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Behold The Corner Laughers! Sassy and saucy, wistful and dreamy, San Francisco's indie-pop sweethearts The Corner Laughers combine rock-and-roll attitude with book smarts and open hearts to create a sound all their own.

Their wry-and-witty yet sincere lyrics range from wide-eyed romanticism to tales of the ancient past and distant future to snappy snark and sarcasm without missing a beat, all to a backdrop of bouncy, melodic and engaging music featuring female vocals heavy on harmony, ukulele, guitars and a first-class rhythm section. It's the sizzling fun of summer mixed with the melancholy mood of autumn.

The Corner Laughers may appear cute and cuddly but, like any wild creature, they can go from purr to hiss from one track to the next, with surprising dexterity. Though the admittedly bookish band members spend their weekdays toiling in newsrooms and science labs, their one true love is the unique musical universe they've developed.

Singer/ukuleleist Karla Kane and guitarist Angela Silletto met a decade ago as two of the few artsy loners in a sea of Catholic prep-school students and quickly declared they would form a band called The Corner Laughers, based on admiration for those who could remain amused and observant from the sidelines of this ridiculous world. Despite having neither instruments nor musical experience, the two began composing melodies on a single, shared keyboard and recording secret songs in dorm-room privacy while earning degrees in archaeology and biology. Once Angela obtained a red electric guitar (thanks dad) and Karla was brave enough to sing out loud, their music began to take on a recognizable form, showing the influences of many genres and sounds but always remaining infectiously catchy and emotionally resonant.

Friendship with the multi-talented Khoi Huynh, a local pop-scene luminary, allowed The Corner Laughers to evolve into an entity that was ready to go public. With Huynh as the bass player, the band released its debut album, "Tomb of Leopards" (named after an Etruscan burial site) in 2006 and began performing regularly.

Once bad-ass drummer Charlie Crabtree (the only non-bespectacled member) was lured into the group the following year, the band reached new heights in attitude and power. The Corner Laughers also found a kindred spirit in The Orange Peels' Allen Clapp, who produced their brand-new album, " Ultraviolet Garden ," at his cozy Mystery Lawn Studio. Clapp's guidance has greatly expanded the band's arsenal of shimmery sounds, helping them incorporate a range of instruments including tangy and twangy vintage guitars and ukes, spacey echo boxes from the Eichler age, inhumanly precise tambourines, heavenly harpsichords and layers of angelic vocals.

"Ultraviolet Garden" (the title referring to elements of nature invisible to the human eye) was released in the fall of 2009, on mentor John Wesley Harding's Popover label, and is already earning rave reviews and appearing on critics' best-of-year lists.

Called by reviewers, "as clever as it is charming," with "a grace and ambience that is miles beyond what went before" and "stocked with great songs from top to bottom," "Ultraviolet Garden" contains songs about Italian catacombs, martyred saints, extinct California megafauna, ghosts suspended in time, Mayan villages, the Armageddon of all life on earth and, of course, guys who are jerks. Its scope is epic yet the songs are always deeply personal.

With buzz around the band growing, The Corner Laughers, once content to snicker shyly from the sidelines, are stepping into the spotlight and ready to take on the world, one pop song at a time.

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"The Corner Laughers are two recovering Catholic school girls who specialize in bouncy, clever, melodic pop songs about evolution, mythology, ancient history, and guys who are jerks. You've heard it before, you say? Well, no, in fact. Take it from a guy who has hard time really, truly getting into female fronted pop projects(don't bother to flame me, I am not alone and it's not a sexist thing - yr either into it or yr not), but The Corner Laughers have grabbed me by the, uh, neck collar and made an impression. I've tuned to this five times the last few weeks and it holds up. What does it sound like? Well, I'll drop a bunch of names, but best to listen to the soundbites below: Dressy Bessy, The Spinnanes, Velocity Girl, Bettie Serveert, The Decemberists, Barbara Manning and the post-C-96 sound of K Records circa early 90's. Help? Well, like we said, just listen. Bouncy, shimmery and indie pop jangly, Tomb Of Leopards spans many genres and continents and, according to their bio, features songs about being trapped in a bathroom in Rome with nothing but a Simon and Garfunkel CD; a tea party with Sherlock Holmes; the 9 Greek muses having seasonal flings in a small town in Michigan; joyfully reuniting with a loved one in the fiery pits of hell; seedy areas of 18th century London; and a succession of failed roommates. Well, right on! Very Highly Recommended!"

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"The Mountain View power pop band the Corner Laughers, fronted by Karla Kane and Angela Silletto, presents fun, engaging music. Their sound harks back to the bright, bouncy girl group sounds of the past, from the Angels to the Go-Gos. Yet the songs display an irrepressible freshness. On their MySpace page you'll discover four delightfully crafted confections from their CD "Tomb of Leopards". The sprightly, sparkling tunes include "Everybody Knows" and "Star Power Lament". A 60s effervescence bubbles through their music."

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"Does anyone out there remember cub? They were a Canadian band that played a spunky brand of pop that they called cuddlecore. It combined surf music energy with sweet and twee melodies. The reason I bring cub up is that The Corner Laughers sound to me like cub 10 years down the road -- the rock energy turned down to soccer mom volume. The core of this cuddly band is Karla Kane, on vocals and ukelele, and guitarist Angela Silletto, who are abetted by various Bay Area popsters like Khoi Huynh and Chris von Sneidern. They have some cute songs, and the best two start the disc. "You Two Are the Ones" is like a more bopping Jill Sobule, with Karla singing about her love for two people...who happen to be a couple. This is followed by "The Red Queen", where the uke ukes out and the song could easily be adapted into a jug band arrangement, a la The Lovin' Spoonful. Producer Aaron Madsen adds some cool lead guitar sounds. Other highlights include "One for the Ladies" with Mr. von Sneidern on drums, and the saucy "See You in Hell". I like the wit and obvious fun being had. I would like more consistent songwriting, and maybe rocking up the music just a notch." -- Mike Bennett - Capsule Reviews - January/February, 2007

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"Girly girl powerpop that's so catchy and infectious that it'll probably give you cavities. Twelve lighthearted romps through love and loss, evolution, being trapped in a bathroom, ancient history and guys who are jerks. I guess I fall in that last category since I made the girly girl comment. Anyway, this is a very enjoyable cd full of girl group vocals with indie pop hooks and flashbacks to the sixties sprinkled throughout. The vocals fall somewhere between the Bangles and the Ronettes. Favorite track: Star Power Lament." -- Review by J.R. Oliver - Ear Candy Music Reviews - February 2007
Rating:
and 1/2

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