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With ragged, furious distorted guitars at one end of the spectrum and the pure, luminescent tones of the Theremin at the other, the members of The Octopus Project mine a staggering variety of sounds in between (via strings, synthesizers, drums, glockenspiel, trombones, etc.), filling their songs with brilliant contrasting colors and cascading waves of sonic bliss. Although Josh Lambert, Yvonne Lambert and Toto Miranda each have their instrumental specialties, they spread ideas out on as many instruments as possible, each writing for and performing on any sound-maker they can find. And if the instruments themselves weren't enough, many sounds on the record were manipulated by the band to push them even further - inhuman drum breaks three layers deep piled over the original live drum track, a heavenly four-Theremin choir from a Wizard of Oz soundtrack that never existed, guitar parts mulched into bits and reassembled into a tiny Prince army.

While the band's previous records were mainly self-produced, this time The Octopus Project wanted to achieve the perfect blend between high-end studio trickery and lo-fi home experimentation. Partially tracked to tape and partially to Pro Tools, Hello Avalanche was recorded and co-produced by Ryan Hadlock (Blonde Redhead, The Gossip) at rural Bear Creek Studio outside Seattle in February, 2007, and mixed in Austin by Erik Wofford (Voxtrot, Explosions In The Sky). Many sounds were taken from the band's original demos-- sequenced beats, edited loops, practice space recordings etc. Parts of "Upmann" were recorded on a friend's front porch (listeners will note the sounds of passing cars). As Yvonne has continued to gain notoriety for her expert Theremin skills, the band has developed its multi-tracked Theremin concept to its fullest extent-- something the group first tried on last year's collaborative album with Pittsburgh's Black Moth Super Rainbow, The House of Apples and Eyeballs. These experiments yielded amazing results that can be heard on the album track "I Saw The Bright Shinies."

In several years of nearly non-stop touring with an infectious live show that often incorporates lights, projections, balloons and band members that simply can't stay in one place, The Octopus Project has developed an immense and loyal grassroots following, as evidenced by the band's 30,000+ MySpace friends. Anyone wondering about the band's work ethic need only glance at The Octopus Project's Summer/Fall '07 tour schedule. After headlining Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool Party in July, the band will kick-off three solid months of touring in August-- first supporting Stereo Total, then Aesop Rock, followed by six weeks on their own headlining tour after the album's release. This round of touring also marks the inauguration of guitarist Ryan Figg-- an addition certain to push the band's live sound to the proverbial Next Level.

30-second MP3 excerpts:

Snow Tip Cap Mountain
Truck
Bees Bein' Strugglin'
An Evening With Rthrtha
Black Blizzard/Red Umbrella
Upmann
Mmaj
I Saw The Bright Shinies
Ghost Moves
Vanishing Lessons
Exploding Snowhorse
Loud Murmuring
Queen

If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the link immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to that album's iTunes page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks:

go to iTunes to browse downloads for Octopus Project "Hello, Avalanche"

If you have a subscription account at emusic.com, you can download tracks for purchase here.

This title is also available for download at AmazonMP3.

For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music Service and emusic, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

With ragged, furious distorted guitars at one end of the spectrum and the pure, luminescent tones of the Theremin at the other, the members of The Octopus Project mine a staggering variety of sounds in between (via strings, synthesizers, drums, glockenspiel, trombones, etc.), filling their songs with brilliant contrasting colors and cascading waves of sonic bliss. Although Josh Lambert, Yvonne Lambert and Toto Miranda each have their instrumental specialties, they spread ideas out on as many instruments as possible, each writing for and performing on any sound-maker they can find. And if the instruments themselves weren't enough, many sounds on the record were manipulated by the band to push them even further - inhuman drum breaks three layers deep piled over the original live drum track, a heavenly four-Theremin choir from a Wizard of Oz soundtrack that never existed, guitar parts mulched into bits and reassembled into a tiny Prince army.

While the band's previous records were mainly self-produced, this time The Octopus Project wanted to achieve the perfect blend between high-end studio trickery and lo-fi home experimentation. Partially tracked to tape and partially to Pro Tools, Hello Avalanche was recorded and co-produced by Ryan Hadlock (Blonde Redhead, The Gossip) at rural Bear Creek Studio outside Seattle in February, 2007, and mixed in Austin by Erik Wofford (Voxtrot, Explosions In The Sky). Many sounds were taken from the band's original demos-- sequenced beats, edited loops, practice space recordings etc. Parts of "Upmann" were recorded on a friend's front porch (listeners will note the sounds of passing cars). As Yvonne has continued to gain notoriety for her expert Theremin skills, the band has developed its multi-tracked Theremin concept to its fullest extent-- something the group first tried on last year's collaborative album with Pittsburgh's Black Moth Super Rainbow, The House of Apples and Eyeballs. These experiments yielded amazing results that can be heard on the album track "I Saw The Bright Shinies."

In several years of nearly non-stop touring with an infectious live show that often incorporates lights, projections, balloons and band members that simply can't stay in one place, The Octopus Project has developed an immense and loyal grassroots following, as evidenced by the band's 30,000+ MySpace friends. Anyone wondering about the band's work ethic need only glance at The Octopus Project's Summer/Fall '07 tour schedule. After headlining Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool Party in July, the band will kick-off three solid months of touring in August-- first supporting Stereo Total, then Aesop Rock, followed by six weeks on their own headlining tour after the album's release. This round of touring also marks the inauguration of guitarist Ryan Figg-- an addition certain to push the band's live sound to the proverbial Next Level.

30-second MP3 excerpts:

Snow Tip Cap Mountain
Truck
Bees Bein' Strugglin'
An Evening With Rthrtha
Black Blizzard/Red Umbrella
Upmann
Mmaj
I Saw The Bright Shinies
Ghost Moves
Vanishing Lessons
Exploding Snowhorse
Loud Murmuring
Queen

If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the link immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to that album's iTunes page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks:

go to iTunes to browse downloads for Octopus Project "Hello, Avalanche"

If you have a subscription account at emusic.com, you can download tracks for purchase here.

This title is also available for download at AmazonMP3.

For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music Service and emusic, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

"If I had my way, I'd demolish every building of rock polished to shine so bright, like headlights in the day time...." begins "Oxford," the album-opener. This semi-nihilistic line leads into a concise, two-minute pop song that climaxes almost as soon as it begins. Less a mission statement than a starting point for intellectual exploration, the tune is followed by the meandering introspection of "Bells" and the fist-pumping rejection of pastoral pining, "In the City."

Elsewhere, the boozy frustration of "Sliding Doors" gives way to hopeful resolution while "Workers, Wake Up!" imbues such self-affirmation with double-meaning all chanted over pulsing Krautrock fanfare. "1949" is a thinly veiled nod to Thomas Pynchon set to a bouncy Rhodes melody, and "Moxy Blues" is a noisy pop jam that could make even Eno and Ferry jealous.

Peel's youthful enthusiasm often handicaps their pursuit of the perfect three-minute pop song. Like a kid afflicted with ADD, the band can't write a beautiful song without resisting the temptation to destroy it with unhinged noise. This tension makes the album so compelling; it grabs you upon first listen and never lets go.

30-second MP3 excerpts:

Oxford
Bells
In The City
Sliding Doors
Workers, Wake Up!
1949
Moxy Blues
Love Soaked In Blood
Someone's Cousin
Tejax
Navy Waves

If you have a recent version of iTunes software on your computer, clicking on the link immediately below should open the iTunes application and take you to that album's iTunes page-- where you can listen to samples and buy this album, or individual tracks:

go to iTunes to browse downloads for Peel s/t (Peek-A-Boo)

For a complete listing of Midheaven exclusive albums available for download from the iTunes Music service and emusic.com, please visit the Midheaven Mailorder/Revolver USA Downloadables page.

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