THE ATLANTIC MANOR
Slow Drugs and Other Sorrows
A Eight song album of mid-fi pop drone psych dirge country.
File Under: Space Needle – Neil Young – Vic Chesnut – Roky Erickson - Jandek – Half Japanese – Smog –Palace – Songs Ohia
OR
OUTSIDER MUSIC FOR THE OFF-KILTER SECT
Flourishing in obscurity and flying well below the indie rock radar, The Atlantic Manor is the alias of R. Sell. Slow Drugs and Other Sorrows is his 10th release.
Discography
2009 – Slow Drugs and Other Sorrows
2008 – On The Wrong Side Of A Saturday Night
2007 – All The Best Girls Have Winter Hearts
2006 – Sneaking Up On The Death Scene
2006 – The Trouble That You Left
2005 – Special Is Dead
2004 – Failing By The Second
2002 – The Desperate Vibe Of Emotional Devastation
2001 – The Hate We Get Going
2001 – When I Am A Viking
DO TOO RECORDS …Keeping The Underground Alive… One Record at a Time.
8440 SW 32 Terr
Miami Fl 33155
For information / correspondence please write, E-mail or visit www.theatlanticmanor.com
Go start your own band and make the world a better place.
Slow Drugs and Other Sorrows
Nothing gets me down better and faster than the latest album by determinedly obscure Florida-based low-fi Do-It-Yourself underground indie singer/songwriter supreme R. Sell. This guy rarely, if ever, comes across like a happy camper. Instead R. Sell frequently seems to be in a very deep and heavy morose funk from which there is no easy escape. I mean this all in a positive way. Nobody trudges through basic human feelings of regret, sorrow, sadness, and plain ol’ negative emotions with the same arresting anguish or beautifully laconic eloquence that R. Sell brings to one hauntingly gloomy song after another. The tempos usually crawl along at a gradual clip. The beats are likewise pretty slow and subdued. The arrangements are tight, yet still tuneful and effective. Some of the songs, like the brief, yet touching “Do You Still Have a Heart,” are extremely short and to the point. Other tracks such as “Bad News for the New Scene” are impressively lengthy and extensive sonic work-outs. Each and every last song hits the poignant bull’s eye with often striking results. Granted, this sure ain’t the type of music to lift your spirits up when you’re down, but damn does it have a way of ringing around in your mind for hours after you finish listening to it. - Joe Wawzryniak, www.JerseyBeat.com
Several reviews for The Atlantic Manor's last release
"ON THE WRONG SIDE OF A SATURDAY NIGHT"
REVIEW
Are you sitting in a lonely log cabin somewhere? The rain dripping from the trees? Fingering the barrel of a Smith and Wesson .45 and considering where best on your head to aim? Not sure if whacking yourself is the right thing to do? Well take a listen to this CD and you won’t be in any doubt that the safest course is to blow your brains to kingdom come! I used to think that Leonard Cohen was pretty much the guru of Music For The Suicidal, with his endless scab-picking about women, gods and despair. With Cohen, the darkness comes from carefully crafted words and his mournful singing style. On the recording, the atmosphere is primarily defined by the music. ATM has produced 9 separate albums over the years and proudly trumpet that they are 100% do-it-yourself. The members revel in their obscurity and do everything they can to stay below the pop culture radar. The style is very slow-paced, almost dirge-like music with occasional snippets of freeform poetry (like words carved on the walls of an outhouse) interspersed throughout the recordings. The songs have titles like “Wood Soul” and “Trouble Box”. Vocalist R. Sell has a voice that bears a strong resemblance to that of the lead singer of Procol Harum. His approach is a kind of laconic lyric delivery, as though every ounce of energy has been drained from his soul; a dead man with nothing left to lose.
ATM is obviously not in this for the money. They glory in their underground status. This recording has a dreary attraction to it, though. Despite the dark, deserted house ambience, the music is oddly restful and comforting.
Summary: A refreshing change from all the relentless, Teflon-coated pop out there. Musical analogs are Neil Young and The Velvet Underground. This one is worth a listen. It’s staying on my shelf.
Jeremiah Sutherland - BULL FROG MUSIC REVIEWS (Mar 29, 2009)
REVIEW
You might ask yourself: What does a snowy picture of a barn in the Pacific Northwest town of Edison have to do with a band called The Atlantic Manor? Feel free — it would be a viable question. Well, let me tell you. This is a pretty strange place for such a barn — one that would be suited for, say, Eastern Washington or on east to the Midwest. But then again, the image fits the music made by The Atlantic Manor, and I was struggling to dig something up (as I took this picture a few weeks back as part of my Going Nowhere: An Edison Snow Day series, I know I have the rights to the image and am entitled to use it when and how I please).
With country-tinged, folk vocals and softly pleasant, expansive instrumentation, the music The Atlantic Manor (MySpace) makes is a refreshing blend of the old and the new. Take, for example, the lengthy second track “You Are Forgiven”, where a four minute instrumental opening stretches into a mesmerizing expanse of sound.
There’s a vast difference between the grated vocals of R. Sell and the smooth orchestration backing them. But it’s not an awkward difference, just one of note. The contrast is emphasized by the piano-heavy element of virtually every song. This is most apparent in tracks like “Old Dogs” and “Wood Soul”, as well as the aforementioned “You Are Forgiven”.
On The Wrong Side Of A Saturday Night, like Sell’s entire catalog, is self-released and filled with folk songs that are both gripping and heartwarming. His music is packed with an emotive passion emphasized both in vocals and lyrics, as well as in the piano and guitar accompaniment. Yet it is truly DIY — hence the lack of a press image and the normal entourage of promotional materials bands tend to carry around with them these days.
Folk fans will rejoice at Sell’s ability to craft some of the most amazing underground folk songs around, and as the album nears conclusion, it’s hard not to get emotional as Sell belts out his vocals on “Destroyer’s Blues” backed by an ever growing percussion and space-y feedback-filled guitar. This, like all albums by The Atlantic Manor, is a true winner — a masterful work of art!
Written by Fense - FENSE POST (Jan 6, 2009)
REVIEW
Fire Drills Review:
No label, no support and 9 albums is what Florida's Atlantic Manor resume offers up as they release their newest long player On The Wrong Side Of A Saturday Night. The album is a balanced mix of instrumental and vocal tracks that all pull from a dark, slow and burning indie folk base and never let you reach for the light. This peering out a locked door vibe creates a haunting but yet stellar atmosphere which draws the listener in and keeps you coming back with the strong song structures and interesting perspective!
Key Track: "Wood Soul"
Band With Similar Fire: Songs: Ohia
Reviewed by Christopher Anthony - FIRE DRILLS (Oct 7, 2008)
REVIEW
Early in 2007, I heard of Miami's The Atlantic Manor for the first time when I had the honor of hearing All the Best Girls Had Winter Hearts and I was quite impressed with their work back then. So when I got a copy of their latest release, On the Wrong Side of a Saturday Night, not only was I looking forward to hearing this new collection of work, but also wondered why they are still working on a self-released label. According to the liner notes, the album was "committed to history very quickly in one or two takes. There were no rehearsals involved." All I could say is WOW...how many other bands can pull off such a thing and still turn out yet another quality product that would put most mainstream music to shame? On the Wrong Side of a Saturday Night is a blend of vocal and instrumental selections that initiates from dark, slow music that leads its listeners into the light. It’s a haunting–though noticeable and original–material that will initially draw one in and have them wanting more. All eleven songs on the album are strong and offer interesting perspectives. The instrumentals are stellar and well produced. This is the band's ninth release, and I am certainly looking forward to their tenth one.
L. Anne Carrington - INDIE MUSIC STOP (Oct 24, 2008)
REVIEW
Eight. Think about that number. This is the eighth record in eight years for this indie folk country artist that is probably most comparable to Neil Young, yet still hard to define into one simple genre. That is determination and consistency for any band, but especially for one that will probably never have much of an audience. This is definitely one of those things like Mountain Dew, you just have to have a taste for it or you’ll probably hate it. If you dig it, then you’ve got ten songs on one of eight albums to enjoy (good luck finding those other seven though, I imagine), if not, well, if you hang around here for long you will know there’s a lot of other stuff out there.
That being said, there is something I really enjoy about The Atlantic Manor and something that is a great disturbance in my life and it saddens me a bit that they must co-exist, for a half cup of dirt mixed with a half cup of water makes things a bit too murky to drink. The laid back, depressing folk sound comes with quite touching acoustic melodies, yet are entwined with some of the most difficult vocals to swallow, making for a very long album to endure. Sure, this sounds like something my grandpa might have enjoyed if he weren’t busy singing with the angels in Heaven right now, but I don’t see this making a lot of spins in my abode. At best, this record could be around if I ever feel like being really, really depressed, because this is about as big of a downer I could ever get from an album, but maybe some people are into that. Maybe some people are into every song sounding the same too. Maybe.
Tyler Hess - Indie Vision Music (Dec 17, 2008)
ROCTOBER MAGAZINE
Outsider DIY recording triumphs that combine the best of bedroom home taping with unique, humid southern sensibilities, mixed in the darkest corners of a mind filled with more ideas that standard vocabulary allows it to express. Proudly sad music about profound sadness
SMOTHER
The Atlantic Manor once again delivers a strongly written piece of solid indie pop-rock that has me convinced that I should have clearly heard about this band from some major music publication.
CORD Magazine
Get lost in a sea of non-conformist, ambient noise and willowy vocals that take you out to the woods or the country or something. You'll be enraptured.
FENS POST
It is immediately apparent that there is great depth behind The Atlantic Manor.
INDIE DISCO
There is a bit of southern gothic to this Atlantic Manor, as evident in the architecture of the music as the distinctly sombre lyrics.
NEO-ZINE
The Atlantic Manor is one of those bands that renews my belief that something new/ exciting/ maybe even extreme can be done with normal everyday music.
NORMAN FAMOUS
The Atlantic Manor teeter on the edge of greatness.
CROOKED CAMERA
The slower pace and austere lyrics make this an ominously beautiful piece of work.
THE BEAT
Hauntingly beautiful , reminiscent of the Songs:Ohia/Jason Molina/Magnolia/Pyramid/whatever canon.
UTTER TRASH
Atlantic Manor is awesome, and it's shocking people aren't talking about them already. If you like Clem Snide, Hayden, Neil Young, or any of that dark folk, you will like this.
JERSEY BEAT
Add everything together and the net result is a beautifully somber and moving lo-fl minimalist pop masterpiece of remarkable merit and poignancy
INDIE MUSIC.COM
Sell invites us to observe his self-flagellation; again, not for everyone. But this music is gutsy, with power to maim, and ultimately, you have to admire his brave exposure.
LEFT OFF THE DIAL
A wonderfully understated lo-fi offering - striking from start to finish
SICK AMONG THE PURE
For some reason you just don’t come upon nice surprises like this very often; totally unknown artists that blow you away. Picking up and running with the baton that Damien Rice just wasn’t capable of finishing the crucial final lap with is what The Atlantic Manor is all about
SPLENDID
Sure, it's still depressing. Yes, it's still dissonant country-inflected folk-rock. But where it once seemed like a real downer, it now seems like a thoughtfully conceived, expertly executed downer
HYBRID MAGAZINE
Lo-Fi Neil Young-style Americana. Great songs for staring out windows on rainy days.
FACE MAGAZINE
Sell creates a haunting, ominous sound that entraps you, and forces you to bear witness to each one of his past transgressions
BANDOPPLER MAGAZINE
This album has slow and subversive appeal, but it is genuinely appealing, sneaking up on you in the pressed din and anxious freedom of near-melodic quiet oblivion.
1340MAG.Com
Unflinchingly brutal, harrowing, and completely unnerving, this is ultimately a beautiful album.
TINY MIX TAPES
Firstly, if you are completely happy with your life and you are having a wonderful day, stay away from this record. But if you are troubled by the mishaps of relationships, then this record is a recommended listen.
BURNING EMPTYNESS
Sad and melancholic and beautiful nevertheless, even amidst the punk rage
ERASIG CLOUDS A dark march straight into a man's heart; it feels like therapy as much as rock and roll...but that's OK the songs rock forcefully and feel like real life .
DIY
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