Tautologic

... miraculous progressive pop.... Immortal and visionary. - Harmonie

Occasionally experimentation with new names reveals a hidden gem. Tautologic is one such case in point, where each and every track has had me completely blown away... music can be best defined as eclectic progressive rock with a healthy dose of folk rock with the group described as a cross between early Genesis, early Fairport Convention and a healthy dose of Stackridge. Basically the group sound very very British though they hail from Chicago, very late sixties stuff.... When considering that this is a debut album, the promise is great. Musically Tautologic have a lot to offer and are an extremely tight professional outfit. - The Dutch Progressive Rock Page

"Tautologic brings a new twist to orchestral pop, melding a wide variety of musical styles with classical arrangements. Ethan Sellers sings in a Styx-like, operatic voice about everyday occurrences and topics, while a mini orchestra peppers each song with intriguing and often lovely, violins, cello, and keyboards. For example, on the folksy "Jim's Home Brew," he sings about his friend's beer recipe, while Jen Justice's pretty backing vocals, catchy piano, and charming strings flow throughout. The band also tackles psychedelica ("Hype Dark"), Celtic ("Glasgow Smile"), funk ("Love Bus"), space rock ("Tube Socks"), and classical pop ("Lazy Sundays," my favorite track), while Justice contributes gorgeous lead vocals to "The House Song." It sounds strange on paper, but the results satisfy more often than not. Thanks to Sellers's and Pat Buzby's songwriting talents and string arrangements, this debut is an impressive, if slightly twisted, modern-day "rock" opera." - The Big Takeover

"With its tightly scripted string arrangements and ambitious intelligence, Tautologic... is among the city's most original acts. This brilliantly sequenced, $15,000 independent album opens playfully and ominously with a complicated instrumental bit of modern orchestral dissonance, which then gives way to Sgt. Pepperesque, psychedelic Beatleism... The melodies have a distinctly traditional folk feeling, shaped by the apt use of classic meters (these guys have obviously been successfully exposed to the Great Books at University of Chicago)." - Chicagogigs.com

"It's a roaring fire and two glasses of wine type sound, though not limited to such intimacies. Tautologic can hold their own with Chicago's best, as evident at their album debut at Elbo Room in June." - Centerstage Chicago

Like a lot of neo-prog bands, Marillion chief among them, modern progressive rockers Tautologic could do with a lot more grit in their sound: The Chicago band's first-wave heroes Genesis may have been intricate, ethereal and wispy, but they were never dainty or fragile. That minor quibble aside, the group's second album "Psychle," released in 2007 but only recently denting my radar, is an impressively ambitious example of virtuosic musicianship and deft arrangements navigating myriad sounds and styles without ever loosing that essential melodic thread or propulsive rock drive.

Formed in 1997 by key songwriter, guitarist, vocalist and driving force Ethan Sellers and currently completed by drummer Pat Buzby, guitarist Aaron Weistrop, bassist Nathan Britsch, saxophonist Chris Greene and violinist Emily Albright, Tautologic is all the more relevant for lyrics that deal not with lamia, slippermen, tales from topographic oceans and the other stuff or progressive-rock lore, but with Ray Davies-style sociological skewerings of "burnout roommates and their psychotic crack-whore girlfriends, tube socks, crazy homeless people, indie hipsters, quasi-terroristic rants against totalitarian utility companies and anything else that entertains and/or irritates."

Sample the group's sounds at www.myspace.com/tautologic, and keep an eye out for upcoming gigs at www.tautologic.com.

- Chicago Sun Times

"Hey, Fearless fans, there's a new hip and happenin' place in Chicago for live musical entertainment! Reggie's Music Club is the place to go for good eats and cool music. It was a packed house Saturday night. This evening Southside came out to hear her favorite ambient folk rock band, otherwise known as Tautologic. This band rocked the audience with their unique blend of music genres and their electric violin accompaniment. For this performance they added something new to enhance their opening set. On a backdrop screen behind the band, movie shorts played throughout the set in order to give the audience a deeper feel for the tone of the songs.

Tautologic kicked off their set with The Admiral. SouthSide enjoyed how both the song and video images helped create a very haunting feel. She liked the idea of using video shorts to accompany the songs to convey the songwriter's imagination and mood. For example, during the performance of Loud Shoes the audience was presented with a video of a woman shopping in a store. Other video shorts included images of churches and a cyclist along the bike path for Bike Lock ["On Your Left" is the song title - ed.]. The movie shorts were rather quirky and at times made the audience wonder at the connection between the images and the lyrics of the songs. Some of Tautologic's songs did have its funny moments that made SouthSide laugh or dance along while the band jammed on stage.

What SouthSide liked best about Tautologic's show was their experimentation with different genres. The band kept Reggie's alive with an interesting mix of Irish folk, Island rhythms, and rock music. During Choirboy, this fast paced song was rich with guitar sounds and keyboard melodies. This song included extended guitar solos at the end. While performing On Your Left, Ethan really got into the funky island beat by dancing a little.

It was Tautologic's newest addition that added the right amount of edge and intensity to their music. Emily on the electric violin was an excellent newcomer to the band. She gave their closing song The Whistler a wee bit of Irish folk sound with her electric violin accompaniment. During this particular song as the three guitars performed a video about the whistler was played on the screen. This combination between visuals and sounds added more dimension to their performance for it completely engaged the audience's senses. For more information about Tautologic, visit them at www.tautologic.com or www.myspace.com/tautologic. Until next time, Fearless fans, support your local indie artists."
-SouthSide from Fearless Radio

- Fearless Radio