You Can Be A Wesley

Boston’s You Can Be A Wesley is singer/guitarist Saara Untracht-Oakner, guitarist Winston Macdonald (above), bassist Nick Curran, and drummer Dylan Ramsey. Together, they are like the band next door. They don’t seem to try too hard or take themselves too seriously, and their music is fun…sex pop. Right before their last show at Cameo in Brooklyn, we all stood on the sidewalk and talked about their inspirations, their upcoming EP, and their obsession with creatures. - BestNewBands.com

Artist: You Can Be a Wesley
Video: 'Talking Science'
Highlight: "My brother, a photographer in New York, had the idea to make a video of this monster wandering the city looking for us," singer/guitarist Saara Untracht-Oakner tells Spinner. "He came up to Boston with a small crew to shoot in March as the snow was just melting. Everywhere the monster goes it causes someone to get unintentionally hurt, but the monster really only wants to love. My friend Autumn and I made the monster puppet and it turned out to be both cute and terrifying at the same time. It currently lives on a couch in my bedroom." - Spinner

“Talking Science” from You Can Be A Wesley is pure indie gold: The driving drumbeat, beautiful vocals and moving guitars reflect a kind of loose jam-session feel. This Beantown foursome first came together in 2008 at a Boston University dorm and has since released one LP, 2009's Heard Like Us. Below, download “Talking Science,” a cut from YCBW’s upcoming Kickstarter-funded Nightosphere EP, due out this fall. - Magnet

Coming together in a Boston University dorm room, You Can Be A Wesley is a group of youngsters who are writing cheerful, melodic and catchy indie-rock tunes and we have their latest song, "Talking Science," to premiere for you!

With tons of layered guitars and melody driven vocals, You Can Be A Wesley harkens the styles of Broken Social Scene and Deerhunter while still leaving room for a little brain adventure to pin their style yourself.

"Talking Science" is from the groups forthcoming EP which will be out soon (thanks to a successful fan driven, Kickstarter program), so keep your eyes peeled. - FILTER magazine

Allston, MA, has been the hub of the hippest music for quite some time now. It’s a part of Boston I used to visit quite frequently and for good reason. The section of Boston is cut off from the rest of city, houses a number of college students attending prestigious universities (BC and BU), contains several delicious burrito joints, and has even earned the nickname Allston Rock City. Music should be getting made here, because it’s a very young and happening part of the city. The community and the art within it are enough to help a band find themselves and integrate within the culture of the city. You Can Be a Wesley are doing just that, having formed in a Boston University dorm room, now moving up the hill to neighboring Brighton, where they reside in the self-appointed Wesley House. Their catchy and friendly brand of indie music definitely ties in with what is going on in today’s music scene on a larger scale, the Northeast’s answer to what’s been going on. There are definitely elements that are reminiscent of bands like Deerhunter, Beach House, and Best Coast. It’s that mellow, low-key brand of grunge-esque music that’s gaining steam. - Consequence of Sound

Evoking the power pop of the nineties, Boston quartet You Can Be A Wesley (named after their BU dorm of Wesley House) present the video for their standout track, “Talking Science.” The song is instantly accessible but with enough weird intricacies to keep it fresh beyond a couple listens.

The clip for “Talking Science” almost demands as much attention as the song it is presenting. Depicting the unfortunate circumstance of being a monster looking for love, the video shows the band having fun with puppets, chase scenes, and, well, each other. It’s a likable introduction to what seems like a likable band.

Check out the premiere of You Can Be A Wesley’s video for “Talking Science” below and keep a lookout for You Can Be A Wesley’s EP, Nightosphere, out this October. - OneThirtyBPM

YOU CAN BE A WESLEY - Heard Like Us

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CMJ ARCHIVE FOR
YOU CAN BE A WESLEY



YOU CAN BE A WESLEY: Heard Like Us
Jul 1, 2009
By Liz Pelly

The warm, vintage sounds on Boston-based quartet You Can Be A Wesley's debut full-length were recorded straight to two-inch tape last summer by Jeremy Mendicino of fellow Beantown locals (and Hardly Art signees) Pretty And Nice. Finally set for a vinyl-only self-release on July 20, Heard Like Us presents the ideal feel-good summertime soundtrack.

Though poppy hooks, whimsical imagery, handclaps and tambourines shimmer throughout, the record is not overly sweet. It features Joanna Newsome-esque vocals and memorable sing-along choruses while also presenting clear rock 'n' roll sensibilities. Straightforward, repetitive guitar riffs, Pixies-inspired bass lines and aggressive drum beats see-saw perfectly against the lighter, lovable notes, all of which are wrapped up in a surfy analog haze.

The eight-song collection opens with "6/8 Tengo," a vocal-free minute and forty-eight seconds of hazy guitars mixing with airy cymbals, and continues with the high-energy “Stuck In a Battle,” with its group-chant opening and clear, articulate lyrics.

"Kiddie Pool" offers endearing bits of nostalgia as frontwoman Saara Untracht-Oakner sings, "Kiddie pool with a popsicle/Fell off and you laughed and it made me cry." In "Wildlife," her enchanting vocals shift between dreamy verses and sporadic "ooh"s and "aah"s before she urgently wonders, "Why'd you have to mess things up? Why'd you have to mess things up?" The album's best moment is its lead single, "Creatures," which is equal parts early Jenny Lewis (via its vocals) and early Kim Deal (with its bass lines).

You Can Be A Wesley's habits of changing tempo and building crescendos keep the entire record danceable—whether the listener is swaying their body to its slower numbers or bopping their head to the guitar-heavy, up-tempo tracks. Energy builds slowly into surprising explosions of guitar and huge refrains, making each track on the album catchy, infectious and bound to be stuck in your head all summer.

Tracklist For Heard Like Us :

01. 6/8 Tengo
02. Stuck In A Battle
03. Kiddie Pool
04. Wildlife
05. Creatures
06. Make Up Your God
07. Fourth Walls
08. Rearrange The Sea

www.myspace.com/youcanbeawesley
- CMJ

If May is the month in which you typically hunt down your hot summer jam — and you’re not big on Auto-Tune — a quartet of Boston University students (just a few weeks shy of graduation) who call themselves You Can Be a Wesley may have the answer. “Creatures,” the set-ending song the foursome played at T.T. the Bear’s on Friday night, incited much drunken dancing, with appreciative yelps and limbs flailing, by what seemed to be the band’s sizable posse. Despite their obvious bias, YCBAW’s intoxicated pals were onto something: “Creatures” is a hook-fraught love letter to the guitar-heavy, indie-rock greats of the early ’90s (Pavement et al.), but not in a tired way. The song builds up momentum via lead singer Saara Untracht-Oakner’s anthemic chorus, then slows down at the bridge, just before she erupts in a burst of wails.

http://thephoenix.com/Blogs/onthedownload/archive/2009/05/06/review-you-can-be-a-wesley-and-now-now-every-children.aspx - The Phoenix

You Can Be a Wesley with Mean Creak, Illinois @ Great Scott
Tonight, 9pm, $9

We can't decide whether a video of half-cloaked chins (scroll down to the "about" section) is inspiring or just creepy, and we think it'd get pretty sweaty in there: all those lights! Despite any odd video choices, we still like the "floating" sounds of You Can Be a Wesley—not to mention the Princess Bride name. Listening makes us feel like we are eating cake frosted with sweet harmonies, and also like we can be a Wesley if only we'd try and be a little nicer, and make some better music while we're at it. Examine the art for the Feed the Moon, Starve the Sun EP (from which the above image came) here, and get visually inspired to check out the sounds tonight.

http://bostonist.com/2009/02/05/bostonist_preview_you_totally_canno.php - The Bostonist

Local indie pop/rock group You Can Be a Wesley opened up The Acorn’s first Boston show the following night at Great Scott. I hadn’t heard of the band prior to seeing the bill, but their set showed promise, if not a fully realized whole. After the fashionably empty set from the Ruby Suns the night before, I was glad to hear something genuine. Vocalist Saara reminded Acorn bassist/guitarist Jeff DeButte of Joanna Newsom, a comparison I can only assume is accurate given my steadfast avoidance of that harpsichord-wielding singer/songwriter. The music itself would benefit from a bit of road-testing, since many of the songs were flush with extraneous parts and could use some paring down, but the vocal melodies were strong. Joanna Newsom fronting a Chapel Hill indie-pop band, maybe? Worth keeping an eye out.

http://newartillery.com/index.php?id=105 - New Artillery

Sign this band:

Just a block from my house, Great Scott is a fantastic bar for hearing new indie music in a comfortable atmosphere. I have no qualms about running down the street on a dull night and checking out what may be my new favorite bands. That’s just what happened with Boston’s own You Can Be A Wesley. I knew a few of these kids from classes and around campus, but had no idea that they were as original, creative and tight as found. Song after song (even a Cardigan’s cover) I was enthralled–not only by the music but the uncontrollable energy: happiness, eminating from the stage.

I managed to lock down one of their brilliant ep’s, Feed The Moon, Starve The Sun. Recorded sometime in 2007, the EP displays the usual characteristics. It is smooth, interesting and most of all, they’ve continued to improve in a serious way. Their live show surpasses their formidable ep in every way. While Feed the Moon, Starve the Sun definitely kicks a lot of ass, I can’t wait to hear its live interpretation.

As a band, the group is superbly understanding of what roles each member plays. A large part of truly original music is the understanding of placement. The bass and drumming are efficient and purposeful. On lead guitar, Winston MacDonald has foresight, to say the least. Using the right notes, and only the right notes, the solos and fills come out in triumphant fashion giving the impression that these kids in their early twenties are much much more mature. Saara, a wonderful presence, fulfills her duties as a lead singer and guitarist with admirable intensity. Her voice has a beautiful, piercing quality that can only be described as “addictive.”

They can remind me of BSS, Built to Spill and any number of bands while still maintaining their own energy. The most important thing to remember with a group like this is how young they are. In such a short time they’ve developed an organization and ambition that will continue to bear fantastic results. When I say “Sign This Band.” it’s because they’re just waiting to be found.

http://indiemuse.com/2008/05/30/song-of-the-day-53008/
- Indie Muse

College and music go together like mac and cheese for the four members of You Can Be A Wesley. Lead singer/guitarist Saara Untracht-Oakner (studying advertising), guitarist Winston Macdonald (biology), bassist Nick Curran (journalism) and drummer Dan Goldberg (communication studies) are all currently juniors at Boston University. On top of being students, this talented group also dedicates a considerable amount of time and energy to cultivating and promoting their cheerful kind-of-pop-kind-of-rock brand of music.
You Can Be A Wesley began their in-studio set with “Creatures” which, like all of the other songs they played in the WERS studios, was brand spanking new. After discussing the origins of the band name (which is explored in great detail on the band’s Myspace page http://www.myspace.com/youcanbeawesley), they performed “Kiddie Pool,” which strikes a perfect balance between wistful lyrics and lush instrumentals. The band closed their set with an untitled song, the title of which is apparently in the hands of WERS listeners (again, check out the Myspace).
When asked about their favorite place to play in Boston, the band responded enthusiastically as one: “Avalon!...before it closed.” The same question applied to venues outside of the city prompted Nick to recount one of their most unusual road stories. “We played a wicked bro club on Long Island, but we got to stay on LBI for three days and surf. That’s been the best experience, even though the club was…funny. They were having dollar Miller Lite drafts that day and a ten-to-one guy-to-girl ratio.” However, close encounters with bros and bad beers aside, the band seems eager to get out and tour. Although the groups touring has thus far largely been limited to New England (with forays into New York and New Jersey as well), the group is hoping to spend the summer expanding their horizons with planned stops in Philadelphia, North Carolina, and Washington D.C to promote their recently-released EP Feed the Moon, Starve the Sun.
Fans of the band would be well-advised to take in as many of these anticipated summer shows as possible, since the band is going on hiatus for a few months this upcoming fall semester due to three of the four members going abroad to such far-flung lands as Ecuador and Australia (one Wesley will, fortunately, remain among us). To soothe the ache of this looming absence, the band is planning to have at least one huge blowout show before they leave. - Jessica O'Byrne

The lead singer of YCBW is simply known as Saara. That's fine with us cause she has a voice so clear and precious we could listen to it stream through our whack-ass desktop sound system all day long. Wesley plays in a style not too far off from the hip neo-folk of the day. Joanna Newsome, Sufjan Stevens...you get the idea. If you like swaying romantically while hugging yourself and humming sweetly YCBW is your jampop.

2/13/08
weeklydig.com - Boston Dig