Mousy Brown

“Moonwalker” shines with handclap grooves and twinkling keyboards. Vocalist Steven Toney belts “Around the world in ninety days is what I was trying, what I was trying to do”. “Jared The Gray” is Bronze Turbo at its most furious, but none of the record’s dance-ability is lost in the harsh tone. Regardless, that track is followed by “Prelude”, the sonic equivalent to a back rub with plenty of “oh oh oh’s” and “ooh ooh ooh’s” to put you back in the right place. - Boise State University's The Pulse

In 2010, it was easy for an album to drown in the gushing river of music releases — some good, some bad, most flowing into that vast ocean of mediocrity. But failing to recognize Mousy Brown’s full-length debut — which hit the streets this fall — would be a near-tragic oversight, particularly on a local level.
Recorded at the Tonic Room, “Bronze Turbo” makes a statement: Mousy Brown is one of Boise’s most interesting, promising young rock bands. There’s a scope and ambition here that you don’t often encounter: whip-snap guitar riffs, mood-altering saxophone, dreamy atmospherics, rhythmic starts and stops split by silence — and yearning, vulnerable vocals that weave in and out of falsetto territory. That’s all just during the first song — actually, first three, which blend together and make for a 9-minute mind fry.
A palpable artistic fire drives Mousy Brown’s spirit, which almost feels culled from the college-rock scene of the late 1980s. You hear it in the sweet catharsis of “Moonwalker” the anxious guitar jog of “Jared the Gray,” the buoyant bounce of “Tour de Force.” It’s clear during elegant moments of “For the Both of Us” and “Safe and Sure,” songs augmented by shimmering keyboard and pretty piano.
The trick is that even as “Bronze Turbo” is incessantly unpredictable — and there are some intriguing detours, such as “Prelude” — it’s also relentlessly catchy, nearly poppy.
Being an art-rock band involves risks: Self-indulgence, melodrama, failed experiments. Maybe Mousy Brown doesn’t even consider itself that. Either way, the consequences of creativity are easy to accept when your group has this sort of musical chemistry. New as it is — the band was formed in 2009 — Mousy Brown already sounds like it’s stumbled onto something special.
Michael Deeds


- Idaho Statesman

The stalwarts who wandered in out of the wet weather on Wednesday night, caught a show at Neurolux that included a set by Boise band Mousy Brown.

The five piece hasn't been around long, but they've covered some territory in a short time, running a tight ship writing and recording music and playing a string of shows across the Boise area. Despite the busy schedule, the band hasn't lost their sense of humor, taking the stage Wednesday sporting, among other attire, a Christmas sweater and an oversized-glasses/mustache combo.

Mousy Brown has a knack for writing songs that can, in an instant, switch from melancholy to all-out frenzied rock, keeping a heavy emphasis on rhythmic unity and lacing it all with keyboards and synth. The band covered material from last summer's Basement Disco Lights EP, delivering a high-voltage performance that saw guitarist Joziah Curry strumming the occasional jazz riff on his Stratocaster and drummer Ben Clingan wielding mallets in a cymbal crescendo.

This spring, Mousy Brown has their sights set on hitting the road this spring road, but till then you can catch them actively playing more local shows - Boise Weekly

Any show in which the trumpet player warms up by playing John William's theme to Jurassic Park is bound to be a wild ride. It's been awhile since I last heard As Tall as Lions, but I was pleased with how the band's sound has evolved. Complex and borderline psychedelic riffs dominated the evening, alternating between heavy and emotive to laid-back and jazzy. Apart from soul-scratching trumpet and jiving bass, the band had an array of toys to further enhance the experience--like singing through a megaphone and a strange funnel device, creating vocals echoing down a long tunnel and crafting a faux-lonely wind whipping through the PA for the closing number.

Newly formed local band Mousy Brown kicked off the evening, playing their debut show at a public venue. The band combines numerous Boise talents from former projects and bands, crafting a sound infused with elements of blues, hardcore and melodious keyboard. The band was equally capable of delivering jarring fist shakers as they were of somber chords that more than once sent a shiver down my spine. Mousy Brown's debut release Basement Disco Lights EP was fresh off the press, having just arrived that morning. In between Mousy Brown and ATAL, James Orr crafted a soundscape of layered guitars, drums and keys, prepping the launch pad to the new worlds, which As Tall as Lions explored. - Boise Weekly

Local band, Mousy Brown rocked the atmosphere at Urban Outfitters Oct. 30 for “College Night” promoted by public relation students at Boise State. After several weeks of hard work, 11 students at Boise State can boast a very successful promotional campaign.

Student Ally Griswold, estimated about 70 hours of work went into the event and thought the overall outcome of the night was very satisfactory.

We try to showcase up and coming talent in Boise,” Hammond said. “This is a way for them to showcase their music.”

The music gave the store a more hang-out place type vibe and several students stayed a while instead of just browsing, purchasing something and leaving.
- Boise Arbiter

Bands (in order of appearance): Mousy Brown, Mini Mansions, Minus the Bear
Time of Concert: 8-12:30 p.m. mountain 07/16/2010
Venue: The Knitting Factory - Boise, Idaho

Boise may be the largest town in Idaho, but that means very little considering that the city has a quaint population of around half-a-million. Sadly, this leaves our gorgeous little town out of the path of both prominent bands and lesser-known bands for the most part. Luckily, last Friday Boise found itself caught dead in the sights of a juggernaut; Minus the Bear.

The show kicked off with Mousy Brown at eight o' clock sharp. Having never heard of these guys before, I was quite surprised to find out that they were a local group. Apparently, they were notified close to an hour before the show. Undoubtedly setting the tempo for the show; thankfully, Mousy was able to make it.

A five piece indie group, Mousy Brown started the show off right. Steven Toney's gritty vocals made for one hell of a show. Slowly, Toney's mood heightened with each song. About halfway into Mousy's set, you could hear and see all of his emotion pouring out of every lyric and every breath. I was extremely surprised by their lead guitar player's talent. During the second to last song he pulled off some of the best tap guitar that I have ever heard live. Moving into the last few songs Mousy brought out all of the stops and left the crowed reeling for more. - Music, Birds and Cereal