the gifted children is a collective of musicians from rochester and buffalo, ny.
they’ve released 5 albums and 15 EPs in the past 2 years alone, and have recorded more than 1300 songs in their 15 year career... they specialize in concise, compelling, slightly cryptic and off-kilter pop songs, laced with shoegazer atmospherics and electronic noise. lyrics are literate, vivid and slightly obtuse.
the gifted children live show is an energetic mixture of pop songwriting genius, expert knob-twiddling, great harmonies and off-the-cuff banter. approachable and self-deprecating, they become fast friends with their audiences.
recommended for fans of:
guided by voices, broken social scene, the new pornographers, american music club …
other items of note:
- the gifted children recently became the first American rock band to perform in Belarus in nearly 10 years, playing Minsk's Ambasovishcha Festival in June 2009 as guests of the U.S. State Department.
- the gifted children have nearly 20 songs featured in the indie documentary, Ballou, which recently debuted on the BET Network.
selected press quotes:
"The Gifted Children have survived long enough now to become the elder statesmen (and women) of Buffalo indie rock. From the mid-’90s onward, the collective has been tirelessly writing and recording its own brand of eclectic, atmospheric, left-leaning art-rock, the sort that makes folks like me go crazy with the hyphenated descriptives."
- Jeff Miers, Buffalo News
"…to say that the band is prolific would be an understatement. They could be considered proud members of Guided by Voices leader Robert Pollard’s 'write-10-songs-before-breakfast' club, but they are hardly another example of quantity over quality: You would be hard-pressed to find a single song in their catalog to be considered a 'throwaway'."
- Eric Kendall, Artvoice Magazine
"Imagine a completely fresh approach to the Guided By Voices style of songwriting. The Gifted Children, perhaps the most prolific band you're going to hear of, write immaculate, unique, wonderful songs."
- Jeff Marsh, Delusions of Adequacy
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