Robb Benson singer/songwriter on guitar. Cassady Laton drummer. Ty Bailie Hammond Organ, keyboards
Sounds Like
"soulful yet often Abba-strutting EP. Rippling bass on "I Remember What The Light Fell Like" (a Seattle anthem!), a successful big beat Sgt. Peppers-level chorus on "One Last Wish For Claire Grogan," just a couple great examples of the talented flourishes added to Robb Benson's descriptive, deceptive narratives about aliens, hitting a baseball into the air, and, um, Claire Grogan. It's rare to find the band that can have the well-detailed emotional sweep of Loudon Wainwright III with the zesty humor and tweaked pop hooks of They Might be Giants. But "Cowboys And Aliens" is as grand as anything Brian Wilson ever wrote" -(THREEIMAGINARYGIRLS.com)***********
Their piano-heavy pop at times recalls Harvey Danger, but then they make their sound turn a little more vintage with a strong Beatles influence shining through, especially on "One Last Wish for Claire Grogan" from their self-titled EP on Roam Records. Overall, their music offers simple and clean pop, perfect for the warmer days. MEGAN SELING (The Stranger)********
Now that quirk-pop band Dear John Letters is now defunct, singer/songwriter Robb Benson has moved on to... yet another quirk-pop band! The shock that Dept of Energy sounds remarkably similar to his first band isn't unexpected, but the debut EP is certainly a worthwhile look... Dept of Energy's future looks bright. [popmatters.com] Evan Sawdey********
Dept of Energy play smart keyboard-heavy pop songs with narrative lyrics. On their new EP, the song "One Last Wish for Claire Grogan" sounds like the Beatles' "I've Got a Feeling" mixed with the moody Northwest. -(Seattle Weekly)*********
Three men, no bassist, one hell of an act. Catch them while you can still get tickets. - Tyson Lynn (www.nadamucho.com)*********
(Ty) Bailie manages baroque keyboard parts with one hand while supplying complex bass lines with the other, all without sacrificing the integrity of the melody. Benson's cheery, crystalline vocals and power pop guitar lines happily settle into the spaces between. -Tizzy Asher (Seattle PI)********
They used to be (more or less) Dear John Letters, they're led by singer/songwriter Robb Benson, and they don't have a bass player. They are Dept. of Energy, and, thanks to Benson's stylish songs, they still fit in the Seattle folk/indie drawer. And don't worry, you won't miss the bass. -(Seattle Weekly)
Hey Dept of Energy, great tunes! low-fi from Boise, ID. will be in Seattle playing two shows next Saturday April 19th! Silver Platters in Queen Anne @ 7pm and a bar called 'Solo' @ 200 Roy St, show starts @ 8:30pm! Hope you can make it! :)
It was so much fun seeing you guys play at The Comet the other night. I had been waiting to see you live for a while and it was worth the anticipation!!
now that we've relocated we wanted to drop a line and hopefully we're not to late to say happy new year.
Also, we've released two projects to start the new year, from Shawn Tracy and Jon Crocker, we would love it if you stopped by and gave them a listen...
I included "I Remember What The Light Felt Like" on the fifth playlist on the Seattle Powerpop Blog's radio widget. See: http://www.seattle-powerpop.blogspot.com/
