Kansas City foursome the ARCHITECTS have designed a scorching, vitriolic rock & roll album steeped in the art of getting even. The acclaimed group that Alternative Press hailed as "powerful Midwestern rock n' soul the way it was meant to be played" (5/05) will unveil their new offering REVENGE February 21 on Anodyne Records. The ARCHITECTS--who've built a reputation for fiery live performances--will perform a slew of hometown shows and a special Los Angeles appearance on January 16 at the Viper Room, with a full winter tour to be announced soon.
On REVENGE, the ARCHITECTS have drafted a boozy, bluesy and--above all else--heartfelt album, where punk fury and whiskey-drunk prowess meet and exchange dirty looks. Cops, politicians, ex-lovers and even dewey-eyed, nostalgic Gadjits [the founding members' former band] fans all get thirty lashes on REVENGE, the follow-up to the group's critically commended 2004 debut Keys To The Building (Anodyne Records). Timothy Finn stated in his review for the Kansas City Star:
"The band's first transformation (from Heartland Rancid protégés to rock-and-soul heavyweights) was one of the more remarkable changes in our modest local music scene in the last five years. Blending the sounds of everyone from the Jam and the early Who to AC/DC, the Sonics and Faces, the band became a favorite of critics…Like old times, praise for the band and its record [Keys To the Building] has been widespread and lavish for its fire, brawn and soul and for its diversity… (12/02/04)"
"For Revenge, the goal was to make a record that would capture the live sound of our band," says frontman BRANDON PHILLIPS. "For ten years, in this band and The Gadjits our first band, the struggle was always to make a record as good as the live show." The group--with the assistance of producer John Seymour--pushed itself to make a record more consistent with the grit and guts of their live performances. Recorded in just four days, the songs are urgent and compelling. From raw and contagious opener "Reciprocity," to the earnest Midwestern punk of "Widows Walk"--which recalls the magic of both Soul Asylum's Hang Time and the Replacements' Tim--to the hard snarling, cop-baiting croak of "Badge" and the socio-political "Don't Call It a Ghetto," REVENGE is a restoration of faith.
For BRANDON (lead vocals, guitars) and his younger brothers ZACH (bass) and ADAM (drums), who all did time as the aforementioned Gadjits before conspiring with lead guitarist MIKE ALEXANDER (ex The Breakups and the Revolvers), the overwhelming notion throughout REVENGE is that ‘loud and fast' rules. And Revenge BRANDON confesses, "just may be one of my favorite perspectives to write from. People who are jilted because they were passive or took any other route than the confrontational one--that angry, ‘walking along the railroad tracks kicking rocks' headspace."
Stay tuned for more winter touring news and check out: http://www.myspace.com/architectskcmo, http://www.purevolume.com/architects and http://www.anodynerecords.com for music and more information.
DATE CITY VENUE
Fri 11/25 Kansas City, MO The Brick
Sat 12/3 Kansas City, MO Record Bar
Sat 12/31 Kansas City, MO Hurricane
Thu 1/12 El Paso, TX Lucky Devils
Fri 1/13 Tucson, AZ Surly Wench
Sun 1/15 Pomona, CA TBA
Mon 1/16 Los Angeles, CA Viper Room |
