Showdown at the Equator

This band comes from Ann Arbor, and some of its members have played with Saturday Look Good To Me and Flashpapr, which is not surprising, as this band shares the same sense of musical diversity that's evident throughout the Detroit/Ann Arbor collective. The group shows a strong bossa nova influence (especially noticeable in the strummy patterns of the main guitar throughout most of the songs), but also reveals hints of indiepop, 70s pop and even jazz in these ten songs. The songs are very light and easy-going, but generally upbeat, and the vocals are split between the male and female singer, who sometimes even sing together on a few songs. I can't really think of many bands that I could compare this to, with the exception of True Love Always (actually, "Out Of Sympathy" is very similar to TLA), who also share an affinity for jazz and bossa nova. This is actually the band's second album (the first was self-released, as well), but I hope they can get enough exposure to get their next album released on a good label. Were it released twenty years ago, this impressive record would've found a perfect home in the Él catalog! MTQ=9/10
- indiepages.com

When pop music is made, it is strongly influenced by the 60s. From Love to the Beatles, some of the biggest moments in musical history saw the light of day while most of us weren’t born yet, well, almost. Showdown at the Equator love pop, certainly love psychedlia, but in keeping with the Sea and Cake, the group likes to explore a bit farther off. The nearly perfect first track, Character Study, is a a perfect mix of the American Analog Set and the Sea and Cake. What follows is made up of discrete and welcoming pop songs (Powers, Turnpike), more rocking pieces (Dear Friend), and some awesomely melodic tracks that will get you on the dance floor with your fingers snapping (Urban Camping). The disc being self-produced, you can hear a few gaps in the production, sometimes the sound is quieter, the instruments are not always shown at their best, but that just reinforces the melodic qualities of the group, who achieve, even with modest means, a really good pop album. Personally, I’d give this group a few euros….in any case recognition of their true value cannot be stolen - www.adecouvrirabsolument.com

The disadvantage of my associative way of listening to music is that I often have to think of other bands, even to the extent that I can't avoid mentioning them. But then I realize that this wouldn't mean much to most of our readers. I mean: "True Love Always"? Does that ring a bell? I always have to think of them when I listen to this second album of Showdown At The Equator (from Ann Arbor, MI). Because of the very clear pop sound which seems to be disinfected to erase every trace of rock. But don't think of the public's favorites like The Shins, because they sound like a stadium rock act compared to this, and it also is no bubblegum top 10 pop. Maybe SATE makes indiepop in the purest form (a better known reference is Unrest and they successors on Teenbeat). And now I happen to like indiepop a lot. And definitely so if once in a while a girl takes the microphone, something that happens indeed with SATE. If it were up to me after two self-released albums (you can download the debut completely on the band's website) the band deserves a larger label (Magic Marker?). The world of music definitely deserves that.
- www.thinksmall.nl

Showdown at the Equator are an intoxicating group that blend male and female harmonies continuously against intelligent and unique pop songs. There's that definite twee personality but Showdown are able to create individual songs that sound like The Delgados, smart '70s AM radio pop, campfire lullabies, and even electronic keyboard-grooved instrumentals. . . . . Showdown have just released a self-recorded EP of 11 songs that stretch the imagination and lull you down". - Shannon McCarthy - Real Detroit