New York, NY (Top40 Charts) �I listen to grandparents music,� The Explorers Club's Jason Brewer admitted to the Austin Chronicle, �I was like, �I want to be on the Lawrence Welk show�. While the Explorers Club have more in common with the
Beach Boys than, say, an all-female polka group, they are heavily influenced by the work of Burt Bacharach, Phil Spector, Jimmy Webb and the Zombies. Their four-part vocal harmonies are incredibly beautiful, perhaps in part because Brewer�s parents were church choir directors. The band formed in Charleston, SC in 2005, and is currently based in Nashville, with a brand new album on the way on June 24th called Together, out on Goldstar Recordings, distributed by Redeye (US) and
Cargo (UK).
Stream it here: https://reelrecording.com/explorers-club-together-sneak-preview.html
The band has released two critically acclaimed albums - 2008�s Freedom Wind and 2012�s Grand Hotel. Of Freedom Wind, the Onion AV Club calls it ��a pretty dizzying technical achievement. Frankly, the album is beautiful-wholly, deeply and truly.� Many of the Explorers Club�s songs have been featured in film and television on major networks such as CBS, Fox, and HBO, attesting to their timeless qualities.
The Explorers Club�s songs are characterized by sunny lyrics and complex vocal and instrumental arrangements, awash in sleigh bells, various kinds of keyboards, fuzz guitar and intricately arranged falsetto harmonies. The first single from Together is called "California's Callin' Ya" � as west coast a song as possible, bringing to mind the
Beach Boys and the
Mamas and the Papas. The 45 will be released May 13th. Brewer characterizes the tracking process as �The best recording experience we�ve had.� With a new line-up in place that includes Nashville musician Wyatt Funderburk and longtime Brewer collaborator Mike Williamson, the recording sessions were extremely fruitful and gratifying.
Says Brewer, �I usually have a strong idea of the musical/instrumentation and looser ideas about how the final vocal harmonies will Land the tracks. Mike Williamson really took my preliminary ideas for the vocal harmony parts and turned them into golden masterpieces on this album. We sang a lot of the parts around one mic set up together, in the same room. Some of the special guests on Together are Darian Sahanaja, Probyn Gregory, Scott
Bennett and
Nelson Bragg from the
Brian Wilson band and John Davis (Superdrag, the Lees of Memory).
�Perfect Day� was written for Brewer�s wife Krista � the band performed it on the couples wedding day (it should be noted that Krista plays flute on �Be Around.�) "Gold Winds" is an ode to springtime with Rock-Si-Chord providing gentle accents to its message of transformation � co-writer Emeen Zarookian provides an assist on bass synth on it as well. Another stand-out is �Before I�m Gone�, about spiritual quests. Brewer says �We are overwhelmed by spiritual questions every day, it�s inescapable. This song is me singing to God my questions and thoughts. One line Mike brought in was �there is a cold wind calling me from a storm out on the sea (sung by John Davis) � it references the balancing act between spirituality and being pulled back to the realities of daily life.� By contrast, �California�s Callin� Ya� is what Brewer describes as the ultimate escapism song, saying �I wanted that classic 6/8 feel � its about escaping every day cold, dreary life for fantasy fun in the sun.�
SPRING TOUR DATES:
April 20 Family Wash Nashville, TN
April 21 40 Watt Athens, GA **
April 22 Charleston
Music Hall Charleston, SC
April 23 The Earl Atlanta, GA **
June 29 The Grey Eagle Asheville NC w/
Brett Harris
June 30 Sellersville Theater Sellersville PA
July 2 Rockwood
Music Hall New York, NY
** with Robert Schneider (Apples in Stereo)
