"I think I have found a new favourite band, a band that has such an effect on me that I want to listen to their songs over and over again and I still want more.
"Ben Morss’ songs are full of interesting arrangement-details and it is easy to hear that these songs are made with care and planning, and with a heart that probably beats for music both from our time and from some decades back.
"I want more! Can’t get enough of this music…
-- Eardrums, July 2009
Think of a sound that exists somewhere between a polished Beach Boys single and an old dusty album from classic label Homestead Records and you will most likely understand why we are so taken with this music.
It's no small wonder that Slumberland Records is front and center on the Chariots Of Tuna MySpace page. We can't imagine it being too distant of a relationship... for long, anyway.
-- Milk Milk Lemonade, July 2009
"Chariots of Tuna play a lovely baroque alternative pop. The light falsetto vocal harmonies and matching jangle guitars on 'War Hero' are just a delight."
-- Powerpopaholic, June 2009
What is this new group which has so quickly earned such glowing reviews on blogs around the world, which is suddenly being played on radio stations and web stations in countries as diverse as Greece and Brazil?
In fact, Chariots of Tuna is not entirely new. In 1999, in Sacramento, Ben Morss began recording songs under the name “Chariots of Tuna” for indie-pop compilations such as I Made It out of Clay (Little Shirley Beans Records) and Candycore! (Asaurus Records). Then, looking for a change of pace, he moved to New York City. And the band was no more.
Then, in 2008, Ben, Dan Davine, Shawn Setaro, and Rus Wimbish were all playing together in the theatrical classical-pop hybrid group, the Infinite Orchestra. But the urge to create beautiful, intricate pop cannot long be suppressed. And in their small practice space in Brooklyn, these skilled musicians hatched a plan to restart Chariots of Tuna. They recorded three songs in that same practice space. Ben sang layers of vocals and overdubbed keyboards late at night while holding his sleeping baby son. And Dan engineered and produced the result. And thus Chariots of Tuna returned to life.
Ben’s carefully constructed tunes, delicate falsetto harmonies, loungey vibe, and solid beats recall pop from the Beach Boys to the Shins to the Decembrists and Beck. Songs tell of the ache of long-distance love affairs, the faith and confusion of a woman waiting for her husband to return from World War II, and the simple self-pity of an unloved songwriter. Everything is recorded and produced in the band members’ studio and apartments.
It may be worth noting that Ben has also played keyboard on albums by bands like Cake and Wheatus, that he played with California acid-jazz kings 11:11 at festivals like SXSW and NXNW, that his poppy punk band, The Pilgrims, made the charts of college radio stations nationwide, and that his two children’s musicals have been published by Samuel French. Or that the band features Rus Wimbish (Scurvy) on bass, Shawn Setaro (Martin Bisi, Dresden Dolls) on guitar, and Dan Davine (Avenue Q) on drums.
Mostly, Chariots of Tuna want to bring great songs to you. Enjoy!
The lighter than cotton candy sounds of Brooklyn’s Chariots of Tuna were quite pleasant to my ears this morning, so I thought I’d share a song and a few words. It’s an incredibly easy listen in the vein of The Clientele or Belle and Sebastian.
-- Rock Sellout, July 2009
I know a good falsetto when I hear one, and Chariots of Tuna's singer Ben Morss does it better than most. Have a listen to indiepop epic War Hero on the band's myspace page, and tell me that this sort of summer-y pop isn't just what you need a Monday that seems to have dragged on forever.
Chariots of Tuna fill that space left by fifty per cent of Beulah, and Belle and Sebastian before they turned into the Barron Knights.
If they don't come to the UK soon, I'll duff them up.
-- A Layer of Chips, July 2009
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