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Hailing from the glass canyons of NY/NY, Two Shots of Rye have just released their life-affirming, chills-inducing debut album, Hooks on Tape.

The band plays unabashed, hooky pop-rock. Some people tell them they sound like Elvis Costello, or Third Eye Blind. It's flattering. 2007 saw them self-producing the album in Mike (sings/strums) and Ariel (shreds) Podwal's childhood home, much to dad's delight. Converting living rooms into live rooms and vestibules into vocal booths, bassist Dane Sannicandro took on engineering duties as they entered the abyss of self-recording. Drummer Andy Fligel triumphantly recorded all of his drums over just two days. The rest of the guys took… longer. The band emerged from the thicket after 18 months, armed with a shiny collection of well-crafted pop songs.

There was, of course, great help from the outside world. Mike Kalajian (The Audition) and Bryan Russell (Straylight Run) lent their enormous production and engineering talents at various stages. Through Russell, the band was introduced to Claudius Mittendorfer (Panic at the Disco, Brand New, Muse), who signed on to mix the album.

Moving from the studio to the stage, the band is focused on playing locally as much as possible. In recent years, they've played shows with venerable acts like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy and Paramore. Stay tuned for more action.

Hooks on Tape is available via iTunes and the band's own e-store @ twoshosofrye.com. The e-store offers high-quality MP3's for $7.99 and limited edition CD's in silk-screened packaging for $11.99.