ATO RECORDS » artists

Lucero

atony — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:56:38 +0000

Playing nearly 200 live shows a year, Lucero’s relentless touring schedule has earned them a place at “the forefront of the Memphis rock scene” (NPR). They’re not slowing down in 2012. Lucero has announced the 40+ date ‘Women & Work’ headlining tour as the group puts the finishing touches on their debut for ATO Records, due out in March.

Alabama Shakes

atony — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 18:09:40 +0000

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Meet the Alabama Shakes

Boys & Girls, the full-length debut album from Alabama Shakes, will be released in North America on April 10 by ATO Records. Rough Trade will release it internationally on April 9. Fans can stream the album’s first single, “Hold On.”

Boys & Girls is now available for pre-order on iTunes

Alabama Shakes – comprising vocalist/guitarist Brittany Howard, guitarist Heath Fogg, drummer Steve Johnson and bassist Zac Cockrell – began playing together when they were in high school. Ben Tanner assists on keyboards.

NPR’s Ann Powers called Howard, now 23, “a young woman living in the now, wrapping her arms around a tradition without letting it carry her away” while villagevoice.com noted: “Her rollercoaster- like delivery makes her vocal melodies themselves lyrical—they tell stories and convey eternal truths, beyond even the plaintive narratives embedded in her words.”

Jack White’s Third Man Records has selected Alabama Shakes to kick off its series of live 45 releases. The two-song 7” from the band’s fall 2011 session at Third Man in Nashville, is due out in late January.

Lindsay Fuller

atony — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:28:44 +0000

Lindsay Fuller’s haunting Southern Gothic songwriting is unlike any other in her genre. Born in Alabama, the Seattle-based artist is the antithesis of the typical ethereal songstress. Her storytelling has been compared to Flannery O’Connor’s, while her voice to Johnny Cash, Nick Cave, Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch – delicate and dark, “a burnished, soulful trill that sounds like the frame of a beautiful old church that’s about to collapse on itself” (The Examiner).

www.lindsayfuller.com

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Hey Rosetta!

atony — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 22:03:56 +0000

New York, NY- ATO Records is pleased to announce the signing of Canada’s breakout success story of 2011, Hey Rosetta! ATO Records will release the critically acclaimed, ‘Seeds’, in the U.S. in February, 2012 preceded by an acoustic EP featuring several songs from the record surrounding their North American fall tour.

Hey Rosetta! experienced massive growth North of the border with the release of their album, ‘Seeds’, (Produced by Tony Doogan (Mogwai, Belle and Sebastian, Wintersleep) ‘Seeds’ employs some of the most poetic and profound lyrical offerings from Tim Baker (vocals/guitar), and grasps the full sonic expression of the band, including cellist Romesh Thavanathan, violinist Kinley Dowling, bassist Josh Ward, drummer Phil Maloney and guitarist Adam Hogan.

In a short amount of time, the band has amassed a loyal and devoted following from their unique brand of alternative/indie/folk/rock music drawing comparisons to early Sufjan Stevens, Mumford and Sons, and Snow Patrol among others, fueled by their passionate and compelling live performances. Earlier this year, Paste Magazine named Hey Rosetta! among the ‘Top 5 Bands to See at SXSW’, and Billboard named them as one of the ‘Top 5 Canadian Bands To Watch’.

As displayed by their tireless work ethic and international touring over the past several years, Hey Rosetta! have proven that they not only deliver on record, but have earned a reputation as one of the most dynamic live bands Canada exports. The band played over 300 shows in support of it’s last album, including tours of North America, Australia, China, Europe, the U.K…an even more impressive fact when taking into consideration origin of the band’s travels from their home in remote Newfoundland.

Hey Rosetta! will embark upon a North American headline tour, including a major market run across Canada including two nights in Toronto at The Phoenix and select stops into a handful of U.S. dates including Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York among other notable cities.

A Band of Bees

atony — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 20:06:08 +0000

“It’s like starting all over again,” says The Bees’ songwriter (and guitarist and bass-player) Aaron Fletcher. “Only now we’ve got loads of fans and people who love us. And our own studio.”

The Bees (known in the US as A Band Of Bees) are in a very good place, the best they’ve ever been in. Their new album Every Step’s A Yes– their fourth in total – is the most focused and most complete record they’ve ever made. Following the successful European release of Every Step’s A Yes, The Bees recently signed to ATO Records, who will be releasing the record (with four new tracks not available on the original UK release) in the US on November 8th. It will also be available on vinyl for the first time, including a bonus 10″.

The one-time Mercury Prize nominees have just finished a round of European dates supporting Fleet Foxes, which were, in their own words, among the best gigs they’ve ever played. A recent hometown show in Ventnor on the Isle Of Wight went so well the band felt completely reborn. Something significant has happened almost without them noticing.

It’s been three years since the band’s last record, Octopus (EMI / Astralwerks). Since they left their last label and found freedom from the write it/rehearse it/record it/tour it treadmill, they’ve spent the time making music and singing songs, pulling all the amazing tunes out of their heads at their own speed and in their own time.

There have been appearances alongside Pink Floyd and the Incredible String Band at the Syd Barrett tribute night in summer 2007 and Paul travelled to LA to produce What Will Be for Devendra Banhart. The band changed. Everyone slowed down – the dynamics of the group began to shift.

Paul and Aaron had shared a house for seven years, but in 2008 Aaron moved out – just down the road – and they both felt the change. “The flame got brighter,” is how he describes it. Aaron took to writing song in his kitchen with Tim Parkin playing his new double bass. “It was very chilled out,” Tim laughs.

“We used to get stressed making sure everyone was together at the same time,” says Paul. “Sometimes we’d not record because someone didn’t turn up. Now if you want to be involved, get involved…”

Aaron and Paul have taken their time, worked hard on what they do and become two of the very best songwriters around. All the new tracks were complete pieces before they ever got near a mixing desk and what has emerged are a string of beautifully realized songs, the most mature and affecting things they have ever written.

“The last two albums were exercises in creative writing,” Paul says. “These songs are all much more emotionally direct. I was thinking of those Joe Boyd productions – Nick Drake and Fairport Convention, Incredible String Band, John and Beverley Martyn…”

For Aaron the goal was clear – he wanted to write a “universal song.” What he delivered was “I Really Need Love,” a stunning, uplifting song built on the push and pull between two really simple chords.

“’I Really Need Love’ has the potential to be our biggest song,” Paul says.

“Elsewhere there is Tired Of Loving,” which is the most honest and heartfelt piece that band have ever written and “Winter Rose” which rides a fantastically crunchy old reggae groove. “Change Can Happen” pitches pure positivity up against a sense of acceptance of what has been and what will come while “Silver Line” has heart-squeezing, melancholic harmonies straight from a San Franciscan folk-pop album from 1965. “It’s nice to sing things like that,” Aaron says. “Get it off your chest…” As a whole the album is lit with head-bursting, hand-raising positivity. It’s right there in the title. “The only answer is yes,” Paul says. “There’s really nothing bad that’s happened to us – how could it have when we’ve ended up in this great place?”

“Over the last few years we’ve learnt a lot about music and what it means and the power it has,” Paul says.

Aaron nods his head and laughs. “We’re like this mystical band – always bubbling under. But it’s time for us to come over the top now. It’s time to be massive and mystical.”

“Every Step’s A Yes is mellow and spaced-out. Band leader Paul Butler, having spent time away in the Amazon and working with Devendra Banhart, seems to have internalized the feel of bossa nova and samba. These songs showcase a gentle melodicism as akin to Gilberto Gil as it is to Pink Floyd’s “Arnold Layne”. I guess the simplest term for it would be psych-folk.” Pitchfork

SOJA

atony — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 23:34:08 +0000

SOJA’s highly-anticipated 2012 album is now available online and in stores! SOJA is an international touring machine having rocked theaters in more than 15 countries around the world. In the past year and a half alone, they’ve played more than 360 dates, on large headline dates in addition to tours opening for acts like O.A.R, Dave Matthews Band, and Matisyahu.

Buy Strength to Survive here

Caitlin Rose

atony — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:44:26 +0000

Caitlin Rose popped up on the radar of music critics internationally with the release of her widely praised debut full-length album, Own Side Now. Drawing inspiration from female greats such as Linda Ronstadt, Patsy Cline and Stevie Nicks, Own Side Now is sheer perfection, firmly placing Nashville native Rose in the same league as these legendary artists.

Although steeped in the country tradition, Caitlin’s music is not constrained by that heritage. Her confessional style and wry observations place her very much in the 21st Century, but it is her heart wrenching honesty, lyrical prowess and dexterous lyrical delivery that sets her apart from her peers. Nothing demonstrates this better than one of the albums many highlights, a track titled “For the Rabbits”; an epic saccharine-free, strings soaked (arranged by Jordan Lehning) ballad depicting a fractured relationship where she laments “Why is your love like rubber, he said / Or gum stuck under my shoe? / Leaving it there to avoid the risk of / Making a mess out of you”. Even more remarkable is that this was written when Caitlin was only sixteen years of age.

Co-produced by Mark Nevers (Lambchop, Will Oldham & Andrew Bird), Skylar Wilson (Justin Townes Earle) and Rose at the Beech House in Nashville, Own Side Now effortlessly moves from country pop numbers like “Spare Me” to the pedal steel fuelled absorption of “Things Change”. The restraint from all players on this track is astounding, with Caitlin providing a vocal performance that belies her tender years, hitting the listener square in the guts and leaving one gasping for breath – “No I never wore your wedding ring/ I regret I never could/ Never mothered your child or seen you/ In its smile”.

The title track displays a much simpler approach, mirroring Caitlin’s wish that “simple songs needing simple sounds” and the avoidance of “Broadway bullshit”. From it’s humble acoustic openings, “Own Side Now” morphs into a majestic soulful gem, with wonderful fragments of tear jerking vocals interspersed with a subtle blend of piano and pedal steel. “I’m on my own side now… Who’s gonna take me home? / Cause I don’t wanna go it alone / Who’s gonna want me when / I’m just somewhere you’ve been?” Everyone, it would seem, after hearing this particular tune.
“New York City”, a gem of a track, displays Rose’s joyful wit alongside honky tonk vibes and Shangri-la flourishes. “Shanghai Cigarettes”, which features Rayland Baxter on shared vocals, serves as another fine example amongst many, with fuzzed out lead guitar and Caitlin riding a swinging rhythm – it sounds like it would happily sit on a Flying Burrito Brothers record.

As we move into the sunset of this glorious debut, we are given another taste of her musical gifts in the shape of “Sinful Wishing Well’. With a smattering of minimal percussion and piano, Rose croons “Though I don’t know when I’ll hit the bottom/ I’ve been falling for so long that I can’t tell/ I know that you’ll never hear me calling/ From the bottom of my sinful wishing well”. Yet Caitlin never ever pleads for sympathy or affects whimsy. She simply pours out her soul, pure and unadulterated.

Own Side Now makes it clear that Caitlin Rose’s diverse talent is the real thing – with every song, she seems to be singlehandedly breathing new life into a long tradition of American music. Her modern take on universal themes such as love and relationships provide the listener with a unique insight into a world where she seems wise beyond her years. She reveals her vulnerability with a voice that’s so powerful yet gentle that listeners will be charmed and rewarded more with each listen.

Caitlin Rose — 2011 Tour Dates
8/20 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge^
8/21 – Philadelphia @ Philly Folk Festival
9/24 – Nashville, TN @ NBN/Soundland Festival
9/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Music Box*
10/5 – Portland, OR @ Aladdin Theatre*
10/6 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory*
10/7 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox*
10/8 – Vancouver, BC @ Rio Theatre*
10/27 – Minneapolis @ Varsity Theatre &
10/28 – Milwaukee @ Shank Hall &
10/29 – Chicago @ Lincoln Hall &
10/30 – Arbor, MI @ The Ark &
11/1 – Albany, NY @ Valentine’s &
11/2-Northampton,MA@ Iron Horse Music Hall &
11/3 – Boston @ Paradise Rock Club &
11/4 – Brooklyn @ Music Hall Williamsburg &
11/5 – Wilmington, DE @ World Café Live&
11/7 – Alexandria, VA @ Birchmere &
11/8 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle &
11/9 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle &
11/10-Maryville,TN @ Shed@ Smoky Mountain&
11/11 – Birmingham, AL @ Bottletree &
11/12 – New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks &
^ – with Luke Rathborne
* with Justin Townes Earle & Jason Isbell
& with Hayes Carll

Primus

atony — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:59:07 +0000

Download press photos.
Download Green Naugahyde cover art

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Primus are a band who need no introduction. For the past 27 years the group have followed in the footsteps of boundary-pushing artists like Frank Zappa and Pink Floyd to create some if the most original and inventive music in existence – and they’ve collaborated with everyone from Tom Waits to Tom Morello over the years in the process. However nothing could properly prepare listeners for Green Naughahyde, which is the bands first album in eleven years featuring the line-up of bassist/singer Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane.

Sonically Green Naugahyde expands on the Primus incomparable sound and also sees them bringing it into the next millennium. Green Naugahyde is a cerebral and complex album that, like all of the bands output, is teeming with the band’s signature blend of whimsy and underlying darkness.

Above all Green Naugahyde is a Primus record with all of the magic and mystery that phrase entails – and while no one can say for sure what the future will hold in store for the band, the most important this is that the album exists and will inevitably hold it’s own in the band’s impressive cannon of music.

“Even back in the old days people would ask me ‘How long is Primus going to go on?’ and I would always say ‘It’s going to go on until it’s not fun anymore’ and at the end of the day it just wasn’t fun anymore so we stopped.“ Claypool explains. “I think giving it this much time to sit & ferment or whatever the hell you want to call it has made it fun again. We’re still doing our own thing and we’ve got to own it

Umphrey’s McGee

atony — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:11:52 +0000

Download press release.

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Already regarded as one of today’s most progressive and innovative acts, Umphrey’s McGee released their ATO-debut Death By Stereo this Fall, an album that cements their status as one of rock’s most audacious forces in the studio.

Death By Stereo is a lethal musical gumbo stewed by the Chicago-based bands seemingly telepathic six members, who Entertainment Weekly calls “Consummate musical alchemists, deftly reconfiguring sounds from rock’s vast panoply of styles.”

Death By Stereo finds the groups’ feet firmly entrenched in hard-hitting rock while still exploring radical new territories: Sticky Fingers-era Rolling Stones romp on Wellwishers, Black Keys-style blues on Domino Theory, and horns-infused 70s funk on Booth Love. Conduit delivers the type of dual-guitar fireworks that Umphrey’s has become known for and Miami Virtue is an upbeat, kaleidoscopic blend of Phoenix and Pink Floyd.

Mariachi El Bronx

atony — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:06:54 +0000

Download biography.
Download press photo.
Download MEB (II) cover art.

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“Going acoustic and dressing in black charro outfits is probably the punkest move they could have taken; El Bronx negotiate in exactly the same way as The Bronx – they don’t. They fear nothing, explore everything and create from the rawest of emotion, making imperfections the very best bits.”—NME

Punk rock. Mariachi. Two great tastes that go great together – er, right? Well, anyway, the two joined regardless one fateful August day in 2006, when The Bronx showed up to play on a television show. At the time, the Los Angeles-based punks were infamous for scabrous rifferama that suggested a return to L.A.’s golden age of hardcore (it’s not coincidence that the band portrayed Black Flag in the Darby Crash biopic What We Do Is Secret, or went on their first tour with the Circle Jerks). The show requested the band play an acoustic version of “Dirty Leaves” off the band’s second, self-titled album – a request that didn’t sit well. “Going ‘unplugged’ was a ‘90s fad that I had a knee-jerk reaction to dislike,” notes guitarist Joby J. Ford. “We wanted to do something a little bit different.” Indeed, The Bronx took it one irreverent step further, donning uncharacteristic sombreros and arranging the song as a mariachi lament. “We never wanted The Bronx to be a soft, quiet band,” says frontman Matt Caughthran, “but this freed up a whole new realm. Sometimes you don’t realize the barriers around yourself until you step outside them. It was a big moment in our career, breathing new life into the band.”

And thus Mariachi El Bronx was born. Between tour stops, Caughthran, Ford and their bandmates – Jorma Vik (drums) Brad Magers (trumpet), Ken Horne (jarana/guitar), and Vincent Hidalgo (guitarrón) – relentlessly studied instructional videos on YouTube to master the various mariachi styles: norteno, jorocho, juasteka, bolero, and corridos. “Mariachi has rules,” Caughthran explains. “We learned everything we could out of respect, especially as we’re a bunch of white guys – well, except for Ken, who’s Japanese.” (Mariachi El Bronx would eventually come to include Ray Suen on violin, as well as satellite members Alfredo Ortiz – known for his percussion styles with the likes of Beastie Boys and Money Mark – and acclaimed guitarrón player Karla Tovar.) The sonic merger of the two cultures wasn’t so surprising considering the band’s evolution out of California’s ethnic melting pot. Caughthran grew up in Pico Riviera, on the outskirts of East L.A., where he was definitely in the gringo minority. “I know people are like, ‘Where the fuck does this come from?’, but growing up in Mexican neighborhoods, it feels automatic,” says Caughthran. “My two favorite bands were always Black Flag and Los Lobos, so it all makes sense. Black Flag was all about aggression, no rules, no dress code, while Los Lobos opened me up to Neil Young, the Carpenters, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth. Through them, I discovered a rebellious spirit in many genres.” Caughthran was actually junior high schoolmates with Vincent Hidalgo, whose father David is a key member of both Los Lobos and the Latin Playboys. Vincent would eventually join Mariachi El Bronx in 2007, while el padre Hidalgo played accordion on “My Love” off of Mariachi El Bronx’s eponymous 2009 debut album. “For David to like something we did musically – it was our vindication,” Caughthran says.

Los Lobos’ nonconformist streak also proved inspiring. “We’ve definitely got our share of flack, but punk to me was not about playing fast and having a chain wallet,” Ford says. “It’s a way of life, not a sound.” As such, while Mariachi El Bronx’s culture clash initially seems exotic, in fact it follows in a grand punk tradition: The Pogues, for example, merged the traditional music of their Irish backgrounds with punk abandon, The Clash famously mixed raw garage guitars with Brixton reggae riddims, and Manu Chao continues to blend raw street anthems with Latin, folk, and African grooves. More currently, Mariachi El Bronx found kinship with the Gypsy punk of Gogol Bordello, with whom they toured Europe in 2010. “I would never have known there was a ‘world music’ category,” Caughthran claims. “I wasn’t thinking that big!” Hugeness ensued anyway: soon after the acclaimed release of the first Mariachi El Bronx album in 2009 – highlighted by the first single, “Cell Mates” – the band found itself moving from sweaty punk dives to playing Coachella and Glastonbury, and booking dates with the likes of The Flaming Lips, Foo Fighters (with whom MEB tours this fall) and The Killers (with whom they collaborated on a charity Christmas single, “Happy Birthday Guadalupe”). “We’re doing some weird-ass shows,” Caughthran laughs. “The experiment of El Bronx was a disguise to get us into parties where we didn’t belong, places we didn’t expect to go – and it worked!”

Mariachi El Bronx has always defied expectations: they were first revealed to the public via an unexpectedly stirring cover of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U,” recorded for a SPIN tribute 25^th anniversary of Purple Rain (find it on YouTube; it’s awesome, trust.). Likewise, the band’s latest album, Mariachi El Bronx (II), finds them exploring new ground – from collaborating with Grammy-nominated Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles (the first all-female mariachi group in the U.S.) to an even greater emphasis on storytelling craft and emotion in the lyrics. “It still has the naïveté and blind excitement of the first record, but it’s more vulnerable,” Caughthran says. As such, songs like “48 Roses” paint picaresque portraits of men doomed with an insatiable appetite for love, while “Revolution Girls” details a border romance gone awkwardly astray. “A lot of people have gone down to Tijuana, fucked up and done something stupid – I certainly have,” Caughthran admits. “There’s a lot of regret and loneliness here. A lot of The Bronx stuff is in code, but in the tradition of the mariachi, El Bronx has become an outlet for songs about love, heartbreak, growing up and being a man.”

“People were surprised that our embrace of mariachi wasn’t a joke,” Ford says. “Instead, being able to bounce back and forth between two musical styles we love and respect has proven the key to our longevity.” In fact, Mariachi El Bronx (II) finds The Bronx on the verge of celebrating their tenth anniversary – a landmark that most likely will lead to some unexpected path yet again. “If you had told me when we started this that I’d find be playing mariachi ten years later, I’d tell you to go fuck yourself,” says Caughthran. “The greatest thing about our band, and the most torturous, is that it’s unpredictable for us too! We don’t know where the chaos will take us, but that’s a good thing – it’s always exciting. Honesty, heart and the will to do things no one else is doing remain the driving force: I’m not saying we’re the best band on the planet, but we’re pretty fuckin’ good. When we put the charro suits on, we feel invincible.”