"Music is about community, and its power lies in the fact that it acts as a salve on the soul - soothing it in whatever condition it is in at the time it seeks the music out. This is what we try and convey in both our sound recordings and at our live shows. Music is meaningful, and we want to make it so for all those who grace us with the courtesy of their time and attention to ours." - O&A
Biography
Having grown up together in Oklahoma, the two principal songwriters - Erick Orange and Atlas Levan - have played together in different bands and in different forms since junior high school. They are complimented and joined by longtime friends and fellow musicians Shane Harris on bass, and Bo McCarty on drums - both players also veterans of the same local music scenes, and each of them also having been in other bands with either Orange, or Atlas or both. And from those earliest beginnings they have been writing songs.
Their latest album, Euphoria, is a continuation of the partnership, and another chapter in the natural progression of their musical lives.
Having gained loyal followings and critical acclaim for their songwriting and for the bands in which they have played in Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington, the band now calls Dallas, Texas home, and the base of their FruitWorld Tunes operation.
Each of their previous musical incarnations had obtained, at an absolute minimum, highly successful "local band" status, performing to large crowds of dedicated fans and attracting the praise of many music writers and critics. Two of those incarnations were even signed artists on independent record labels and had several extensive continental tours. And the music from these past groups represents the vast compliment of styles and sounds from which they create, and are influenced by.
This latest artistic incarnation, Orange & Atlas, and its creative projects are the inevitable realization of a process born out of the unspoken language that emerges from people so closely tied together in art, life and musical sensibilities. But even though its roots may lie somehwere in the not-too-distant past, this "new" music is representative of the path that they have taken to get to here and now, and a sign of where they will be going in the future.
Reading some of the accolades and reviews they have garnered in the past (below) will give a good idea of why fans of independent music would do well to listen and pay attention to their music today, and tomorrow.
Press Quotes
Here are some past press quotes of O&A's music...
...could be the bastard child of XTC's Skylarking and R.E.M.'s Document. Irresistible.
Rolling Stone
...perhaps the best unsigned band in America...
Oklahoma Gazette
...rich lulling melodies with enough moving shapes and textures...
...able to engage the listeners with rushes of desperation and sadness in his crooning vocals. The enveloping melodies felt as comfortable as a feather pillow, while the underlying discordance kept the more primal senses buzzing...
Los Angeles Times
...a dynamic collection of original material offering a unique variation on today's "alternative" sound...
...imagine if the spawn of Sade and Neil Finn (Crowded House) discovered a box full of Steely Dan records, then decided to make an album with Joni Mitchell...
...combining melodic progressions with thoughtful lyrics, the songwriting is alluring and provocative...Universal themes expressed through personal experience reveal the emotional nature of (the) music...
..a sonic tapestry, rich with extensive instrumentation on some cuts, as well as scaled-down energy on others...
...a world class rhythm section combined with excellent guitar work...lush vocal arrangements and instrumentation combine for the subtlety and variation that make (this) one of the best studio projects to spring from the metro area in quite some time...
Norman Metro
...label interest from the likes of A&M and Almo Sounds...
...linked to a Led Zeppelin phase and...heavily influenced by Steely Dan and Paul Weller...
Pop Musical Enlightenment
...music resonates with the sound of the not so distant past but with an ear to the future...
...how incredibly innovative and original this music is...
...a solid collection of music...
...covers territory that, while familiar, never fails to captivate the listener...
...they represent a demographic which offers them the potential to cross-over nationally with their soulful pop sound...
...one of those rare finds that you'll regret not being the first to discover...
Ear Candy
...the best of the material glows with a homespun quality, a weary wisdom based upon the ineffable certitude of human kindness ineluctable modality. Their finest songs capture the elusive piquancy of life's darker moments...
...a very good band, with all the equipment necessary to succeed...
...material is of unquestionably high caliber...
...a band on the verge of greatness, with tremendous musical passion...
Two Louies
...represents a wide assortment of styles and moods, and there should be at least a little something for everyone...
Oklahoma Daily
...quickly convert new listeners with their acoustic-guitar-based song writing...
...(they) write solid alluring songs...
...listeners beware that this is not merely another bubble gum pop band from the heartland...
...If you're not careful you may find yourself lost in the wonderful "feel good" grooves ingrained in each cut and miss the often subtle but at times powerfully thought-provokingly mature lyrics...
...The end result is pure listening pleasure that appeals to a huge demographic population as is evidenced by the turn out at their local shows...
...surely some interested A&R people will benefit from a dose...
Norman Gazette
...falling stylistically somewhere between the Rembrandts and the poppier Toad the Wet Sprocket and Matthew Sweet at the more introspective end. ..
...uses steady, workmanlike hooks and intricate constructions of textures, colors and dynamic interplay...
...It's really a record to call in sick, stay home and mull things over to...
The Oregonian
...can usually be found on the weekends playing a club or coffeehouse, and they always deliver the goods...
...classy tunes flawlessly sung and played...
...(Orange's) songs are mostly acoustic-oriented but just as eloquent in their craftsmanship...his sounds (are) rooted in Harvest-era Neil Young...and the beautiful elegy Hours Before evokes early Paul Simon...
...definitely recommended...
Moxie
...the two have reemerged with a fresh sound and a renewed vision...
...mostly comes off as a traditional garage band, with primary emphasis on roots-rock song structure and fluid vocalization...
Oklahoma Gazette
...the newest album shows how groups from the 70's through today have influenced their music, creating a unique sound that can't be described as any one type of music...
Norman Gazette
...appealing collection of well-constructed, catchy, melodic songs...
Willamette Week
...delivers surreal washes of woozy guitar, cool bass lines and sweet crooning vocals...
...dreamy melodies of old time crooners like Sinatra, Red Foot taps a new vein of escapist pop...
Options Music Alternatives
...sounding forever hopeful, and hopelessly smooth, as if they were famous already, waiting for the rest of the world to catch up...
All-star
PUT THE QUOTES BELOW HERE IN THE "REVIEW" SECTION...
Engaging musical experience
By Emily Harting
"Orange & Atlas' (music) offers the listener what can best be described as a wholesome sound. Lyrically, the songs take you on a stirring journey of self-awareness and self-discovery. There is a charmingly organic undertone to the melodies and an intensely honest, mature element in the songwriting, creating stories and recounting memories of life and love that everyone can relate to, while adding genuine insight into the human psyche. (They) masterfully weave gentle rock rhythms with folk and traces of pop for a simple, pure and engaging musical experience."
Largely under the radar
By Charles Cole
"If you know who Andy Partridge is, you are probably way ahead of most people reading this, and you aren't thinking of a 70's TV show. The name may not be instantly recognizable, but he has been on, off, and largely under the radar for years, crafting timeless music all along the way. ORANGE and ATLAS have persisted resiliently as well, in one form or another. From their respective roots, pop rockin' OKC, through collaborations a la pre-house Talk Talk stylings, then touring The Great Northwest with a label, ORANGE and ATLAS have cut many gems along the way.
ORANGE and ATLAS's (music) mines the light heart of the dark side and the other way around in their latest artistic incarnation of a longtime song-writing duo. With deep texture, deft touch, and definitely lots of feel, they click with a near telepathic synergy at the best moments of their hook-laden songs. It's hard not to find a groove when you go all the way back to tennis racquet guitar riffs together. ORANGE and ATLAS draw from that collective intuition and still manage to explore their own individual musings and matters, each with equal effect.
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