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REVIEWS OF THE ALBUM

The Muttering Retreats deliver an intelligent mix of music that will have you humming along to the catchy tunes. With its self-titled debut, this freshly established indie-pop trio shows itself to be a group of artistic naturals who exhibit a wide range of literary and lyrical expertise. Although the trio may sound like a mix between Death Cab for Cutie and Ben Folds Five, the members create a distinct sound of their own, offering a lyrical reverie accompanied by an array of instruments including organ, accordion, clarinet and even a filing cabinet. Each sound adds character to the songs reflecting the members' cynical, scholarly and buoyant attitudes. Tunes such as "Cupid Always Misses," "Modernism 101" and "Screw You & Your Beachfront Property," a song paying tribute to the band's Cleveland roots, energetically captivate. — LY

(from the very last issue of the Cleveland Free Times - July 16th, 2008)

It's an esoteric, offbeat and instrumentally indulgent world that local indie-rock act the Muttering Retreats calls home on its self-titled debut effort. Considering band members Cari Santilli (bass, saxophone, clarinet, synths, glockenspiel, vocals), Chris Collins (vocals, keyboards, violin, cowbell) and Tim Thornton (guitars, radio, tambourine, triangle, synths, filing cabinet, cassette recorders) play seemingly every single instrument ever invented, the results are colorful walls of sound varying from fragile melodies ("Awkward Poetry") to horn-infused swinging songs ("Primary Colors"). While the urgency of the indie pop-based "Pastiche" is palpable, the threesome finds its most focused sound with Ben Folds-inspired bubbly piano-based tunes such as "Cupid Always Misses (The Ba Ba Song)" and "The Capitalist & The Communist Vie For Our Hero's Affection." Overall, the 15-track debut retains an underground feel -- but you get the sense being in the spotlight is not where the band wants to be. Grade: B-

(John Benson, The Plain Dealer - August 1, 2008)

Every college student with any musical talent dreams of moving past the open mic night stage and creating a successful band with their other musically talented friends. So, it was no wonder that when Chris Collins and Cari Santilli met through the John Carroll University Pep Band, they would eventually start a band together. Chris made a passing mention of his idea to start a band named The Muttering Retreats after a line in the T.S. Eliot poem “The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock” and Cari could not have agreed more being an English major herself. However, they could not make this dream a reality alone, thus, they employed the help of Cari’s then boyfriend (now fiancé!) Tim Thornton. So, formed in the last few hours of 2006, the Muttering Retreats are an indie pop trio from Cleveland, Ohio, including Chris Collins, Cari Santilli, and Tim Thornton. The timing could not have been better. Cari’s previous band had just moved to every corner of the country and Chris and Tim desperately wanted to make music again.

The musical and literary history of each member of The Muttering Retreats contributes to the overall scope of the band. No member is anchored to one instrument. The live arrangements of the songs on their self titled debut reflect their approach on record. Each member knows the songs on an array of instruments. It’s hard to guess which instrument each member will play for each song in a live setting, as they may have played three or four simultaneous parts on record. All three members wrote songs that appear on the album, but several of the songs were written by one member with another member in mind to be the frontperson to carry the song in a live or recorded setting.

The content of these fifteen songs are explained by the three books on the CD’s cover. The green book on the left is “Studies in Pessimism” by Schopenhauer, chosen by Tim Thornton. Tim’s book reflects on the songs he wrote, which are largely cynical and sometimes even cruel. The middle book is a collection of poems by T.S. Eliot, chosen by Chris Collins. This choice reflects Chris’ descriptive, sometimes scholarly lyrical content. Also, it is obviously a reference to the name of the band. The third book, Esslin’s “The Theatre of the Absurd” was chosen by Cari Santilli. The choice of this book in the cover is key. The playwrights critiqued in Esslin’s work derived poignant art, and sometimes almost clichéd art, relying on modernist and absurdist themes to carry the works beyond their original literal meanings. This is what The Muttering Retreats strive to achieve in their pop songs.

Over the past year and a half the trio has been very lucky to share a stage with bands that are not only like minded, but have also directly influenced them. They scheduled their debut show to open for Casiotone for the Painfully Alone before they even knew how to pull off a live set, simply because of admiration for their work. They’ve also shared the stage with musical peers such as Daniel Johnston, Why? & Grand Archives. The Muttering Retreats have also been fortunate enough to play a very small part in a small renaissance in Cleveland’s local indie rock scene, which includes bands such as Bears, Afternoon Naps, The Helper T-Cells and Akron’s Trouble Books.

The self-titled debut by The Muttering Retreats was recorded in exclusively residential settings by the band during 2007 and 2008. The band has a rich history (and future) of releasing music with the format of the release in mind. Their debut cassette release (dubbed “The Letter Tape” due to runs of 26 copies each and the sides of the tape being represented by other letters of the alphabet other than “A” and “B”) utilized the lo-fi analog format by splicing together several rehearsal and multi-tracked songs, then reversing them all on the other side of the tape. The attention to format on the full length CD still remains, with at least two hidden features that are exclusive to the Compact Disc format, with other small secrets in the packaging. None of these hidden features would translate to an mp3 leak. Future vinyl, cassette, and MP3 releases are planned, all with features exclusive to the format.

To contact us in the non-myspace world, send us an email at TheMutteringRetreats at gmail dot com.