Orange Is In
Houston, Texas, United States
Music
Press
Houston's dearth of good, traditional rock bands may reflect an overall deficiency in mainstream music. Music isn't made for adults anymore. It's made for 12-year-old girls or 18-year-old kids in skinny jeans or perpetual college students. Adults get stuck with stale classic-rock radio.
Orange Is In is one of those bands that keeps chugging for the grown-ups. The band's new EP, Come and Take It, revels in this hard-won maturity with cautionary tales, rootsy rock songs laced with elegant violin, and singer George Kovacik's Costello/Springsteen-esque vocals.
Sticky Finger, See Me Through and Inside are the disc's strongest tracks, each proving the band's ability to write catchy hooks and big choruses. Even Strike You Down, my least favorite track on the disc for its overwrought, '80s guitar burps, is still better than most rock music being made in Houston.
This is the best disc yet from Orange Is In, a band whose recordings have matured nicely over just a few years. Come and Take It should give hope to adults everywhere that someone still cares about their listening needs. - The Houston Chronicle
On Come and Take It, it’s evident that the band has spent a lot of time together crafting music that’s important to them – music without posturing or pretense. From opening track “Sticky Finger” to the closer, a quintessential rock anthem about a rebel named “Johnny,” Orange Is In’s songs simply invite you to listen to some rock ‘n’ roll and leave behind your worrying about what type of rock it is. It’s music – enjoy it! - Envy Magazine
Come and Take It" ranked #5 on Houston Calling's Top Local Favorites of 2007:
The best thing about Orange Is In is that their music is straight-ahead rock’n'roll. Nothing pretentious or fake here. - HoustonCalling.net
"A couple of listens in, I can attest that Semi-Tragedy is anything but -- it's a terrific slab of mature, modern power pop with violin accents."
John Nova Lomax - The Houston Press
While they may not technically count as a local supergroup, Orange Is In is a super new group playing fine original melodic pop with adult sensibilities and point of view. It's organic chill-out music buoyed by Price's violin wafting in and out of numbers, and it's made for warm summer days -- even if you hear it played in a dark club at night.
Bob Ruggiero - The Houston Press
[George] Kovacik fronts orange is in, and you can hear every bit of Springsteen's gravel-throated influence.
One of the band's strongest songs is Father's Day, a lush rock ballad that uses [Amy] Price's folksy violin to expressive effect. Though Kovacik is a quiet conversationalist, his zeal and strong vocals shine on this song.
Sara Cress - The Houston Chronicle
[orange is in] took the stage and put on an excellent show. I don’t think they’ve ever sounded better. Singer George Kovacik seemed especially inspired and the rest of band really fed off of that.
- H-Town Grooves
Discography
Come and Take It (EP) - 2007
Another Lame Semi-Tragedy (LP) - 2006
Snacks (EP) - 2004
Photos
Bio
Founded in the late 90s’, orange is in brings together a variety of disparate influences – including 60s pop, 80’s post punk and rootsy Texas rock – to create a sound that is uniquely their own. It is energetic American traditional rock with a decidedly mature sensibility.
A blend of pop hooks, hard-driving rhythms and a rootsy edge, the band has already won fans in Houston and around the Texas music scene. The quintet includes vocalist George Kovacik, bassist Jeff Balke, guitarist Chris Rogers and drummer Steve Salazar. All four members are veterans of Houston’s live music scene with diverse talents and boundless energy.
In true Texas fashion, Come and Take It, the latest release from orange is in, dares listeners to leave the pop music herd behind and head for the greener pastures of hard-driving American traditional rock.
The six-song CD builds on the solid foundation of the band’s 2006 full-length release, Another Lame Semi-Tragedy, while simultaneously moving the music into new territory.
Both CD’s have received praise from local media including the Houston Chronicle and Houston Press. Another Lame Semi-Tragedy was named one of Houston’s top 20 releases of 2006 by HoustonCalling.net and Come and Take It was ranked #5 by the same blog for 2007.
Links
