PORTLAND, OR. (El
Cortez Records) - Portland-based alt country rockers Richmond Fontaine beat out acts as diverse as The
Libertines and The Streets, U2 and Interpol,
Steve Earle and TV On The Radio, when the widely respected UK magazine Uncut announced their annual best albums of 2004 this month. In fact, the group's Post To Wire album was named the Number Four Best Album of 2004, falling in behind Brian Wilson's Smile, Wilco's A
Ghost Is Born and Loretta Lynn's acclaimed Van Lear Rose.
Uncut declared the quartet, led by Willy Vlautin whose songs are as often compared to literary icon Raymond Carver's writing as to the Replacements and Uncle Tupelo, their "discovery of the year," calling Post To Wire "a dark, mesmerizing masterpiece."
Richmond Fontaine have been causing quite a stir in the UK and
Europe over the past few months, where their latest release Post To Wire was released to huge acclaim earlier this year. Playing to packed houses from London to Manchester, Stockholm to Mallorca, has been a boon to the quartet, who hope to repeat their success stateside when Post To Wire is released with national distribution on Union Recordings on February 22, 2005.
Industry veteran Russ Rieger, who most recently held senior management positions at
Maverick and London Records, formed Union this year with partners John Halley and Jeff Wilson. Rieger previously managed The Replacements, one of Fontaine's most important influences. Union Recordings has distribution through ADA. Previously, Post To Wire was only available through a local Portland, Oregon distributor or through the band's website.
"The new kings of Americana, Richmond Fontaine, swaggered into Liverpool and sealed their reputation with a blistering set of guitar-driven alt-rock," described the Liverpool Daily Post's Steve Harrison in reviewing a recent Fontaine show. The London Independent said that Post To Wire is "a dynamic study of the American underbelly, it puts Vlautin's songwriting on a par with that of his heroes, Jay Farrar and Paul Westerberg."
With a February/March U.S. tour in the planning stages dovetailing into the Union/ADA album release, the band and their new label have high hopes for the U.S. market.
