Music
Press
"They will bring wittiness to the indie world both musically and lyrically. Loose Change promises many more bright days for The Morning Benders." - Performer Magazine
"This Bay Area band manage to appropriate Pavement's smirking shamble to their own lovesick, non-smartass ends."
"'Grain of Salt' is geeky but not whiny, melancholic but not pessimistic." - Pitchfork Media
"Great songwriting and melodies make for some incredibly catchy songs that a fan of Voxtrot will drool over. "
"Go check out this EP and if you don't do it now, I promise that you'll see and hear of this band again. They have a very bright future." - The Tripwire
"A petite offering of stellar indie-rock."
"If this little treasure trove is any indication, great things are to come for The Morning Benders." - The Owl Mag
"Their debut album Loose Change has all the indie - rock grit and giddiness to gain a place among Williamsburg elites, while retaining some elements of more classical beatles / bacharach composition which officially makes Loose Change way less pretentious than any indie-rock ought to be. " - Amp Camp
"Although many of us have started to wonder where good music has disappeared to, The Morning Benders have saved the day with an ingenious sound that is unmatched by any existing local band." - Zero Magazine
"..another solid track from a band that's impressed before." - Stereogum
"This EP from SF indiepoppers The Morning Benders is a somewhat different equation than the title implies. It is more like a briefcase full of benjamins."
"The Morning Benders were the first kids on and blew my mind, the lead singer couldn’t have been anymore than 21 and adorable flannel clad bassist didn’t appear to be more than 17 but the songs were most definitely there and their bright eyed fans already knew every word." - ny2lon.com
"Loose Change is a respectable start to what could (and most likely will) be a bright future for the Morning Benders." - Urban Pollution
"A completely endearing blend of do-it-yourself-ish indie rock and pure pop know-how."
"With repeated listens, I grow more and more impressed with the ability of this Berkeley, Calif.-based foursome to sound so simultaneously spontaneous and durable--a very friendly combination." - Fingertips
Discography
"Loose Change" EP1
"Boarded Doors" EP2
'bedroom covers' LP of classic cover songs
'talking through tin cans' LP
Many tracks off our EPs have been played on local stations, Live 105, Alice. Lots of college stations, including KALX. Many internet radio stations, Sirius Radio, SomaFM, Bagel Radio, etc.
Photos
Bio
chris chu began writing songs as ‘the morning benders’ in october 2005. the first ep ‘loose change’ was recorded at home on a laptop with one microphone, and was released just under a year later in september 2006. in december 2006, chris met joe, julian and tim while attending classes at uc berkeley. the next ep was a collaborative effort recorded at the band’s home practice space. released in february 2007, the ep, ‘boarded doors’, gained the boys recognition throughout the bay area for their ‘perfectly percolating pop thrills’ (sf bay guardian)
with ‘brill building-like melodies’ (sf weekly). excited to showcase their tunes for fans, the benders began picking up gigs locally and eventually all along the west coast.
in may 2007, the guys hunkered down at different fur studios in the mission district of san francisco to work on their full-length debut. chris got a part-time job working as an assistant engineer to pay for the recording of the album and went on to produce, engineer, and mix all of the tracks with the production help of different fur head honcho patrick brown. the record, titled ‘talking through tin cans’ came out on the newly launched +1 Records on may 6th, 2008. The release of ‘talking through tin cans’ catapulted the morning benders to national attention, as it had an amazing reaction across the board—from both local and national media, as well as music blogs.
Following the release of their debut album, the benders recorded an album of cover songs in chris chu’s bedroom with little more than a guitar, a mic and a computer. They released the album for free on their blog under the moniker ‘the bedroom covers’.
Continuing on, the morning benders then released an iTunes exclusive EP on 11.11.08, which included alternate versions of several songs from ‘talking through tin cans’, as well as a cover of Disney’s Jungle Book classic, ‘i wanna be like you’.
The band has shared the stage on nationwide tours with The Kooks, The Submarines, Ra Ra Riot and We Are Scientists. They’ve also participated in the Monolith, Sasquatch and Treasure Island festivals, and well as played shows with yo la tengo, MGMT, yeasayer,, supergrass, two gallants, the rosebuds, au revoir simone, white rabbits, the long winters, pink mountaintops, figurines, langhorne slim, darker my love, the deadly syndrome and more.
Links
