Spanish Prisoners "Know No Violence" live at Death By Audio, NYC
BIOGRAPHY //
The four members of Spanish Prisoners found each other in the winter of 2009, when the streets of Bushwick were covered with grey, fading snow. Songwriter Leo Maymind had just begun working at the largest nightclub in New York City; squeezing through crowds of thousands of drunken revelers that were caught in a breathless pursuit of everything wrapped in nothing, going down in celluloid history. He began scribbling down things he overheard in dark corners, fragments of personal violence from characters filled with self-doubt and nostalgia. During the empty 4AM subway rides he took to his Bushwick apartment, he stock-piled musical ideas, putting the pieces together like some long-lost cosmic puzzle with no map or guide.
As winter slid away, Maymind and his bandmates- keyboardist/vocalist Amberly Hungerford, drummer/ songwriter Mike DiSanto, and multi-instrumentalist James Higgs- slowly molded these initial fragments of home recordings into layered, fluid headphone symphonies that emphasized the raw randomness in electronic sound. Some songs, like “Los Angeles Guitar Dream” and “Cadillac from Yesterday” pair male and female vocals in a tremolo-haze of guitars and steady coupling of acoustic and electronic drums. Others, such as “Know No Violence” and “Lipstick Under the Table,” evolved with swirling and decaying layers, reacting against the rigid by placing the inimitable sound of the human voice - or multiple voices, either together or in turns, at the center of focus.
Though the songs on the album take twists and turns, follow detours and back alleys, get lost and return suddenly, the album remains a captivating listen—a soundtrack to this directionless fishbowl of thick superficial infinite. Gold Fools is a journey into a world of hypnotic, kaleidoscopic dream pop that you didn't know you needed to take. Now, the path is clear.//
Spanish Prisoners have shared stages with such luminaries as Daniel Johnston, Califone, John Vanderslice, the Rosebuds, Foals, and many more. They've played extensively in New York City and the East Coast.
PRESS //
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"Know No Violence makes me feel like mining the fullness of Gold Fools will be quite the repeat adventure."
Altered Zones -
"The songs are wrapped in a warm melodic haze — lightly psychedelic and instantly memorable."
NPR: Best Album released via Bandcamp in 2011 -
"Gold Fools is the product of that shredding, shouting and gelling, all congealed into one of the year’s most rewarding indie rock records, playfully challenging, genre-bending, and at times brilliant."
I Guess I'm Floating: #15 album of 2011 -
"Gold Fools is perhaps the most challenging record of the year; a record that required multiple listens to decipher the layers of dreamy distortion and varied textures"
Tympanogram: #5 album of 2011 -
"(Sun Glitters' remix of Know No Violence) is a lovely meeting of minds, the reworking of a sunny summer song for a confusing coming winter."
The Fader -
"A song [Know No Violence] that showcases a band in close harmony—a band influenced by The Flaming Lips, The Pomegranates, and obviously so, but not to the extent that they're unable to create something dazzling of their own."
The Line of Best Fit: Song of the Day -
"All you indie kids looking for meticulously constructed pop songs to queue up at your summer barbecues should take note: Los Angeles Guitar Dream may just be your dream come true."
Tiny Mix Tapes -
"Gold Fools is one of "those" albums. An album that makes you smile, makes you feel inspired, makes you want to create something as complex and epic yet attainable and reachable."
Pasta Primavera -
"Gold Fools is perfectly compelling the first time around, but this is an album deserving of many repeat listens, as the subtleties and depth really take shape with time, as is the case with any truly great record."
The Sky Report -
"A band that could very well find their way into regular rotation on college radio stations and Spotify playlists in the year to come. Spanish Prisoners were truly an embodiement of what is going right in today's indie scene."
Alston Pudding (live review) -
"One of most flexible, daring and downright beautiful pop songs [Know No Violence] of the year."
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