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Water School
Break up with
Water School
Tracklisting:
Talkin' 'Bout Us
Forgive Me, Robert
The Home We Never Had
Southern Belle
Firefly
Sometimes What You Don't Know
(Darling) You Won't
Have To
Blooms In Disguise
Rosita
No Cause For Celebration
Andy
All God's Children
To All Those Girls
Water School Break Up With Water School
Neon Tetra
Water School are a band from Baltimore who sound a lot like a band from Scotland trying to sound like a band from America. The jangly indie-pop, harmonies and alt-country tones put you in mind of Teenage Fanclub but maybe it’s down to influences: in the course of ‘Break Up With Water School’, you can hear traces of Big Star, Gram Parsons, The Jayhawks and The Shins, among others. ‘Andy’ is a Shins-like melancholy tale sung and played with real warmth, ‘Southern Belle’ is pretty and elegiac, and the best track, ‘All God’s Children’, is a rousing singalong powerpoppy number with catchy guitar riffs. In short, it’s a retro rock album with occasional downsides (‘No Cause For Celebration’ is lethargic country and the cover was drawn by someone with hooks for hands) but a surprising amount of charm.
Ged M - Soundsexp
There's a lot to like on the debut full-length from Baltimore's Water School. The group's sunny-but-melancholy country-rock sound comes fully-formed, with each song featuring distinct melodies, pleasant harmonies and crisp production. The Beachwood Sparks would be a good reference point, but whereas the Sparks were more willing to indulge their Fifth Dimension-era Byrds influences with some swirling psychedelia, Water School sticks with Sweetheart of the Rodeo as the main influence. Singers Chris Myers and Mike Gittings split vocal duties and balance each other well. Myers has a warmer, more traditional voice, while Gittings' is a little rougher around the edges, almost recalling Paul Westerberg at times. When the two trade off parts, such as in "All God's Children", it's especially effective, adding a welcome element to the standard dual guitar/bass/drums setup. There's hardly anything groundbreaking about this record, and the members of the band would probably be the first to tell you that. But it's refreshing to find a band so early in its career that is so comfortable with its sound and has such honed songwriting chops.
David Malitz - Popmatters.com
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Water School - Break up with Water School
Release date: Out Now!
Listen to, download or buy Break up with Water School here
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All God's children
Forgive Me, Robert
Sometimes What You Don't Know
To All Those Girls
"Water School’s sublime debut"
Americana UK. Nic Fildes - Rating: 9/10
WATER SCHOOL - Break up with ... (Neon Tetra; 2006)
When it comes to the Americans and the British throwing each other’s influences back and forth, the debut album of this Baltimore bunch seems like a great example of the so called ping-pong effect, being chock full of that genuine “Glaswegians-scratching-around-the-American-legacy” charm. Apropriately enough, the album is being released on the Scottish Neon Tetra label, and while they’ll keep reminding you of their origin through an authentically country-ish native “Gram-mar” (“Firefly”, “(Darling) You won’t have to” or “No cause for celebration”) , as soon as you hear “Southern Belle”, “The home we never had” or “All God’s children” you’ll be sure to secure your own “fanclub” card, as soon as the ‘School’s out, being a teenager or not. With most of the tracks sharing the same distinctive touch of innosence, along with the hardly resistable catchiness, this is most likely to appeal to fan(club)s of Francis McDonald (either as Nice Man, Cheeky Monkey, or BMX Bandit), best evidenced through the opening pair of “Talkin’ ‘bout us” and “Forgive me Robert”, as well as later with “Sometimes what you don’t know” and “Rosita”. “Andy” sounds as a kind of a tribute to the similiarly stripped-down, almost lo-fi approach of Velvet Underground, while the only one with what might’ve been considered for a bit moodier, offbeat touch to it, being one of the album highlights as well, is “Blooms in disguise”.
Giving the best possible definition of the sound you’re about to “learn” in Water School, here’s a couple of opening lines from “The home we never had” : “We went roller coasting down through New Orleans, and over the Highlands, back through the swamp lands, and home to Long Island” kind of describing the band’s own musical roller coaster ride.
Goran Obradovic / POPISM radio show; Serbia
www.popism-music.com
Tidy country-tinged rock spilling over with doo-wop vocals and big handclaps. Comparisons range from Gram parsons to the Kinks. Hugely Enjoyable **** Daily Record Saturday magazine.
This is full of catchy tunes, summery pop and pleasant vocals. The quartet's influences are apparent - Neil Young and The Shins -they've drawn comparisons to Gram Parsons. There's a lovely country twang to the album but it's mixed with a modern indie feel similar to that of Belle and Sebastian. Avril Cadden, Sunday Mail.
The beauty of this album isn’t about whether you’ll be humming the tunes later to yourself, for most melodies and idea’s are pinched from elsewhere, but it’s the way it’s all drawn together with a rough hewn charm that wins you over in an instant. Featuring the wonky harmonies of Gram Parsons, the jangling guitar of the Replacements and the soul of ‘Girlfriend’-era Matthew Sweet, a joyous album from start to finish. Jeremy Chick - subbaculcha
You know exactly what you're dealing with as soon as the guitars chime into action on Break Up With Water School's first song, Talkin' 'Bout Us. There's jangle aplenty, bittersweet vocals and enough lo-fi country-tinged charm to keep fans of Weezer, Big Star, Evan Dando and Wilco entertained for hours on end. It's a neat album too - well-crafted and produced without sounding clinical - and the songs are consistent and have a sense of coherency so often lacking in this genre. If only the Baltimore quartet could churn out few more like All God's Children or Southern Belle, they'd really be in business.
ANDY WELCH
"It's impossible not to
love this album!"
Instrumentation
Chris Myers - guitar, vocals
Mike Gittings - guitar, vocals
Eric Hopkins - bass
Adam Cooke - drums
Biography
Welcome to Water School. When was the last time a band touched you like this? Their songs will get stuck in your head and win over your heart. They meld influences as diverse as Television and Gram Parsons into a sound reminiscent of the likes of Neil Young, the Kinks, and Harry Nilsson. Water School are a four-piece band from Baltimore.
Water School came together as a band in the fall of 2003. Chris and Mike realized they each had a special batch of songs that reflected their musical maturity as well as their introspective states of mind. Their performances, including spots opening for Sebadoh, the Fiery Furnaces, Blonde Redhead and Jimmy Eat World have made even the most skeptical audiences whoop and shout. They fit together like a zany puzzle whose completion is just the beginning of its wonderment. They've also completed a very successful full-scale US tour.
PRESS REVIEWS FOR WATERSCHOOL
Forget the drought – dive into Water School’s sublime debut
Watch out - Baltimore’s Water School will charm the pants off you with its fantastic debut. Right from the opening riff, you will be smiling and tapping along. By listen three, you can’t help but sing along. It’s rare to hear a band so confident and well versed only three years after forming, but the ‘country-tinged retro-rock’ they bring to the table sounds as mature as any Jayhawks release of recent years. The tunes veer between catchy pop throwaways laced with humour (‘Forgive Me Robert’) akin to They Might Be Giants, quirky indie pop (‘The Home We Never Had’) playing in the same ballpark as Pavement and good old-fashioned alt-country (‘Southern Belle’) obviously influenced by Big Star. The album hardly lets up for a second with the joint-vocalists Mike Gittings and Chris Myers taking turns to take the lead, adding variety. Everything hits the mark, buoyed by marvellous 60’s-style harmonies throughout.
‘Talkin’ ‘Bout Us’ sounds like the sunny pop that Chris Difford has excelled at for years and immediately demands attention. The infectious sing-along style reasserts itself throughout the record with ‘The Home We Never Had,’ and ‘Sometimes What You Don’t Know’ rattling around your head for days. Water School also excel at fast-paced jaunty pop nuggets, none more so than ‘Firefly,’ while ‘(Darling) You Won’t Have To’ and the superlative ‘No Cause For Celebration’ add a country spice to the release. Another stand-out song is ‘All God’s Children’ which contains some witty lyrics like “Hold onto your cash machines, we’ve got to keep all god’s children seeing green.’ ‘To All Those Girls’ closes the album and should appeal to those fans of The Broken Family Band’s softer side.
This is an excellent debut from a band well worth keeping an eye out for. Fans of indie, alt-country or even just straight-out pop should find succour here. There’s a drought in London – enrol in the Water School and dive in!. Americana UK. Nic Fildes Rating: 9/10
MAVERICK Magazine.
This Baltimore quartet has an obvious fixation with the late great Gram Parsons. And in the tradition of the great man, Water School infuses their basic roots foundation with the finest that rock and pop can offer. Often referencing back to classic rock artists who have taken the similar narrow route e.g. Neil Young and the Kinks. From the straight-forward "Southern Belle" to the rousing "All God's Children," Water School displays all the right attitudes and approaches that will appeal to alt-country devotees.
Kevin Matthews - Fufkin.com
On a track-for-track basis, it's hard to beat the jangly, strummy songs that appear on Break Up With Water School. The band I am most reminded of is the Hippycrickets … but I also hear early REM, Javelin Boot and Shambles influences in Water School's songs. "All God's Children" even features some power pop crispness that is reminiscent of Teenage Fanclub. If you're in the mood for simple, pleasing, melodic and strummy tunes, look no further than "Talkin' Bout Us," "The Home We Never Had," "Andy" and "Southern Belle."
Eric Sorenson
Retro rock with a country tinge has found a comfortable home in the work of Water School. Hailing from Maryland, yet carrying the torch of a distinctly Southern flavor, these indie startups provide a promising take on upbeat indie rock with a distinct garage feel, drawing comparisons to Gram Parsons and The Kinks.
The group’s dual vocalists and their high-pitched yelps lack the potency for work of a longer range, but feel right at home among the album’s catchy guitar riffs, doo-wop background hooks, and well-placed handclaps.
Break Up with Water School’s catchy tunes go down easily as part of a summery album that’s too good to pass up. Mixing hook after hook with energetic vocals, Water School’s alt-country act keeps the listener entertained throughout. The album’s title provides a clear hint as to the lyrical content: frontmen Mike Gittings and Chris Myers belt out songs with a kind of disaffected charm that cannot easily be imitated. On slower outings like Southern Belle, the group fails to distinguish itself, but jumps right back into the mix of things with rousing choruses and endearing wails. Rafael Garcia
Water School has delivered one gorgeous album that brings together the sad bubblegum tendencies of Big Star, the countrified elements of the Jayhawks and molds them into something fresh and exciting. But guitarists/vocalist Chris Meyers and Mike Gittings have voices perhaps more suited to punk rock - odd and imperfect with an earnestness that propels tracks such as Talkin’ ‘Bout Us and The Home We Never Had above and beyond what you might expect from an average pop song.
What’s refreshing to hear in this release is that it’s possible to write heartbreaking songs with humor, empathy and warmth, such as the Baltimore-based band displays on No Cause For Celebration and Forgive Me, Robert. It’s impossible not to love this album - especially the sing-along tune All God’s Children and Southern Belle, a kind of rewrite of Chris Bell’s I Am The Cosmos or maybe Big Star’s Ballad of El Goodo - or the band that made it. Enroll today. Jedd Beaudoin
Break Up With Water School opens with "Talkin' 'Bout Us" this opener is pretty typical of what we find on the rest of the CD. It's a clean rock sound that's honest, upbeat, a little raw and a lot of fun. The 'shoobie-doo-wahs' of "Forgive Me Robert" mixed with the clean guitar rhythms got me thinking about the early Beatles, a comparison that held up pretty well for the rest of the CD. Songs like "The Home We Never Had", "Rosita", "Andy", and "Blooms In Disguise" stay pretty close to that center line where the music has the energy of The Clash and the lyrical bent toward the Beatles of a more innocent day. Lots of relational stuff here in one form or another. "Southern Belle" tended to be a bit slower and took on a distinctly rockabilly and/or country sound, as did "Firefly", "(Darling) You Won't Have To" and "No Cause For Celebration".
The CD closes with "To All Those Girls", a soft ballad. I try not to look at other peoples' reviews before I write my own. But I happened to see a reference to Neil Young. This track pretty much nails that on the head.
Technically, it's a decent CD. Good mixes. Good sound. Artistically, Water School sounds like those garage bands you always wanted to be in as a teenager. Now.. that's not meant at all to be an insult. Simply that this CD isn't slick, flashy and flawless. It is straightforward, honest and very enjoyable rock/pop music. It's the rough edges that make this so enjoyable and I wouldn't change a thing.
genre: Rock
reviewed by: Chris Lonsberry
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If you have an enquiry regarding Water School, email us at:
info@neontetrarecords.co.uk |
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Site © NeonTetra Records Ltd 2005
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