System and Station
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System and Station

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Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"System and Station - 'Here Is Now'"

Now here is a record that’s so refreshingly professional it’ll make you realize how truly amateurish most indie releases are. Well arranged and emotionally engaging, System and Station’s eclectically adventurous brand of melodic music has more than enough of what it takes to get them noticed today while they carve out a niche in tomorrow’s pop pantheon. Good job, lads. Carry on.
- Detroit Metro Times


"System and Station"

by Jason MacNeil
Some albums are easily inviting, while not quite challenging the listener to do anything but bob along. In contrast, System and Station give fans a healthy dose of daring, difficult, and at times perfect pop/rock songs, as is the case with the intricate "Find the Shore," which sounds like a cross between Guided by Voices and At the Drive-In on sedatives. Meanwhile, there are straightforward, elegant pop/rock nuggets such as "When You're the Witness," which mixes moods throughout without much hassle or problems. Although the band seems immersed in indie rock, there are some glimpses of mainstream influences during the haunting, tension-building "I'll See It When I Believe It," which sounds like a hybrid of Keane and Manic Street Preachers. System and Station never repeat themselves on this album, with "No One Could Know" wrapping itself around a quaint little melody before changing tones into a dreary, ambient-tinged bridge. Guitarist/singers RFK Heise and Palmer Cloud complement each other well during "Give Us a Sign," which veers back and forth between a Sting-like jazzy brand of pop and a full-bore power pop effort. This passion dissipates during the rather tame and tepid "Ghosts," with only a few fleetingly good moments bringing to mind an Audioslave B-side. This is made up for with the tight and relaxing "Awful Shame," which takes its time fading out. If there's one "mainstream" or radio-friendly rock tune, it's the heavier, edgier "Future of You." The closing title track has some lovely harmonies over the melancholic opening; it could be construed as a cover of a tune by the Rembrandts. Dreamy without being overtly lush before driving headlong into a solid rock arrangement, it is a fine coda to what is an equally fine and adventurous album.

- AllMusic


Discography

'Here Is Now' (Latest Flame 2006).
'In The Twilight' (self-released, 2005).
'If you find me, let me know' (Custaceaon, Latest Flame, 2004).
'Pictures Found in Paragraphs (Mafia Money Records, 2001).

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

System and Station formed in Boise, ID in 1998. The band started as a three piece and moved across the country only five months after its inception. The first move was to Madison, WI where they could be centralized to tour the Midwest and East coast. Within the first year in Madison they had an offer with a local label to release an EP and they decided to take the chance. The label (Mafia Money Records) had worked with Ritual Device, Hugh, and Transformer Lootbag and seemed to be a decent beginning.

Three months after the release of the record "Prospects of Living Daily" the label folded, leaving System and Station an album with no promotion. They decided to tour as much as they possibly could and get the word of mouth out about S+S. They fortunately had some help from friends Built to Spill that year as they took System and Station on a few tour dates.

In 2000 with a gracious offer from Smart studios they recorded the full length LP "Pictures found in Paragraphs". The album was recorded and mixed by Mark Haines (Son Volt, Archers of Loaf, Rainer Maria, Poster Children) in two days. It took almost a year before it was released on Crustacean Records and then was distributed by Southern Records. Regionally the album did well placing as high as #4 on Milwaukee radio and selling out in stores. They started hitting the road every other month for 3 to 6 weeks and then planned for there next move, Portland, OR.

In August of 2001 System and Station packed up and headed to Portland, OR to work the west side of the country and be closer to their families. In September Crustacean released a compilation album of songs recorded during the span of time in Madison and was titled "Compiling the #7". The people at Crustacean had always been very supportive of System and Station but their ability to promote was small because of funding problems so the release fell under the radar.

In spring of 2002 System and Station headed out on a 7 week tour with Chicago's Land of the El Caminos and would prove to be the end of two System and Station members. Dave Wall and Mike Rundle (the original rhythm section) decided they wanted to go back to Boise, ID and RFK headed back to Portland to see what was next Upon return System and Station reformed as a four piece bringing Palmer Cloud in as the fourth member on guitar. Palmer and Ryan had been playing together for years in various other bands so now songwriting duties were split between Palmer and RFK.

In 2003 S&S released "If you Find Me Let Me Know" on Latest Flame records and headed out on the road for a national tour. The album and tour were both successful and well received. The time between the start of the next album and last were turbulent to say the least with band members leaving and personal relationships falling apart. The result is what some have considered a masterpiece.

"In the Twilight" was released in January 2005 after a year of recording and over three members leaving the band. In February System and Station set out on what looked to be the last tour for the band. After seven years of System and Station and the past several turbulent years the band needed to be put on hold for awhile. March 2005 started a year hiatus for System and Station which produced RFK Heise's solo efforts under the name Protest Hill. Palmer and RFK started to write songs after the parting of S&S and had planned on a new name change but when they started writing songs there was no denying it was time for another System and Station record. The album, not yet titled, will be out in fall of 2006 on Latest Flame records followed by a national tour and the return of System and Station.