The Long Emergency

Moxie. Spunk. Gumption. Guts. It goes by many names; whatever you want to call it, that’s what the Long Emergency is all about. There’s no mistaking the urgency in their recordings and performances: tLE plays impassioned, kinetic rock music, a swirl of stately melodies and the nervy, clamorous energy of youth. The Brooklyn-based band synthesizes a variety of influences into one cohesive whole: the propulsive rhythms of Franz Ferdinand, the classical melodicism of Ryan Adams or Elvis Costello, and the emotional sweep of War-era U2 all leave their marks on the band’s sound, but the Long Emergency’s anthemic music knows no direct antecedent. With their upcoming EP Motive (due Fall ’06 on Buddy Project) and east-coast performances, the Long Emergency is poised for a breakout year.

It’s been a long time coming. Lead vocalist/guitarist Beau Elliott, multi-instrumentalist Chris Bradley, and guitarist Ian Caruth began playing together in high school in Dallas, Texas. The three kept in touch through college while playing in different bands and came together again in New York City after graduation. There, they picked up ace bassist (“ace-ist”) Owen O’Malley and thunderfooted drummer Kieran Kelly, and began rehearsing for a series of performances supporting Beau’s self-penned solo record The Lines Drawn Down (Buddy Project). One year later, tLE has a new set of songs in their catalog, and hunger in their bellies. And fire! Their bellies are filled with fiery hunger.

The Long Emergency is currently playing around New York in support of Motive.