Location is everything. A small coastal town with long rainy days in the heart of the redwood forest led founding members Jocelyn (vocals) and Julius (guitars) to create dark, lonely songs on their self-titled 2005 EP.
That year the two moved from Arcata, California to Chicago, Illinois changing location and band members. They added Jason Leather on bass and in 2006 released their second EP, "Disconnected," which was aptly titled. The songs were dark and edgy but when put together their seemed to be an underlying disconnection to the album. Rightfully so; the band had just moved and wrote the album with three different drummers while they were laying the groundwork for their record label, Highwheel Records. Walking Bicycles felt the discontinuity and decided to play into it, recording half of the album with producer Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron and Wine, Fruitbats) at Engine Studios and the other half with engineer Steve Albini (Pixies, Nirvana) at Electrical Studio.
In late 2006 Walking Bicycles moved once again. This time from an apartment in the trendy Wicker Park neighborhood to a small three-storey coach house in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, affectionately coined by the band, Old San Juan. They added drummer and native Chicagoan Johnny Mars to the official line up and began to hone their sound. The four, energized by their new surroundings, spent a couple years practicing in their basement creating their next release. They were able to get back to the basics; writing songs inspired by the weird little place that they live.
The 10 songs on Walking Bicycles’ new release "¿GO?" are bombastic and peculiar. "¿GO?" will be available January 30, 2009.
PRE-ORDER Walking Bicycles "¿GO?" NOW (January 30th release!)
PRESS
"Since moving to Chicago from the misty verdure of Arcata, California, Walking Bicycles have made themselves at home, in part by starting a label, Highwheel Records, whose roster includes La Scala and Unicycle Loves You. Their hooky, restless postpunk—mightily focused on the 2006 EP Disconnected by the efforts of Brian Deck and Steve Albini—has a sharp big-city bite and savory whiffs of Wire, Pixies, and early Siouxsie. Since that recording, founding members Jocelyn Summers (vocals, percussion) and Julius Moriarty (guitar, vocals) and Chicago addition Jason Leather (bass) have found a permanent drummer, Johnny Mars, for their first full-length, ¿Go? (Highwheel), ten tight, spiky, beautifully paced tracks that glow with what sounds like the sheer joy of playing. "
- THE CHICAGO READER
"Dynamic, genre defying act from ambitious local label Highwheel records"
- SPIN MAGAZINE
"Chicago outfit Walking Bicycles plays arty, sleek post-punk that claims sonic kinship to Black Sabbath and The Residents, yet sounds more like a riled-up Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Frontwoman Jocelyn Summers and company, though, manage to deftly evade the trite angularity and faux coldness of most post-punk revivalists, instead evoking early, abrasive Siouxsie And The Banshees and even touching on Clinic's more frenzied forays into noise-pop. Last year's full-length Disconnected sounds exactly that: chaotic, disjointed, and confounding in the most exhilarating way possible."
- THE ONION
"Chicago-via-Cali transplants Walking Bicycles play nervous post-punk wrapped in a blanket of West Coast fog. Their songs throb with urgent bass lines and dense percussion, and lead singer Jocelyn Summers' rhythmic delivery propels the band's best songs toward cathartic release."
- FLAVORPILL
"Highwheel Records founders Walking Bicycles kicked off the show with a searing set of garagey post punk music a la Pixies, My Bloody Valentine and even a hint of Devo here and there that would set the tone for the rest of the evening. The smoldering but precise vocal delivery of Jocelyn Summers and the angular assault of guitarist Julius Moriarty leapt and slashed around the glacially marching low frequency bedrock of drummer Johnny M and bass player Jason Leather and within no time the floor was swarmed with a jubilant mass of sweaty rockers. Spin magazine was right on the money when they called Walking Bicycles “Dynamic and genre defying.”
- KEXP
"On Friday night, while Lou Reed was joining Bright Eyes on stage at Town Hall, Trash Bar in Brooklyn played host to one of the most exciting new bands in rock. Walking Bicycles come from a mostly untapped Chicago music scene filled with promising young bands. For approximately 40 minutes, Walking Bicycles layed down a feast of tight, edgy indie rock, loaded-up with frantic, bouncing rhythms, chaotic post-punk meets shoegazer guitar and frontwoman Jocelyn Summers' icy vocals. While most of the set came from the band's first 2 E.P.s, it was the new songs, especially the set-closer 'Obvious Path,' that really set fire to the stage promising a bright future for Walking Bicycles."
- NY PRESS
"Glam and angst-y dance rock with a new-wave freakiness to it-that is how I will sum of the sound of Walking Bicycles. Backed by some of the biggest names in the Alternative music scene with recording duties shared by Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Califone, Modest Mouse) and Steve Albini (Pixies, Nirvana) and mastered by Greg Calbi (Dylan, U2, Sonic Youth), Walking Bicycles seems to have a yellow brick road of luck ahead and a wild sound to go along with it. Energetic and contagious as soon as it gets spinning Disconnected offers up eight tracks of raw post-punk guitar playing and sleek, rousting vocal performances from the spicy sounding Jocelyn Summers. Notable songs include "Sympathy" and "The Hermit."
- THE BIG TAKEOVER
"one hell of an atmospheric, urgently delivered Post Punk sojourn into the past, present, future, and beyond. Indeed, the songs of Walking Bicycles are mesmerizing, redemptive, and inspiring, as all music should be."
- UNDER THE VOLCANO
"This Chicago foursome rides the line where post-punk borders with commercial rock, a pretty good place to be at a time where bands like Interpol reign the airwaves. Their sound is bass-heavy with the shoegazer touch often found in britpop."Welcome to the Future" warrants heavy Joy Division influences, but vocalist Jocelyn Summers' sense of playful melody gives the band a broader and probably more accurate comparison to the UK outfit Sleeper."
- PUNK PLANET
"Chicago's Walking Bicycles have been transplanted from Eureka, California to breathe new live into the post-punk scene of 'chi' town. Angular, Joy Division-esqe guitars and lofty female vocals, courtesy of Mr. Moriarty and Ms. Summers respectively, characterize the WB sound. Inspired, but not ruled by 80's dance rock, Walking Bicycles' unexpected chord choices in the songs 'stitch' and 'Worthless' set them apart from their peers."
— SENTIMENTALIST
"Walking Bicycles have taken off the training wheels for their second EP, Disconnected, careening through eight fresh songs including the grinding, guitar-driven "Desperate" and two separate renditions of the energetic "Welcome To The Future." Strong vocals, courtesy of effervescent singer Jocelyn Summers, are a highlight, along with dynamic post punk beats. It's obvious the band are having fun; there's little question listeners will, too."
- ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER
