New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Green Light Go) The sound of Callow's haunting art rock is a metamorphosis from their debut, 2012's Orb Weaver. Fronted by lead vocalist/guitarist Red Moses and drummer/keyboardist Sami Knowles, the band's new album, Blue Spells, tackles the desire to evolve and make the most of the dwindling time we have as human beings. Served with a side of Moses' gut-wrenching vocals, Callow will give you a hell of a lot to think about.
Formed in 2009, Callow is the project of a dancer, Knowles, and a lifelong musician, Moses. The two knew each other for three years prior to making music together. After sitting in on one of Moses' rehearsals, Knowles joined him onstage for a show the next day, and a project was born. The economy crashed (along with their jobs) around the same time, forcing them both to re-evaluate everything. They decided making music was more interesting than just about everything else, so they gave up their apartment, sold everything and moved into a trailer to live and play music on the road.
Hailing from the San Francisco Bay area, the band has played all over the western half of the country and parts of Canada, and alongside many notable acts including Greg Laswell,
Elizabeth and the Catapult, and Night Beats. Moses' vocal performance on their first release, 2012's Orb Weaver, has been compared to that of Ben Bridwell (Band of Horses) and Vic Chesnutt. Examiner.com described the chemistry Callow has on stage: "You're in for a subtle, but moving and powerful emotional music experience."
Callow loves to create music that hits people in the gut. With influences ranging from
Pink Floyd to
Nina Simone to Pavement, its easy to see where the complexity that exists in their sound stems from. Strong vocals, minimal instrumentals, hypnotic drumming and haunting melodies define Callow's music. The grittiness and soulfulness of Moses' voice takes prominence in their music, begging the listener to feel emotion. His raw vocal talent forces the listener to derive meaning from the words he sings.
The title of their second album, Blue Spells (out November), is an ode to the somber tone of the music mixed with mysterious and poetic lyrics. The album was collaboratively produced by Callow,
Brandon Eggleston (Modest Mouse, Tragically Hip) and Ryan Remains (NXNW Records). It was recorded live to tape instead of digitally like their previous release. Knowles said, "It leaves room for nuance...and those delicious accidents to occur."
Listen to first single "
Strange" on The Vinyl District here: https://www.thevinyldistrict.com/storefront/2013/08/tvd-premiere-callow-strange/
Tour Dates
09.08.13 - El Rio, San Francisco, CA
10.04.13 - Uncommon Ground, Chicago, IL
10.09.13 -
Arsenal Lanes, Pittsburg, PA
10.10.13 -
Black Oak Tavern, Oneonta, NY
10.11.13 - Olives, Nyack, NY
10.15.13 - The Way Station, Brooklyn, NY
10.22.13 - FOAM, St Louis, MO
11.17.13 - Rasputin Records, Berkeley, CA
Follow Callow on Facebook and Twitter
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Praise for Callow
"Red's lead vocals emote an anguished earnestness that fuel Callow's songs of struggle, sorrow, and despair, but offer a redemptive consolation. You're in for a subtle, but moving and powerful emotional experience." - Pat Herrera - Examiner.com
"From the sparse and atmospheric opening minutes of the album, Callow clearly focus on texture and dynamics in their song-writing, featuring subtle harmonies featuring male and female vocals which work well to provide emotional depths to the proceedings. " - Robbie - Indie Bands Blog
"Callow = Band of Horses + Roky Erickson + Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Callow take an alternative historical sonic route of what punk rock would have been had it evolved from The
Velvet Underground's airy slowness rather than their minimalism. Orb Weaver is simply beautiful in its melancholic woolgathering." -
Alexander Ortega - SLUG Magazine
"A raw contralto will get you far in the indie world, particularly if you specialize in songs about heartbreak, death, and the fallout after a bad relationship. Singer Red Moses has it. Whoever did him wrong paved the way for some forceful emo-folk, buoyed by heavy chords and portentous lyrics. Don't let the name fool you." -- Rachel Swan, - East Bay Express
