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The Orwells – Disgraceland

May 29, 2014

After getting mocked on Letterman for their dozy on-stage theatrics, The Orwells seem poised for the big time with their second LP. “Who Needs You” is already making its radio rotation rounds with gusto, and the Pixies punch of its rockabilly-garage-punk-Fourth-of-July-parading makes for a snappy firecracker of a single. For fans of the sound, Disgraceland serves up eleven tracks in the same needle-prodded vein. Disgraceland revels in the raunchy, undignified, balls-out rock its title embraces. Its scuzzy, drugged, sometimes psychotically violent party anthems are out to restore a jagged dangerousness to rock n’ roll. In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, guitarist Matt O’Keefe complains about the “safe and soft” tendencies of synthesizer-dominated modern rock. The Orwells blatantly pursue an old school classic rock set-up, infusing the standard model with wicked rebel energy. From the beginning, the record is hungry and horny, teeth sharpened and bared, eager to devour. “Southern[...]

The Orwells

Tonight: The Orwells

April 23, 2014

The reason, I think, for people obsessing about The Orwells’ age is resentment. I’m only 23, and I resent anyone a day under 23 who is an iota more successful than me (which is a ton of people). This kind of feeling is especially common with people who write about music. You might be a musician yourself, and here you are, constantly writing about people who are out there actually making it. It can feel like you’re a Salieri in a room full of Mozarts. So most of the press about The Orwells makes mention of the fact that they are young kids, that they formed in high school, stuff like that. There’s even a cool/creepy moment from their set on Letterman where David calls for an encore from The Orwells and get one from the house band, with Paul Shaffer so jazzed about the kids in front of him[...]