Album Notes

"In his weekly visit to BBC Radio 1's Lamacq Live, [KCRW's] Nic Harcourt muses over Halloween and his latest pick for the UK audience. This is from the Miami-based progressive R&B duo, Awesome New Republic." - October 2005

"7.9/10" - Pitchforkmedia.com, January 2006

AWESOME NEW REPUBLIC
"ANR So Far"
(SUTRO 001)

Make way for the ANR: two dudes, four synths, one drumkit, 15 hott new classics. AWESOME NEW REPUBLIC, Miami's progressive R&B post-crunk musical force-to-be-reckoned-with, unleash their refurbished monster.

The power-duo of John Hancock ANR and B Rob E Robertson have been moving hundreds of copies of their two hand-made albums, 2004's WITNESS NOW THE BIRTH OF AN AWESOME NEW REPUBLIC and 2005's COURAGEOUS!, out of the trunks of their bikes to the glee of Miamians everywhere. Finally, this smooth compact disc compiles the majority of both, remixed and remastered for your listening pleasure.

Highlights include: WHEELS NO ENGINES - an everyday love song-cum-momentous-cycling-for-sex metaphor that Lance Armstrong might have used to woo Ms. Crow; 2K3012 - their biggest indie dancefloor hit and a 305 fan-favorite, so often-requested that the band themselves are like, totally over it; SNEEKY - equal parts Big Gipp shromp and Mr. Bungle melodic assault; KILL SOUTH BEACH DEAD - repping the frustration of often back-asswards MIA to the fullest; THE CLAP - an epic love ballad that will have you rubbing up against the nearest warm human body and/or domestic creature; FEARSOME FATHER - imagine the baby Aphex Twin's "On" and the Talking Heads' "Once In A Lifetime" never had; and oh so much more.

You get sensuous subtropical slow jams, gritty, speedy punk tracks, truly progressive indie rock, experimental hip-hop and no-wave dancefloor hits all on one CD! So tight, people think they've been around for ages. So fresh, people are saying "Are they really local??" Hear what South Florida really has to offer, so far.

Packaged in a spiffy digipak with insert featuring the original hand-made artwork, and a previously unreleased hidden track. This is also the second release on SUTRO, a new label based out of Miami's best (and only) indie music store, Sweat Records.