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::: Interviews / Feature Articles :::
The Great Beyond - 5/06
Slightly Confusing To A Stranger - 1/05
Comes With A Smile (UK) - 10/03
Philadelphia City Paper - 7/03
::: Album Review Quotes:::
"Good Light" CD - 2009
Rose Quartz - 8/09 - "Seriously spacious jam from this New Jersey duo who just know how to take it easy. This is highly pleasant music: smooth and well-played, with a vibe that’s part treble-y ‘70s AM rock, part Yo La Tengo slow jam with Californian vocal harmonies up to HERE."
Dagger Zine - 8/09 - "The Twin Atlas write songs with a craftsmanship few and far between, all done with a highly refined pop sensibility...The lazy slide guitar touches are there, along with the summer breeze, thermal riding harmonies reminiscent of course, say the Beach Boys or The Byrds, but maybe also of that of Yo La Tengo...An Indie gem, and definitely on Dizzy's Top 10 for 2009.
"Magic Car Wash" CDR - 2006
Delusions Of Adequacy - 2/07 - "...a collection of pristine passages of music that do not congeal but offer many moments of meditative disassociation where perception and consciousness separate."
Dawg & Pony Show - 1/07 - "The Twin Atlas crafts melodic, mostly acoustic music with incredible vocal harmonies. "Fall Away" is a good example of why I like this band. Smooth melody, non-abbrasive guitar work, even drumming and no aftertaste. With harmony like this, they could be singing the Philly phonebook and that would be fine."
Valley Advocate - 1/07 - "The songs are mellow and relaxing, but with a surprising gem-like clarity. Primary songwriter and vocalist Sean Byrne demonstrates a Brian Wilson-like pop genius—an ear for the brilliant pairing of rumbling organ with gentle trebly guitar and lovely vocal harmonies, a clear ringing bell here, a tasteful Eno-ish background swirl there—without resorting to a tired classic ’60s rehash."
Indie Pages - 1/07 - "...amidst these instrumental interludes lie some truly stunning new songs, like "Open Scenes", "Fall Away" and "See The Lines", which rank among the band's best songs in recent years, and call to mind the Byrds, Felt and the Clientele."
Miami Sun Post - 12/06 - "Byrne’s voice is smooth and sweet as rum, floating along atop the melodies with soft-hewn delight. It’s a talent that can be hard to quantify — as well as achieve — but for some reason the discrete components of Magic Car Wash all seem to intertwine just right, meshing perfectly in service of a higher relaxing purpose."
Erasing Clouds - 12/06 - "There's a lingering glow to these songs which holds inside of it hope, loss, mystery. Light, tantalizing guitars, hushed singing, a general palette of wonder. Is The Twin Atlas in touch with the cosmos, in some deep way? Sure sounds like it."
Hot Stof - 10/06 - "The last few days I showed you (and let you hear) that independent or indie music comes in a lot a variations. But usually we think of nice popsongs, a bit of rock but sometimes also a bit of country, folk or other influences. The band I want to introduce today is a perfect example of this kind of indie music. The Twin Atlas."
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"Sun Township" CD - 2005
Whisperin & Hollerin - 4/06 - "shut your eyes, and let the wonderfully soporific music wash over you and take you to a galaxy far, far away... Truly a thing of beauty" (rated 8 out of 10 stars)
Big Takeover - 4/06 - "Sun Township's ten petite cuts twinkle, strum, and chime their way across a debonair album that practically begs to be the soundtrack for the chilled-out, Anglo-utopia of any respectable pop lover's dreams."
Luna Kafe (Norway) - 3/06 - "Sun Township is a collection of beautiful pop-songs".
Americana UK - 3/06 - "The songs drift into your consciousness, wash you clean and leave you relaxed and feeling better than when they arrived. Sun Township can be summed up in one word. Beautiful"
Mundane Sounds - 1/06 - "Sun Township is, simply put, a wonderful record by a great band. It’s pretty and it’s mellow and it’s lovely and it’s a record that will relax you after a hard day - or it will make you feel good when you need some quiet time. "
The Perm & The Skullet - 1/06 - "The Twin Atlas takes you on a musical journey through an open field of pastoral pop...These songs brighten my dreary winter day with dream-like thoughts...Every track truely is intimate aural bliss...The Twin Atlas automatically move to the top of my list for bands to watch out for in 2006."
Exclaim! (Canada) - 1/06 - "Twin Atlas skirt the edges of melancholia, but their nods to psychedelia keep things in a sun-kissed mood overall. The album’s ten folk pop gems flow like the sunrise pictures that adorn the cover art. Sun Township may be the album that will get us through the coming winter."
Textura - 1/06 - "...thoroughly engaging, timeless folk-pop...chiming electric guitars, heavenly harmonies, and stately melodies..."
A Robot Cometh - 1/06 - "Sun Township is a masterpiece album for this East Coast band. This album takes whatever mood you're in, brings you to a state of melancholy optimism, and then leaves you on the very last chord with something a little more indescribable. Isn't that what music is for? To teach us about emotions we have never known before. This album will remain in my library for permanent records."
IndiePages - 1/06 - "the music here is very gentle, usually with sparse arrangements involving acoustic guitars and keyboards - reminding me of the Red House Painters, a more atmospheric Beachwood Sparks or Teenage Fanclub covering Felt songs."
My Old Kentucky Blog - 12/06 - "The Twin Atlas calls back much of 60's folk-pop sounds, but adds a deeper meditative instrumentation. Byrnes' songwriting and vocals are comparable and on par with all his contemporaries, such as Sam Beam and Elliott Smith."
The Downloader (UK) - 12/05 - "awesome; a breezy, sun-drenched spark of West coast pop that paints them as Hal’s far more impressive Yank peers. "
Isthmus - 12/05 - "...pure impressionism, full of meditative instrumentation...beautiful and worthy of praise."
Magnet Magazine - 1/06 - "...full of warm, fuzzy tracks that are exactly what a cold morning spent in bed should sound like. It might be a quick ride though Sun Township's dreamy, nostalgic landscape, but it sure is nice while it lasts. Just pull your blankets tighter and hit repeat."
Three Imaginary Girls - 11/05 - "Sun Township invites us into a world of eternal sunshine and 80 degree weather. Like watching homemade movie reels from the 60’s through warm-filter lenses, Sun Township creates a feeling of nostalgia, of vinyl record collections, of summer breaks. " (rated 8 out of 11)
Erasing Clouds - 11/05 - "Sun Township is a gorgeous soundtrack to the passing of time. It's filled with an atmosphere of calmness and stillness, but also a prevailing feeling that everything fades. It's a portrait of time flickering away like the last wisps of daylight - ungraspable. And the same time it doesn't come across like a sad lament, more like a snapshot of what it sounds like inside the mind of someone in a contemplative state."
Babysue - 11/05 - "Sun Township features ten light, breezy, airy pop compositions with super smooth harmony vocals and gently strummed guitars. Their tunes are simple and easygoing...yet rather unique and ultimately satisfying." (rated 5 out of 6)
Chromewaves - 10/05 - "Sun Township is a lush, sparkling jewel of a record from top to bottom. The voices and instrumentation wrap you up like a warm blanket. Sun Township is like a concetrated dose of Summer on a plastic disc."
Philadelphia City Paper - 10/05 - "10 songs that revel in the glories of the simply natural and the transcendent qualities thereof, all set against a glistening, occasionally countrified guitar pop background. Sun Township is the perfect lazy-day lullaby ."
Dagger - 10/05 - "It’d be nice to see these guys get the attention they deserve but on the other hand, right now The Twin Atlas seems like my perfect little secret ."
Some Velvet Blog - 10/05 - "I'm saying here that the Atlas are the mcdizzle. Whatever the hell that means, I don't know. But it's connotes something very good."
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"Pioneers Toasted - rare & unreleased" CDR - 2005
Dagger Zine - 6/05 - "The songs tug at the heart but don't come off as maudlin and that alone is no small feat."
3hive - 6/05 - "The Twin Atlas craft tiny, shimmering jewels of folk pop which are driving me wild of late. "
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"Inside The Skate Scandal" CD - 2003
Aural Innovations - 10/03 - "Perfect music for a mild California coast town like mine...I love it"
Pataphysics Research Lab - 10/03 - "where did i put my heart? oh, it's flying away... with wings. what did they do?"
Pitchfork - 9/03 - "...it's a great sound, and the duo has gradually refined what they do, each time turning out a more concise, more consistent album" (rated 7.3 of 10)
Splendid e-zine 8/03 - "Inside the Skate Scandal feels like drinking on a summer afternoon at an outdoor café -- colors become more vivid, the world blurs nicely at the edges, and you feel, if only for a moment, that happiness is the natural state of all creatures. As the endorphins rush to your brain, this is what they're singing."
Mundane Sounds 7/03 - "...darned if The Twin Atlas won't be contender for the most heady album of the year. Inside the Skate Scandal will have you watching the clouds in your head for many listens to come."
Opuszine 7/03 - "all 12 songs on "Inside The Skate Scandal" seem effortless in their catchiness and prettiness."
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"Bring Along The Weather" CD - 2003
Mass Transfer 12/03 - ""Bring Along The Weather" has sunk in deeply into my musical consciousness in less than a week - one of the best of the year, by far."
Actionman 7/03 - "Ever so often a gem like The Twin Atlas' third full-length CD comes along and reinforces the concept of people making, buying and listening to quality records. "
Punk Planet 7/03 - "The Twin Atlas continue to amaze."
Comes With A Smile (UK) 7/03 - ""'Bring Along The Weather' is a collection of fourteen wonderful, airy, folky, gorgeous, warm songs. The arrangements are ornate and imaginative, the melodies rich, the whole thing seems just so effortless, even if it was anything but. There isn't a dud on 'Bring Along The Weather', it's just thirty-nine minutes of glorious pop bliss."
Magnet Magazine 6/03 - "It's safe to say Byrne is on the cusp of emerging as one of indie-dom's most promising and prolific songwriters. Someone cut him a big check and put him in a proper recording studio, pronto."
Devil In The Woods 6/03 - "Nice vocal harmonies and chiming guitars rarely add up to something this good. The songs on 'Bring Along The Weather' posess a home-recording aesthetic, which lends an intimate hand to the gentle, thoughtful folk."
Super45 (Chile) 6/03 - "The perfect music for the instants of our lives that are worth remembering. With this record, The Twin Atlas has already scored high in my best-of-year list."
Rollingstone.com 4/03 - Confident repetitions, monotone harmonies and understated keyboard, guitar and mandolin hooks provide the backbone to an album that's poetic and airy but unpretentious. Bring Along the Weather's simplicity blooms into variety and further nuance with each listen.
Pitchforkmedia 4/03 - The Twin Atlas evoke the fluorescent folk of The Kinsgbury Manx....they have slipped a quietly ingratiating mickey to us with Bring Along the Weather. (rated 7.1 out of 10)
Luna Cafe 4/03 - What puzzles me the most is the fact that the duo seems obsessed with skateboarding.
Crazewire 4/03 -"Bring Along the Weather is as fine a home-recorded album as I've come across. The Twin Atlas jumped out of my speakers, easing forth with an understated confidence that James Dean would envy. Imagine what Casey Casem would play if he broadcasted from Beckley, West Virginia, and you're on the right track. "
Music Emissions 4/03 "The Twin Atlas has one of the best mellow indie rock sounds I have heard this year. It has been a while since I have been as instantly taken with a band like this. The charm in The Twin Atlas is the awesome vocal harmonies...they hit on your heartstrings with every note. The Twin Atlas is a Simon and Garfunkel for the new Millennium." 4 Stars****
Screaming Bloody Mess 4/03 "A combination of strong vocal harmonies and strong classic pop. So lo-fi you half expect to hear the static of a television in the background and the hiss of a steam- iron as some elderly woman stands in front of the TV ironing Byrne's trousers. "
Spendid e-zine 3/03 "The tunes fill the room, seeping out of the speakers and coating the walls with sweet, layered vocals and wistful charm, while remaining homespun and intimate. It's a testament to how good home recording can be, especially when combined with vibrant musicianship and impeccable melodic shine."
Yale Herald 3/03 "The Twin Atlas is back with a collection of 14 short, simple, and delightful songs. They pack a quick one-two punch and get out before you know what's hit you. With the immediate fury of a thunderstorm, they take you to a world both strange and lovely.
Delusions Of Adequcy 3/03 "Bring Along the Weather cohesively condenses everything that binds together the sweet sounds of Philadelphia's underground pop neighbourhood into fourteen tasty chunks. This year's perfect thawing-cure for weary winter blues"
Baby Sue 3/03 "These two fellows churn out one memorable tune after another...and their songs feature some absolutely striking vocal harmonies. The material is light years beyond most of what is currently being released by major labels. This is what home recorded pop ought to sound like. Beautiful stuff. (rated 5 out of 6)
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"Kitchen U.S.A." CD - 2001
Pitchfork Media 2/02 "something like if the Elephant 6 explosion had happened in Wales instead of the American Southby the end of the record, you feel an instant familiarity with the musicthe gorgeous harmonies on Kitchen U.S.A are truly the centerpiece here." (rated 7.3 out of 10)
Philadelphia Weekly 10/01- "they manage to create a soft and glowing sound, full of longing and hope. Kitchen U.S.A. is such a beautiful album because it barely tries to be."
Luna Café 12/01 "Let the tape hiss tease you, and you'll discover soothing, classic pop. Musically you can hear inspiration taken from late 60s/early 70s folk/pop, with a touch of psychedelia. Roger McGuinn meets Neil Young meets Brian Wilson, diving into early Pink Floyd. The result is mostly very good indeed. Great melodies, beautiful harmonies."
Philadelphia City Paper 10/01 "The pared down psychedelic chamber folk on Kitchen U.S.A. conjures traces of Nick Drake-style folk with shimmery melodies and instrumentation while incorporating a rough-hewn anything-goes experimental feel, with beautifully crafted, mysteriously wonderful songs."
Splendid e-zine 8/01 "you'll be taken on an aural journey that sounds like all your favorite artists, past and present, coming together for one big jam. Kitchen U.S.A. deserves a spot between In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and Revolver in your record collection"
Philadelphia Weekly 7/02 "There's a psychedelic but unforced logic to these lyrics, which, though emotive, remain decidedly oblique. Still, few albums are this pretty, this unassuming."
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"Subtle Citrus" (Kitchen USA outtakes & unreleased CDR) 2001
Philadelphia City Paper 4/02 "they quietly overwhelm you with soft-focus mood sketches drawn up with guitar and genteel percussionthis isn't the stuff of getting up from the armchair, which is, y'know, not a problem."
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"The Philadelphia Parking Authority Must Die" CD 2000
Splendid e-zine 12/2000 "a gorgeously multi-tiered homage to classic popfrom the moment after pressing play until the very end of the album, listeners will be treated to one glistening pop delight after anothereach passing song allows a little more of the group's loveliness to seep into your pores, and eventually into your heart".
Philadelphia Inquirer 10/2000 "their specialty is gentle, thoughtful folk-rock of the hauntingly melodic kind. Songs that come from a quiet place, and whisper, rather than demand, a hearingWorth double-parking for."
Philadelphia City Paper Best of 2000 "Just because the songs are lo-fi doesn't mean they're tossed off. Byrne's vocals are warm and the folkified music can be as sweet and gentle as a caress".
Alternative Press 4/01 "it rivals any of GBV's sparer moments".
Pop Matters Best CD's of 2000 ranked #46