Maida Vale
Tallahassee, Florida, United States | SELF
Music
Press
"Deceptively simple songs that get under your skin and stay there..."
"In three songs I have had them on repeat before the EP even hit the streets."
"Hints of...Wilco and rich, textured lyrics..." - iTunes Music Store
Experimental rock project Maida Vale (Justin Barfield, Eric Case, Josh Fruit, Stratton Glaze and Nathan Lee) is a local group that's less than a year old and is already leaving its footprint on Tallahassee's music scene.
That may be because each member carries experience from past bands, knowledge reaped from current successes and the heart to play the music they love.
Barfield bends a bevy of guitar, banjo and mandolin strings, and Glaze keeps it cool on bass (both formerly of local band Avery). With Case on vocals, Fruit on guitar and Lee (of the late Forever Changed) pulling percussion duty, the five-piece creates a down-tempo tone with an Americana edge that's emotive and graceful.
This summer, Maida Vale recorded a three-song EP at Pixel Studios. It'll be available this fall on iTunes but you can get a preview online at Tallahassee .com. The band plans to return to the studio early next year to begin work on a full-length follow-up.
Maida Vale's earthy sound is sweeping stages around town, including the platform at the Beta Bar, 809 Railroad Ave., at 8 tonight with 2007 Homegrown Showdown winner Wylee Wrathbone, Cambden, Lucid Blue and Evan Mathews (from the 12th Chapter).
Admission is $5 for folks age 21 and older, $6 for anyone younger. It's an all-ages how. Call 425-2607 for information. - Tallahassee Democrat
Maida Vale committed one cardinal sin in its otherwise flawless debut release American Sun: the band recorded too few songs. Listening to this album is like jumping into a lake on a summer day, only to have someone grab you and yank you out of the water right before your head goes all the way under. You almost wish you didn’t start because the misery of the dip being over so fast is almost worse than not going in at all. Almost.
The first track on the album, “Phos Hilaron,” is a minute-long soft instrumental that blends perfectly into the first full track, “Down in the Valley.” The music of “Down in the Valley” perfectly matches the title of the track. Soft acoustic picking and the introduction of Eric Case’s raspy but melodic voice are followed by drums, banjo, blues harp and electric
guitar starring in a ballad dedicated to a different time.
As the album continues, the listener is introduced to the bluesy style of “Bethany.” The title track, however, leans towards new-folk. The shortest and most acoustic song on the album follows is “Not Alright,” which focuses more on Case’s vocals than the rest of the album but closes with power. The album ends with three long tracks clocking in at more than five minutes each. The melodies and rock ‘n’ roll sensibilities of “Great Lakes”
is reminiscent of early Counting Crows. “West Way” comes next with a county, banjo-tinged sound before the album closes with the southern/indie rock anthem, “Judgment Day.
This album touches many genres in a very small space but it does so successfully at all turns. American Sun is a must have for fans of any type of folk/country/alt-country/rock ‘n’ roll. (Self-released) - Southeast Performer Magazine
Discography
American Sun (2008)
EP (2007)
Photos
Bio
Maida Vale’s story begins the way good stories should: over a breakfast of eggs, bacon and grits…
Future bandmates Eric Case and Justin Barfield sat in the late summer morning, dreaming about a band that would be organized around nothing but great music. No hype, no crap, just great songs that people would love to hear.
Six months later, old friends Nathan Lee, Josh Fruit and Stratton Glaze joined Justin and Eric in, of all places, a church sanctuary, and the first notes and beats drifted out onto the air. By mid-May, the band was tentatively exploring the boundaries of sound, and when Nathan joined as Eric played the first few peaceful bars of “Heart”, the band knew they had seized onto something: the shock of silence, or what they also refer to as “the full dynamic range” of music.
By October 2007 the band had released a three-song EP and made its much-hyped live debut. Unexpectedly, iTunes featured the EP on the front page of its “Folk” store, and the attention boosted the release into the best-selling charts, eventually peaking at #51.
Maida Vale built on this success by returning to the studio in March 2008 to begin recording what would be come American Sun. The sessions went quickly, and this second CD was released in May. Again iTunes decided to feature the band’s work, this time featuring the CD in a banner display. American Sun went on to become a best-selling iTunes folk record, eventually peaking at #44.
The band has already played choice nights at some of the best venues in the Midwest and south, and has shared the stage with national acts such as Matt Costa the Delta Spirit.
The band continues to push at the margins of its songwriting and playing, crafting an increasingly compelling story. To join us, e-mail maidavalemusic@gmail.com or call us at 850.728.1997.
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