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SPIN 12/08:
The Negatones prove to be equally comfortable crafting experimental indie-pop jams as they are recreating epic metal riffs. The electro-noise-rock collective's self-titled debut is a high-speed exploration of influences where the Moog addicts demonstrate their range within the course of 30 minutes, packing spastic beats, launching into thundering reverb-soaked vocals, squealing horns, acoustic balladry, and oblique lyrics over zippy melodies. With layers of manic instruments giving their cheeky lines an added jolt, the Negatones tie up the loose wires of their varied influences, producing results that are positively electric.
-Ginny Yang
"If you like/know anything about pop music that may have been released
sometime in the last 40 years, you'll find (at least) something to
instantly like about The Negatones' sound. And because these kids
have a lot of fucking production background, every note is clean. It's fun and synthy without sounding too
ridiculous and more than poppy enough to sound like they mean it. If
you get a chance to see them at a show (and since the culture of me is
based out of their hometown in Brooklyn...that dude jeff will for
sure), you'll get a firsthand look at some of the most promising
underground sounds this writer has come across in recent memory. Give
it a little time and The Negatones will be the darlings of hipsters
and "Common People" alike. Start sketching out your patents for Moog
Hero for Playstation IX. The time is now. APPROVE!!!
Godspeed!"
'The Culture of Me' 5/1/07, on whether or not to add the Negatones as friends
Time Out New York feature 11/10/05:
"The Negatones debut full-length album is a ruthlessly episodic string of well-crafted pop songs, blown up to epic proportions with complex arrangements and layered effects. Its 12 tracks tear through the finer moments of late-20th-century pop music- funk horns and feedback, hair metal guitar and banjo picking, buzzing basslines and flute flourishes - all galvanized by the Braun brother's perfectly harmonized vocals. The Negatones have the aughts' answer to Phil Spector's wall of sound. Nowadays, a producer doesn't need an orchestra to achieve such aural enormity - just some basic recording equipment and the nerve to try anything."
-Cristina Black
Splendid 11/22/05:
Fall promises few listening experiences as manic as The Negatones' full-length debut. These New Yorkers pound and flail like an even more revved up Polysics; the album is akin to a house show bacchanal in which the booze keeps flowing and the rock keeps pulsing until the debauchery and sensory overload undergo a revelatory transfiguration -- or at least what feels like one in the heat of the moment (you never can tell when you drink twice your drink limit and the band triples the legal decibel limit). There are probably costumes involved, too -- lots of costumes.
'The Negatones' maintains this exquisite house-on-fire vibe from start to finish, largely due to its eclecticism. Sometimes the jubilee takes the shape of a conventional rock-out: sassy trumpet and sax, deep-fried bass, cartoonishly punishing drums and rightfully cocky vocals and synths characterize most of the band's songs, with the Rocket from the Crypt-ish "Paused Upon the Rewind" capturing the guys at their most comfortable. In "The Confrontation Happened", they channel the psychedelic era through trippy flute and a rumbling massage of a bassline. A few efficient minute-long cuts like "The Basement" heighten the throb and thrill by condensing the bleat and braying into urgent outbursts. Good luck chilling out to this one.
-- Phillip Buchan
Village Voice Choice pick:
Local Moog (not mook) rock with big riffs, big drums, anthemic time shifts, frantic shouting, short songs, placid parts, jazzy spans, and more. Cuts about being the Godfather (see: Spoonie Gee) and insomnia jump right out of their new CD.
-Chuck Eddy, music editor
Time Out New York featured pick:
The members of Brooklyn foursome the Negatones have loaned their studio wizardry to some of our favorite NY artists (Fiery Furnaces, for one), and now they're turning their skills on their own project. The band's upcoming self-titled debut is an exhilarating electrified ride through rock history. Glam, punk, metal, disco, country pickin', it's all there. -C. Black
Tastes Like Chicken 12/05:
Yeah, I dug the taste you gave me before with your five-song EP, Snacktronica . But this... new thing is just so large. Hhuge in sound. Oh, stop teasing me with songs like "The Escalator" and "Carbon Freeze"! It won't work! Yes , of course I like them. Okay, I love them. But... oh, who am I kidding here? C'mere and give me a full dose of The Negatones. I need it, and I need it bad. THE GRADE: A
- Wayne Chinsang
The Deli Magazine:
The Negatones play aggressive catchy rock songs with an attitude. Unconventional sound textures are part of their repertoire too - and we like that!
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