Sisters
New York City, New York, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
Apparently readers of Impose outside of Brooklyn think they are rare and unique and that they're getting a peek into the deep dank Brooklyn underground when they read this rag, even though there are very many more of them then there are us Kings County types, as well as many more words spent on all that happens outside this little borough on these pages rather than inside it. But forget what you just read and trust our authority on this one: Sisters are one of Brooklyn's best pop bands.
Looks like they've shined up their already ebullient anthem-making process and stepped lightly towards that Great Cherry Pie Pop Album in the Sky. You can pretty much smell it.
For Ghost Fits, their debut LP out September 28, they've signed to Narnack, the label responsible for a slew of records by The Oh Sees, Lee "Scratch" Perry, The Fall, Langhorne Slim, and other local-hero brethren like Parts and Labor and Aa. Sounds about right. - Impose magazine
"The Brooklyn duo Sisters pull nineties alternative rock into the twenty-first century, skillfully tempering Gen X slacker aesthetics with an earnest optimism and youthful vigor." – The New Yorker - The New Yorker
“Aaron Pfannebecker's speak-sung vocals sound so earnest, they could've been lifted from a Sixteen Candles voiceover. And then all hell breaks loose.” – L Magazine - L Magazine
"Sisters is not made up of sisters. Hell, the band isn't even made up of brothers. But you won't care once the Brooklyn duo starts playing its sugary punk confections. Just don't leave the earplugs at home-for two people, they make a lot of noise." - Nylon Magazine
Discography
Sisters EP - SOLD OUT
Highway Scratch 7" split with JEFF the Brotherhood - SOLD OUT
"Ghost Fits" out September 28th 2010
Photos
Bio
Lo-fi indie / noise-pop duo Sisters will release their debut record Ghost Fits on September 28, 2010 on Narnack Records. Sisters is Aaron Pfannebecker (vocals / guitar) and Matt Conboy (drums / keys.) They may not be siblings but the moniker they perform under - Sisters - reflects their commitment to the music they manifest together.
Matt and Aaron met while studying fiction writing at the New School in New York. It took a while for Aaron and Matt to figure out how to develop their sound. Wanting to create as big of a noise as possible with just guitars and drums, Aaron started playing his guitar through two amps, augmenting the monster sound he created with pedal-based loops. Upping the ante, Matt built a custom analogue drum synth into his kick drum. Running this feed through effects in real time allowed him to get a wholly unique sound out of his kit, completing the Sisters' one-of-a-kind, 21st Century alt-rock sonic experience.
Aaron originally hails from Western Massachusetts, a small farm town not far from the liberal arts Mecca of Northampton where he attended a public charter arts school. Matt is from Oakland, California, where a cultural combination of gangster rap and punk rock dominated his young music life. The pair initially found common ground with bands like Nirvana, Pixies, Pavement and Sonic Youth (the Sisters moniker also gives a nod to the band's 4th album), but from there their tastes diverged. Matt really loves fellow East Coast masters of noise, Lightning Bolt, while Aaron is into the popier side of 70's post-punk, My Bloody Valentine-style noise. "We both like noise -- and really good hooks in the music and voice," Aaron notes.
Rehearsing at the infamous Death by Audio warehouse in Williamsburg (where Aaron used to live and Matt still resides), Sisters became part of an extended family of bands. A Place To Bury Strangers, Dirty on Purpose, Grooms, and more. They practice, hang out, play shows and tour together, and are essentially part of a self-contained and very fertile eco-system. (Matt co-founded the Death by Audio venue, and co-runs the bespoke pedal company which is also located in the warehouse - and whose custom units are beloved by likes of Lightening Bolt, Nine Inch Nails and U2 - with Oliver Ackermann from A Place To Bury Strangers.)
Sisters started out playing stealth unannounced shows at Death by Audio, while they became more secure in their sound. "We would have these 'sneak attacks' as we called them, where we would set up really quick in between bands in the hallway or doorway and just play five or six songs," recalls Aaron. "We did that for awhile, then eventually people asked us to play."
Ghost Fits was recorded at Civil Defense studios in Brooklyn by Jeremy Scott (credits include Vivian Girls, Woods, These are Powers, Hollowpaw, Frankie Rose and the Outs). "Recording with Jeremy Scott was amazing," says Matt. "He was always willing to try any crazy idea we had. It was a great experience."
Self-described as "messy pop rock fallout," the album is comprised of 11 hook-laden songs covered with distortion and infused with eminently danceable grooves. "The record is about observations and connecting to people and place and feelings," notes Aaron. "It's a collage feelings record. I hope people like it, connect to it and want to hear more."
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