Press

There is a short review and photo from a recent show in the latest entry of the Degenerate Press. We are very flattered to be likened to Tom Waits & Wall of Voodoo. You can check it out here!

Brodie Stove would like to thank the readers of Stomp and Stammer for voting them on of the Best New Local Acts of 2005!

By adding a saxophone to traditional acoustic instruments like the bandoneon and banjo, Brodie Stove have come into a sound all their own. At times you may think their music is leaning towards the way of a jam band but completely not the case here. Each song is intricately pieced together allowing these Atlanta boys to highlight their amazing talents and strong songwriting. Taking their name from a 16th Century stove, the music is "old-timey" at its heart but modern in its shell. Brodie Stove is a band to look out for and you'll be hearing from again.

While I appreciate the style of music you make and the unique quality of your vocals, there are just no songs here. By no means is this music mainstream, and that is certainly not a bad thing, but if you expect a record deal at any point in the future you need songs that draw the listener in and keep them singing the chorus for days. Your non-traditional instrumentation and some parts of your vocal delivery (you have the right idea, you just need to find your voice and do what is natural to YOU) are your calling card, and that could add up to a hit sound, but you need better songs if you expect to showcase for the majors, much less flirt with the idea of a record deal.

Banjos and musical saws toss and tussle with saxes 'n' theremins in the burnt orange landscapes painted by Brodie Stove. On their new CD Midshipmen, the Atlanta-based quintet's arty, faux-rustic dirges come off like Sixteen Horsepower beaten about the head and neck by Gallon Drunk. Overly thought-out and theatrical, but you can't help but be impressed by their ambition.

Spotlight on: Brodie Stove BY CHAD RADFORD

"Three Rivers," the opening number on Brodie Stove's debut, Midshipmen (Venerable Music), flows with enough murk and mire to hold even the most colossal of seafaring vessels motionless in death's grip. The lingering theremin moan that sparks a supernatural sprinkling of staccato banjo-picking and horn blasts gives rise to a sound that's out of both time and place. Throughout the recording, a hodgepodge of timeless instrumentation touches modern electronics, as keyboards clash with bandoneon, and triangles and chains chime out over an electric guitar. The antique qualities of the music glow with an ominous and rural presence, like forgotten artifacts from infant America that warn of fire and brimstone.
The haunting tones vacillating throughout the disc stir just as much genuine mortal fear as they do kitschy and off-kilter doom and gloom. The results ebb and flow with a wash of plaintive melancholy over all the clunky and modern marvels of The Wild Wild West. "Name Song" evokes the B-52's classic "52 Girls," with a twang. Vocalist Thom Heckel runs through a roll call of pioneer fella' and babe names before erupting into an all out hoedown. "Work For You" explodes with the skronk and jazz rock creep of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. "Drift" takes shape with the boom and chang of a dismal death march. Finally, "Bury Me" closes the disc with a soft and soaring rocker that drifts over Native American chanting, administering some otherworldly last rights before vanishing into the blackened waters from whence the music came. Brodie Stove plays the Earl Fri., March 4, 9:30 p.m. $5 (admission includes a copy of the CD). Published in Creative Loafing - Atlanta 2/23/05.

If you are a member of the press and would like more information, a review copy of the CD "Midshipmen", or print ready photos, give me a shout - malcolm@venerablemusic.com.