Onward Chariots
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Onward Chariots

New York City, New York, United States | INDIE

New York City, New York, United States | INDIE
Band Alternative Rock

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"Trip TV"

Onward Chariots have a rather different sound (which is one reason these split singles work so well), they sound like they like The Smiths. "I found me" drives on with some nice jangly guitar and psychedelic keyboards. "Seven miles" is a sweet little pop song and maybe the best on this EP with its retro rock and roll guitar riffs. So there you go, another winning excursion into the globalised world of modern C86! - Trip TV


"SEA Fanzine"

“if you need some energetic popish song I’d recommend Onward Chariots’ I found me & Seven miles away. I’ve first seen them on youtube playing ‘War Hero’, which blew my mind at that very first listen.” - SEA Fanzine


"Tweendie"

Le groupe new-yorkais Onward Chariots, anciennement connu sous le nom de Chariots Of Tuna et par ailleurs signé chez February Records, vient de sortir un single chez l'excellentissime label espagnol Elefant. Le titre éponyme Save Me Maryann est on ne peut plus entraînant. Pour cette chanson d'amour où l'on traite de dépendance et où l'on attend que l'autre vienne nous sauver d'un coup de baguette magique, quoi de plus normal qu'un clip flirtant avec le côté féérique de la scène dessinée de Mary Poppins. Souvenez-vous; Mary et Bert sautent dans une des toiles que ce dernier a griffoné à la craie à même le pavé et ils s'aventurent alors dans un parc imaginaire. Ils dansent, volent, et marchent quelques pas au dessus du sol, tout comme le font les deux protagonistes dans la vidéo dont il est question ici. Le couple que vous verrez à l'écran est en fait composé de Shawn, le guitariste du groupe et d'une artiste brooklynoise: Katie Sokoler A.K.A. Color Me Katie. Nous vous laissons donc avec ces quelques minutes de couleur et de réjouissances: - tweendie.com


"El Jardin de Octopus"

Uno de los grupos contribuyentes a la última entrega del Club del Single de Elefant es Onward Chariots, un grupo de Nueva York antes llamados Chariots of tuna (a finales de los noventa publicaron en algunos recopilatorios con ese nombre, y tras varios años reaparecen reencarnados), y que han grabado ya para sellos como February Records (que para rizar el rizo antes se llamaba Tweefort Records).
Dejemos que se definan en su MySpace:
“a bevy of salmon with salmonella
a strawberry shake on a hot day
a mug of hot cocoa in January
a kick in the teeth by a cricket
a gently mewling dinosaur”
A mí me suenan como Matt Bianco, como los Teenage, pop transparente, brillante e iluminado, con melodías de enorme sencillez y gran capacidad de atracción. Una verdadera delicia.
- El Jardin de Octopus


""Fondness Makes The Heart Grow Distant": CHARIOTS OF TUNA!"

Aqui continuamos nosso trabalho em desencavar os segredos e tesouros mais bem guardados da América. E não estamos falando em procurar nas altas montanhas de picos nevados ou desertos profundos onde só sobrevivem serpentes e bases aéreas secretas. Bandas também se escondem no centro mundo, mais precisamente no Brooklyn, Nova Iorque.

E é de lá que vem o Chariots Of Tuna. Há 10 anos Ben Morss trocou a capital da Califórnia, Sacramento, pela capital do mundo e resolveu trazer seu antigo grupo à vida novamente. Com a ajuda de Shawn Setaro, Rus Wimbish e Dan Davine, preparou este EP de três faixas, onde prevalece o clima de maciez indie pop. Algo entre Belle & Sebastian e Brian Wilson.

“War Hero” abre o EP com placidez acústica, delicados coros vocais e os acetinados falsetes de Morss. “Save Me Maryann” segue por paisagens oníricas e teclados sobrepondo texturas. A brianwilsoneana “Air” é levada por teclados vintage e a voz de Ben apenas cantando um coro, fazendo jus ao nome da faixa. Esperemos que, quando as novas canções do Chariots Of Tuna ganhem vida, não precisemos chamá-los mais de “segredo bem guardado do Brooklyn”.
- Powerpopstation


"New single from Chariots of Tuna – “I’m so good at shining” – and it shines!"

Aahhh! A new single from Chariots of Tuna is better than Christmas, and this one is actually better than most things I can think of!

I adored their debut single, as you can see from my review, but the band has really progressed since then, and this is even better than I had dared to hope for. The songwriting is even more to the point, the vocals are more focussed and better, and these two songs are two gorgeous pop-treasures that in my ears are perfect. I am one of those who feel a little pain when I hear ecstatic guitar solos, but on “Seven miles away”, even the guitar solo is good!
- eardrums.com


""Once we again, we are smitten""


Since an extended winter cold snap seems to have taken seasonal residence in our little corner of Ohio, we can think of no better way to defrost the ears than with a previously featured artist who has a decidedly warm new guitar pop single to share. Chariots Of Tuna is the oddly named, Brooklyn/Queens, New York four piece we made original mention of last year in July 2009 with their impressive EP Fondness Makes The Heart Grow Distant. If you have the chance, we recommend a visit to our previous review for links that might give a better understanding of the history and accomplishments of the musicians involved with this project. The brand new single from Ben Morss & company is titled I'm So Good At Shining and is now available for free download through lovely Connecticut-based label Tweefort Records (Tweefort MySpace). Once again, we are smitten with what we can only hope might be the precursor to a full-length album for this band.
- Milk Milk Lemonade


"Chariots Of Tuna, elogio della frivolezza"

One of the summer's most blogged-about bands... in that nice hopeful stage of possibly exploding on a global level: everything seems to be going the right way so far.

The American music blogs in fact very much like their extremely melodic pop, which evokes the 60s but also the Housemartins. They call themselves lovers of the Beach Boys, the Shins, the Decemberists and Beck, and – yes – we're there with the right influences. In particular, listen to “Air” on MySpace and see if it's not the Beach Boys!

Let's just hope that:

a) now the Chariots Of Tuna won't stop for another nine years

b) they find some label, of the Slumberland Records type, that would instill confidence in them."
- kalporz.com


"Tell me that this sort of summery pop isn't just what you need."

I know a good falsetto when I hear one, and Chariots of Tuna's singer Ben Morrs does it better than most. Have a listen to indiepop epic War Hero on the band's myspace page, and tell me that this sort of summer-y pop isn't just what you need a Monday that seems to have dragged on forever.

That name, of course, is a problem, but then there's plenty of daft-named bands around these days, isn't there? Yes, there is. So, let's accentuate the positive, and say that Chariots of Tuna fill that space left by fifty per cent of Beulah, and Belle and Sebastian before they turned into the Barron Knights.

If they don't come to the UK soon, I'll duff them up.
- A Layer of Chips


"A review from Brazil"

Aqui continuamos nosso trabalho em desencavar os segredos e tesouros mais bem guardados da América. E não estamos falando em procurar nas altas montanhas de picos nevados ou desertos profundos onde só sobrevivem serpentes e bases aéreas secretas. Bandas também se escondem no centro mundo, mais precisamente no Brooklyn, Nova Iorque.

E é de lá que vem o Chariots Of Tuna. Há 10 anos Ben Morss trocou a capital da Califórnia, Sacramento, pela capital do mundo e resolveu trazer seu antigo grupo à vida novamente. Com a ajuda de Shawn Setaro, Rus Wimbish e Dan Davine, preparou este EP de três faixas, onde prevalece o clima de maciez indie pop. Algo entre Belle & Sebastian e Brian Wilson.

“War Hero” abre o EP com placidez acústica, delicados coros vocais e os acetinados falsetes de Morss. “Save Me Maryann” segue por paisagens oníricas e teclados sobrepondo texturas. A brianwilsoneana “Air” é levada por teclados vintage e a voz de Ben apenas cantando um coro, fazendo jus ao nome da faixa. Esperemos que, quando as novas canções do Chariots Of Tuna ganhem vida, não precisemos chamá-los mais de “segredo bem guardado do Brooklyn”.
- Powerpopstation


"Local power-poppers Onward Chariots who sound pretty good on their Myspace"

um... that was it... but, still, a nice comment in Brooklyn Vegan, hey! - Brooklyn Vegan


Discography

This is My Confession - first full-length - Skipping Stones Records, January 2013

Onward Chariots/Lazy Lorelei -- split EP - Dufflecoat Records, 2011

Save Me Maryann -- vinyl and digital single - Elefant Records, 2010

Indietracks CD -- compilation, Make Do and Mend, 2010

Between Two Waves -- compilation, Eardrums Music, 2010

Fondness Makes the Heart Grow Distant EP -- February Records, 2010

I'm So Good at Shining EP - February Records, 2009

Home and Away -- compilation, Tweefort Records, 2009

Schnick Schnack Schnuck Records -- compilation, 2009

Songs from these records have been played on internet and terrestrial stations and podcasts in the U.S., Brazil, Spain, Greece, Italy, the Phillippines, and more.

Photos

Bio

Onward Chariots, a little indie pop group from Brooklyn, posted their first songs on myspace in the spring of 2009, and it didn’t take long for their music to spread around the world. Blogs from Italy to Brazil praised their intricate melodies, luminous vocal harmonies, and scintillating guitars. Pop compilations in the U.S., Germany, England, and Norway featured their music. Their songs were played on radio stations in diverse places like Greece, Spain, and Indonesia.

In 2010, they played at the England’s Indietracks Festival and the Athens Pop festival, toured the U.K., released a single on fabled Spanish indie-pop label Elefant Records, and starred in a hit stop-motion video. In 2011, they again toured Europe and put out another new EP.

On January 29, 2013, the first full-length Onward Chariots album will be released, a 16-track conceptual album that tells a story and features music in diverse styles and elaborate orchestrations. Promotion is already underway for this musical milestone-to-be!

Reviewers and fans compare Onward Chariots' pop gems to the Beach Boys, Beulah, the La's, Teenage Fanclub, and Belle and Sebastian, among others. Everything is recorded and produced in the band members’ practice space and apartments.

Singer-songwriter Ben Morss may or may not have also played keyboard on albums by Cake, Wheatus, and Josh Joplin and with California acid-jazz acid-heads 11:11 at festivals like SXSW and NXNW. His poppy punk band, The Pilgrims, was alternately loved or hated by college radio stations across the U.S., and he has proven his twee credentials by co-writing two musicals based on the Angelina Ballerina book and TV series. He’s currently working on a rock musical about anarchists. Guitarist Shawn Setaro has played and/or recorded with The Dresden Dolls, Taking Back Sunday, Martin Bisi (producer, Sonic Youth, The Swans), Bob D’Amico (Fiery Furnaces, Sebadoh), Charlie Zeleny (Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater, Broadway’s Rock of Ages), Susan Aquila (Paul McCartney, Whitney Houston), Sarah Bowman (Rasputina), Ben Morss (Cake, Wheatus), The Lordz (formerly Lordz of Brooklyn), Alina Simone, and more. Currently Shawn is Editor-in-Chief of Rap Genius.