Southern Backtones

"Deep-fried psychedelic blues rock ala Jim Morrison and the Doors slithers and wiggles aided by the hypnotically suggestive frontman Hank Schyma's come hither vocals. Haunting and cinematic
songs begging for a movie to live up to their promise. My picks: "Dirty," "They'll Never Come Between Our Love (Radio Edit)," "My Hell" and "Everything.""

- San Francisco Bay Times

"The Southern Backtones have songs and riffs that The Strokes and The Killers would kill for." - MetalUK.com

"Alt-rock guitars, darkly poetic lyrics and a vocal style reminiscent of the mid-90s Britpop movement...the musicianship and songwriting on this effort are top notch. Highly recommended." -

With alt-rock guitars, darkly poetic lyrics and a vocal style reminiscent of the mid-’90s Britpop movement (only in a more American incarnation), Southern Backtones start off their seven-song, third album on a high note with “Forever.” Yet by the second track, “Little Ghost,” a slower, purposefully rougher track with equally dark lyrical content, they seem to have shed some of those influences and adopted others. While this fails for many bands, this Texas-based quartet does it so masterfully and subtly that it in turn becomes one of the album’s major strengths — to morph styles and influences, while keeping the roots beneath constant. This self-titled disc is an accomplishment as they successfully take those that obviously inspired them (the Doors, the Cult and David Bowie) and borrow here and there but ultimately make a sound of their own — one that surprisingly is best described in their press release as “Brit-influenced rock with roots firmly planted in Texas.” Not only is the musicianship and songwriting on this effort top notch, but the production and mix are equally clean and polished, making this album play much more like a major label release than an independent one. Packed to the brim with alternately jangling and rocking guitars, lush lead vocals by the group’s front-man that draw you right in to the stories they tell, and no filler cuts, there is little to dislike here. Highly recommended.

- Monica S. Kuebler

"If U2 came from Texas and were weaned on the Cult's bug-guitar panoramas they would be called the Southern Backtones, and they would rock."

- download.com

"Southern Backtones is not Southern rock. It is a sea of expansive, dark rock with the unmistakable, vampy touch of David Bowie and the indigo mood of Echo & the Bunnymen."

Southern Backtones' name has been around since 1998, but the only remaining original member, frontman Hank Schyma, wants you to understand the band has evolved.
"There have been about three incarnations of the band, and we should have changed names several times, but the name had momentum. Now it sort of shoots us in the foot," he says, alluding to "southern."
Southern Backtones is not Southern rock, nor is it roots-rock. The band's newly-released, self-titled album makes that clear. It is a sea of expansive, dark rock with the unmistakable, vampy touch of David Bowie and the indigo mood of Echo & the Bunnymen.
Guitarist John Griffin says this release is "a little bit more experimental, a lot more psychedelic. We let go of the idea that we needed to play everything live. We've added pianos and string sections, which we can't really pull off live. The album's the movie; the live show is the stage play."
Case in point: Another Moment, which opens with a solo acoustic guitar, eventually spreads itself into a swirling string masterpiece.
Griffin joined the Backtones in 2002 after working as an engineer on one of the band's albums. Drummer Todd Sommer and bassist Dylan Bryson round out the group.
"John was in a band called Rowzero, and I loved the record they put out. I think we have a similar philosophy of songwriting and chords and hooks," Schyma says. Griffin's large collection of vintage gear also caught Schyma's eye.
"He's got all these these vintage guitars. It's like that Fleetwood Mac video where they're running through the desert, and there's all these guitars."
Griffin adds, "That comes from my engineer side. The right equipment can make a huge difference in your live show."
It's not just the music that makes a good live show. Schyma is a master of mystery with all that dark hair in his eyes and an admirable rock 'n' roll pout that gives the band a strong stage presence.
"I remember watching a J. Geils video when I was younger," Schyma says. "He wasn't a real handsome guy but the girls would just rush the stage, and I thought, 'that's what I want to do!' You can be ugly and girls still rush the stage!"
Though the band has enviable name recognition in the Houston area, its music garners more attention in the Northeast and Canada.
"We get more press now in a month than we did in the first five years we were together. Now that we're getting more airplay in the Northeast, we're going to be spending a lot more time up there. We'll be going to New York City in May and we'll stay there for a month, come back to Houston, turn around and go back for another month," Schyma says.
Griffin adds that the plan is to focus on the places that receive the Backtones' music with more zeal than Houston.
"There are so many great acts here, it's a shame that they aren't supported on the level that we'd all like," Griffin says.
After eight years on the Houston scene, Schyma is confident about his chances to make it big with this album.
"I think it will do great things for us. I'll be surprised if we don't get a record deal out of this," he says. "I'll also be very disappointed."
Griffin is more pragmatic.
"The record deal isn't the be-all, end-all anymore. It's nice to have that kind of money and that kind of organization behind you, that is what we're striving for, but you can distribute your music all over the world now without having a record deal."
Even if it doesn't happen for the Backtones this time around, there's little else Schyma and Griffin have no choice but to continue playing.
"If you have the passion for it, you're just sort of doomed to do it," Schyma says. "I wish I could be happy sitting at home on Sunday mowing the lawn and watching football, but I can't." - Sara Cress

"Excellent CD. Highest Recommendation" - The Scene Magazine

"The only way this could get any beautifully darker is if it grew black wings and flew away." - Fort Worth Weekly