LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts) NPR Weekend Edition featured CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN' RACKETTES and their debut album BABY CAUGHT THE BUS just released on Vanguard Records (May 21). Listen to the full episode here: https://n.pr/11yZV9k.
Already breakout stars in their native Australia, CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN' RACKETTES released their debut album BABY CAUGHT THE BUS last week (May 21) on Vanguard Records. The album is #5 on BIllboard's Heatseekers Chart, #1 on the iTunes R&B Albums Chart, Top 15 on the iTunes Overall Albums Chart, #2 on Amazon "Movers & Shakers" and #7 on the Amazon Overall Albums Chart. In its first week at radio, their first single "Love Letter" was the #1 Most Added at Triple A Radio with airplay at Alternative stations across America as well. Rooted in old-school R&B and soul, re-imagined for today. "What sets it apart is a dirty, electric guitar," explains frontwoman CLAIRY BROWNE. "It's our own sound, like a gumbo."
Expect the group to announce a late summer U.S. tour soon.
Watch the official video for "Love Letter" here:
CLAIRY BROWNE & THE BANGIN' RACKETTES and their debut album BABY CAUGHT THE BUS are gaining strong praise from the media. Check out some of the critical reaction so far:
"Rich in harmony…" - Scott Simon, NPR "Weekend Edition", (May 25, 2013)
"In the era of Auto-Tune and prepackaged pop stars, Australian band Clairy Browne & The Bangin' Rackettes is a refreshing dose of real, raw talent, plus showmanship skills to boot." - Marcy Medina, WOMEN'S WEAR DAILY-WWD (May 24, 2013)
"…love and lust-lorn brutalities break from anything you'd ever hear from Martha Reeves and the Vandelles or The Supremes or even Amy Winehouse. Yes, Baby Caught The Bus has a few sunny, swinging hits you can bop along to (the title track; 'Frankie;' 'I'll Be Fine'), but the songs with teeth—'Love Letter,' the record's first single, 'She Plays Up,' 'You Don't Owe Me Nothing'-are the ones that leave bite marks, the kind that bruise and take too long to heal. 'I want to write what I want you to do to me in a letter' is hell of a statement to open the record with, and that's just what Browne belts at the onset/With 'She Plays Up,' Browne takes to the microphone to eviscerate the other woman that's doing her best to thwart a relationship that isn't hers. 'I don't want to lose you/to a floozy who'll use you' she wails as a sinister bass line and creeping percussion overwhelm her, striking a chord that feels completely present in its brashness and no-bullshit mentality. The horns, handclaps and girl group vocals may be common soul staples, but this angst and the fearless desire to cast it out are entirely theirs-and it's one American audiences have been vocally fiending for since the Bangin' Rackettes officially landed." - Hilary Hughes, VILLAGE VOICE, (May 21, 2013)
"The group's energetic sound channels jazz, heart-wrenching doo-wop, and classic soul, offering a distinctly modern take on several influential genres. Browne's first single off the album, 'Love Letter,' brilliantly encapsulates the group's funky, soulful energy, while infusing the track with a healthy dose of sexuality and longing. This is perfect getting-ready-to-go-out music." - Diane Anderson-Minshall, THE ADVOCATE (May 24, 2013)
"The entire band gave us a show full of sultry ballads and clap-a-long jams. The new single 'Love Letter' was a highlight as was the killer encores with great sax solos by Darcy McMulty. Browne won me over with the medley of 'The Boy Is Mine/She Plays Up to You' which momentarily broke the 60s spell with a 90s guilty pleasure" - Debi Del Grande, LA RECORD, (April 11, 2013)
"Watching this band was like discovering the great long-lost collaboration between David Lynch and John Waters." - Thomas Gerbasi, NEW YORK MUSIC DAILY, (April 1, 2013)
"…skillful blend of classic rhythm and blues, soulful jazz, blues and even some doo-wop vocal parts." - PATRIOT LEDGER, (March 28, 2013)
"Melbourne's Clairy Brown & The Bangin' Rackettes is the best stuff to come along in decades. The dancing part of the Bangin' Rackettes, who also sing, rivals the Raelettes or Ikettes. The instrumental contributors seem to have gobbled up all the grits, guts and soul from every big name '60s soul and r&b headliner, spitting it back out with their own twisted, banging spin on it while retaining the integrity of the original practitioners. This thing opens with a bang. …Baby Caught The Bus is a treasure trove for R&B lovers, a '60s time capsule, a show and dance ensemble concept that's been away far too long. Import this one to your collection immediately for maximum satisfaction." - Grant Britt, NO DEPRESSION, (March 20, 2013)
"Browne's powerhouse singing fuels Baby Caught the Bus, but she's only the most visible piece of this nine-piece Aussie aggregation, which contains three Bangin' Rackettes backup singers, and a five-piece backing band that includes baritone sax master Darcy McNulty, whose blatty honks chase Browne's vocals all around this eminently danceable set of grooves. …Browne makes the most of her Dusty Springfield-like alto on slow burners ('Vicious Cycle') 1950s-style ballads ('Far Too Late') and scorching 1960s soul stormers ('Yellow Bird'). Even if all else fails, the pinpoint precision and sassy drive of 'Love Letter' will warm even the coldest of hearts. Put simply, Baby Caught the Bus is nothing but fun, a full-fledged party record whose reverence to its sources never gets in the way of nine people having a musical blast and sharing their joy with the rest of us." - Sam Gnerre, THE DAILY BREEZE (May 20, 2013)
https://clairybrowne.com
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