Music
Press
“The coolest Maine band you’ve probably never heard of . . . Portland Phoenix”
"A Maine-based musical sonic treat. rural electric is somber and twangy and deliciously organic. . . This could easily find its way into the pile with other songwriting works of genius, like Willard Grant Conspiracy and Richard Thompson. The Road to Hell is Paved oozes with great music." The Noise, Boston
"I may be high-strung, but I know great mellow indie rock when I hear it, and I'm listening to it now." Lollipop, Boston
"The Road to Hell is Paved contains thirteen of the most refreshingly peculiar tracks I've heard in a long time. . . With indie bands like rural electric creating such well-crafted sonic gems, perhaps commercial radio will take note and raise the bar a few notches." Motif Magazine, Providence.
"A cracker. 100 % guaranteed." Miles of Music
"I wirte about rural electric's debut a couple years back, surprised and excited by the duo of Andy Vietze and Alan Gibson and their modest, inspired folk rock songs. Two years later finds their sound increasingly refined, taking more and better risks, and genrally a fine step forward for the band. . . rural electric will go further onward and upward." Popmatters
On its new album, "The Road to Hell Is Paved" (recently featured on MPBN’s "In Tune By Ten"), the midcoast trio plays smart, laid-back indie rock, tempered by sweet harmonies and a jangly pop sheen. . . The songwriting sparkles, thanks to both Vietze and Gibson’s keen melodic sense and intelligent, sensitive lyrics that deal with everything from love to nature to politics." Bangor Daily News - multiple magazines, radio
"There is beauty in sadness, Andy Vietze and Alan Gibson seem to say, and they show it admirably." Lollipop, Boston
"A fine, fine record," Joel Raymond of Joel Raymond Presents and WERU
"The best song I've ever heard by an unsigned band," Steve Stroud, WRFR (referring to opening track Your Life Was Too Good).
Featured on The Best of Area Code 207, WCLZ, Portland, Maine
"Rural Electric . . . surprises with each listen. Their chosen name may be simple, but it's as apt and evocative as the songs it represents. Obvious forebears are early- to mid-period R.E.M. and songsmiths like Matthew Sweet and even Vic Chesnutt. "Company Town" and "Nicest House on the Block (Is the Funeral Home)" uncannily recall Michael Stipe's reedy semi-twang and Pete Buck's chiming Rickenbacker. "The Grange" opens with an auctioneer's ramble and leads to a beautifully strange banjo figure. "Blue Jacket" is built on a guitar line that alternates between jangly strummer and swirling melodic lines. . . I sleep well at night knowing that Rural Electric is providing the blueberry state with the kinds of sounds normally reserved for bigger scenes in bigger burgs." - Michael Metivier, popmatters
"With subject matter ranging from corn, to snow, to a mechanic's work jacket, rural electric sing with an acute awareness of the landscape and the world they inhabit. What makes them unique is that they have a decidedly indie-rock take on it in a land where some towns dont even have names let alone any rock bands." -Gullbuy.com
- various
Discography
rural electric: the road to hell is paved (losers/weepers)
rural electric: self-titled (losers/weepers), 2004
streaming songs at MySpace.com/ruralelectric
We've gotten a lot of airplay (WERU, WCLZ, WBLM, WCYY, MPR, WBUR, WRFR, and on and on) and we were considered among the Best of Area Code 207 by WCLZ. Most of the airplay was for "Armistice" and "Personal Mythology," "No Quiet Find" has also been popular.
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Bio
"A Maine-based musical sonic treat. rural electric is somber and twangy and deliciously organic. . . This could easily find its way into the pile with other songwriting works of genius, like Willard Grant Conspiracy and Richard Thompson. The Road to Hell is Paved oozes with great music." -- The Noise, Boston
The band first came together due to the members’ mutual interest in artists like Vic Chesnutt, Billy Bragg, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Elliot Smith -- singer-songwriters who brought a punk sensibility to their music. Rural Electric recorded their self-titled debut in 2002, and released it to much acclaim and radio play in Maine. Promoter and radio personality Joel Raymond called it "a fine, fine record." Another radio man, Steve Stroud, called its lead-off single "the best song I've ever heard by an unsigned band." For their 2006 follow up, which added piano, cello, dobro, vibes, and other instruments to the guitar-driven sound and two harmonizing vocals. The result -- The Road to Hell is Paved -- proved that their excellent debut was no fluke. The kudos kept coming: "The Road to Hell is Paved contains thirteen of the most refreshingly peculiar tracks I've heard in a long time," gushed Providence's Motif Magazine. "With indie bands like rural electric creating such well-crafted sonic gems, perhaps commercial radio will take note and raise the bar a few notches." Los Angeles' Miles of Music called it, "A cracker. 100% guaranteed." And more local outlets like the Bangor Daily News said the band's "songwriting shines."
Rural Electric was the backing band for the Capstan Shafts at CMJ in 2007 and were named among ten Belles of the Ball out of the thousands of acts that played. Their new drummer, Eric Sanders, who's played with Alex Chilton, Wreckless Eric and Tav Falco, among others, has brought a new dynamism to the band. Recording for a third album is almost complete; it will be released in the summer of 2010, and it's among the best stuff they've ever written. Some early releases from the album are already getting high praise from radio play.
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