanging out with Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips and Kesha. Seriously! Wayne was in town to do some recording with Kesha at Blackbird Studios and she decided to bring the Lip man down to our favorite hang to hear some local underground rock.
It was great to see Wayne enthusiastically supporting Nashville indie rock. He's a great guy too. Happy to chat and take pictures with admiring fans. Most of all he was just really cool to the local musicians.
Speaking of local musicians, the freaky sounds of Linear Downfall was the perfect music for a show visited by a Flaming Lip.
The power trio of Charlee Cook on bass, synth and vocals, Chance Cook on guitar, effects programming and synth and Will Hicks on drums ripped it up on some grooving experimental rock and gave everyone a show worth sticking around for.
To your average Joe The Springwater Supper Club in Nashville might look like a ridiculously outdated and rundown shack on the edge of Centennial Park, but for those in the know it is a hub for creative, experimental indie rock and more and you just never know who might be inside. This is why we love Nashville." - Spider Bites

by Ashley Bone

"Songs from their recently launched CD titled Daydreaming at Night resonate tunes similar to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flaming Lips combined with their own unique sound.
The tracks on Daydreaming at Midnight, an independent album, were recorded at a studio in Nashville. The group members strive to incorporate unique instruments other than the traditional bass, guitar, keys and drums. A song titled “War Song” features Chance playing an accordion. A Univox synthesizer from the 1970s can be heard on Surveillance Life. Another album track was recorded with a $20 Walgreens guitar, which they had to constantly tune." - The Advertiser News