New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Green Light Go) There may simply not be enough synonyms in Roget's Thesaurus to fully describe the beguiling charm, the harmonic exquisiteness and the lyrical depth of The Belle Sounds' sound.
One could start by looking under the musical umbrella of
Fleetwood Mac or The Weepies. That just might get you close. Or, better yet, head over to The
Shins (as one Austin music critic related them to) or in the direction of the young Brooklyn band, The
Spring Standards. But the fact, is, the Belle
Sounds are always at their best when they sound most like The Belle Sounds.
Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/thebellesounds
Texas music icon Jon Dee Graham and his son
William Harries Graham, who is following his father's musical path, testified to both the band's originality and its generational crossover appeal when they told The Belle Sounds, "No one is doing what you are doing". The Austin Chronicle's Michael Corcoran says, "The Belle
Sounds are their own thing". The Belle
Sounds are unique, fresh and original, and simply need to be heard.
Noëlle Hampton (guitar/keys/vocals), André Moran (electric guitar), Emily Shirley (keys/guitar/synth/vocals) and Kris
Nelson (bass/vocals), along with various talented drummers currently fill out the line up for this melodic, unique and evolving sound.
MUSICAL JOURNEY: Noëlle and André met 17 years ago in San Francisco and fell immediately in love. Hampton's early career was a whirlwind of propulsion and media attention, and with André by her side on electric guitar, they opened for a number of major touring acts (Bob Dylan, Wilco,
Chris Isaak etc), saw their songs placed in film and TV, and Noëlle appeared in the first iTunes commercial alongside such celebrated songwriters as Iggy Pop, Aimee Mann,
Jeff Tweedy and Michael Penn.
A move to Austin, TX immersed the musical couple in Americana, but before long Hampton began to miss her indie/rock/pop roots. As her writing began to shift back to that more instinctive ground, they decided to create a new project to highlight this direction. The Belle
Sounds made their first appearance in 2013.
BLACK STONE EP: On the heels of The Belle
Sounds April 2013 eponymous debut release, recorded in East Nashville at Mr. Lemons Studio and produced by Neilson Hubbard, Hampton felt an even bigger shift in her songwriting and wanted to create a snapshot of the band in it's current form, so they headed back up to record an EP with Hubbard, taking Kris and Emily with them.
Hampton explains, "It was a no brainer; Neilson is such a creative force, and works so quickly and efficiently, all the while making the experience a blast. He has amazing ears and comes up with some really cool out of the box ideas. We work really well as a team and speak the same language."
The songs on
Black Stone take the listener on a beautiful journey of wonder, mystery, trepidation and reflection, from California's Mt. Tamalpais to Greek isles, from ghosts to golden boys, with a spooky homage of sorts to HBO's Dexter. In "
The Siren", the band explores a collective and calming counterpoint to the chalkboard screeching noise of technology and the general overstimulation that seems to engulf us all these days, inspired by Ray Bradbury's 1953 classic Fahrenheit 451. One can't help but be swept away by "Ghost of Mykonos", a tale of a bridegroom who came up missing on his Grecian honeymoon, never to be seen or heard of again, making full use of the band's vocal mastery with their delicious and winsome "ooohs". The EP concludes with Hampton's sparse Erik Satie-infused atmospherics on piano in the beautiful song, "Drifter", that echoes the ebb and flow of friendship.
With five incredible new songs in their quiver, The Belle
Sounds will release
Black Stone EP on Sept. 9, 2014. What began as a husband-and-wife duo has now transformed into a different and evolving story - kindred spirits all in service to the songs that this band feels must be sung, shared and celebrated.
Black Stone, then, is but the latest family portrait in this moment in time; a time that calls out for the beautiful sounds of The Belle Sounds.
Listen here
About The Belle Sounds
This new band of musical veterans (Noëlle Hampton, André Moran, Emily Shirley and Kris Nelson) formed in early 2013 and is already putting out its second recording, an EP entitled
Black Stone. The band was born out of Noëlle's desire to bring greater creative clarity and camaraderie to a solo career that had already earned her the type of success she yearned for. With five new songs in their quiver,
Black Stone takes the listener on a beautiful journey of wonder, mystery, trepidation and reflection.
Praise for The Belle Sounds
"Consider this eponymous debut an example of ear candy with a rich, robust center." —Lee Zimmerman - Blurt
"The Belle
Sounds never leave folk too far behind. The brightness of the songs flashes Pop at times but a singer/songwriter production integrity keeps the tunes honest." —Danny McCloskey, The Alternate Root
"As a duo in life as well as within music, Noëlle Hampton and André Moran are a pair that click in their latest endeavor, The Belle Sounds." —Alessandra Donnelly - The Aquarian Weekly
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