REVIEWS
"Backed by some of the biggest names in the Alternative music scene
with recording duties shared by Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Califone,
Modest Mouse) and Steve Albini (Pixies, Nirvana) and mastered by Greg
Calbi (Dylan, U2, Sonic Youth), Walking Bicycles seems to have a yellow
brick road of luck ahead and a wild sound to go along with it.
Energetic and contagious as soon as it gets spinning Disconnected
offers up eight tracks of raw post-punk guitar playing and sleek,
rousting vocal performances."
--THE BIG TAKEOVER, (New York, NY)
"Frontwoman Jocelyn Summers and company manage to deftly evade the
trite angularity and faux coldness of most post-punk revivalists,
instead evoking early, abrasive Siouxsie and the Banshees and even
touching on Clinic's more frenzied forays into noise pop. Last years
full length 'disconnected' sounds exactly that: chaotic, disjointed,
and confounding in the most exhilarating way possible."
-- THE ONION, (Chicago, IL)
Highwheel Records founders Walking Bicycles kicked off the show
with a searing set of garagey post punk music a la Pixies, My Bloody
Valentine and even a hint of Devo here and there that would set the
tone for the rest of the evening. The smoldering but precise vocal
delivery of Jocelyn Summers and the angular assault of guitarist Julius
Moriarty leapt and slashed around the glacially marching low frequency
bedrock of drummer Johnny M and bass player Jason Leather and within no
time the floor was swarmed with a jubilant mass of sweaty rockers. Spin
magazine was right on the money when they called Walking Bicycles
�Dynamic and genre defying.�
-- KEXP, (Seattle, WA)
"This Chicago foursome rides the line where post-punk borders with
commercial rock, a pretty good place to be at a time where bands like
Interpol reign the airwaves. Their sound is bass-heavy with the
shoegazer touch often found in britpop. "Welcome to the Future"
warrants heavy Joy Division influences, but vocalist Jocelyn Summers'
sense of playful melody gives the band a broader and probably more
accurate comparison to the UK outfit Sleeper. (VC)
-- PUNK PLANET, (Chicago,IL)
"Chicago outfit Walking Bicycles plays sleeker, artier, and more
rickety rock that claims sonic kinship to black sabbath and the
Residents, yet sounds more like a riled-up Yeah Yeah Yeahs."
-- THE ONION, (Denver, CO)
"Walking Bicycles almost defies description due to its aurally
vibrant uniqueness, but since it is my sworn verbose duty to adequately
describe the joyous sounds hypnotically emanating from within, I shall
now do so with the utmost of gleeful zeal. Jocelyn Summers' angelic,
dreamy, narcotic-laced vocals are intoxicatingly complemented by Julius
Moriarty's choppy, swirling, staccato guitar propulsions. And Jason
Leather's rolling, billowing bass lines dramatically mesh with the
thudding, factory-stomp drumbeats of Cris Castallan. The dazzling,
effervescent combination of each of the aforementioned elements makes
for one hell of an atmospheric, urgently delivered Post Punk sojourn
into the past, present, future, and beyond. Indeed, the songs of
Walking Bicycles are mesmerizing, redemptive, and inspiring, as all
music should be."
-- UNDER THE VOLCANO, (Austin, TX)
"On their second EP Chicago's Walking Bicycles continue the hone
their unique sound, which I still find myself at a loss to categorize.
Is it Post-Punk? Shoegazer? Indie-Rock? Stoner-rock? All of the above?
I don't know the answer, and it doesn't really matter, because with so
many unadventurous bands flooding the world of music, being hard to pin
down is probably a good thing... I still found the songs on
Disconnected as strong as ever, with "Desparate", "Welcome To The
Future" (which shows up twice - one version from each recording
session), "The Hermit" and the Gang Of Four-ish "So Far" being prime
examples of the catchy-yet-challenging sound and unique vocals (it's
refreshing to hear a female vocalist that doesn't just sound like a
carbon copy PJ Harvey, Debbie Harry, Rachel Goswell, Patti Smith, or
Karen O, and can bring something new to the table) that brought me to
the band in the first place. This will stay in your CD player for a
long time to come."
-- LOSING TODAY, (New York, NY)
"Walking Bicycles prove there might still be some life in the whole
post-punk/new wave thing after all. They are stuttering and jagged and
raw, but with a deeply-ingrained melodicism that sets them apart from
their similarly-influenced peers."
-- CHROMEWAVES, (Toronto, Canada)
"On Friday night, while Lou Reed was joining Bright Eyes on stage at
Town Hall, Trash Bar in Brooklyn played host to one of the most
exciting new bands in rock. Walking Bicycles come from a mostly
untapped Chicago music scene filled with promising young bands. For
approximately 40 minutes, Walking Bicycles layed down a feast of tight,
edgy indie rock, loaded-up with frantic, bouncing rhythms, chaotic
post-punk meets shoegazer guitar and frontwoman Jocelyn Summers' icy
vocals. While most of the set came from the band's first 2 E.P.s, it
was the new songs, especially the set-closer 'Obvious Path,' that
really set fire to the stage promising a bright future for Walking
Bicycles."
-- NEW YORK PRESS, (New York, NY)
"Walking Bicycles have taken off the training wheels for their
second EP, Disconnected, careening through eight fresh songs including
the grinding, guitar-driven �Desperate� and two separate renditions of
the energetic �Welcome To The Future.� Strong vocals � courtesy of
effervescent singer Jocelyn Summers � are a highlight, along with
dynamic post punk beats. It�s obvious the band are having fun; there�s
little question listeners will, too."
-- ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER, (Chicago, IL)
"Chicago's Walking Bicycles have been transplanted from Eureka,
California to breathe new live into the post-punk scene of 'chi' town.
Angular, Joy Division-esqe guitars and lofty female vocals, courtesy of
Mr. Moriarty and Ms. Summers respectively, characterize the WB sound.
Inspired, but not ruled by 80's dance rock, Walking Bicycles'
unexpected chord choices in the songs 'stitch' and 'Worthless' set them
apart from their peers."
-- THE SENTIMENTALIST, (Brooklyn, NY)
"Chicago-based Walking Bicycles is a band that in some way returns
to the past. This is not the distant past, but hell, 15 years isn't an
immediate past either. Part late 80's British wave of guitar rock
[remember those people who used to stand at the front of the stage and
stare at their own bloody shoes!], part pop and part angry mosh-pit
assault, they end up finding the perfect balance between all sides of
the musical spectrum. Vocalist Jocelyn Summers has a sneering set of
vocals that can turn on a dime and become quite sweet and tender at
once. The tunes are short enough to keep everyone's interest at a peak.
The jingly guitars and a sense of urgency make this album a joy to
listen to. Velocity Girl comes to mind, but that was a distant time,
far, far away. What I love best is the prevailing sense of humour which
the band displays in just about ever tune. "Let's play king of the
mountain / I'll push you over and then I will laugh / Haha", Summers
sneers on "King of the Mountain". Twenty minutes that go by in a flash.
The EP only begs for the auto-repeat to be pressed."
--GAZ-ETA, (Poland)
"Over the past year or so, it became increasingly clear Chicago,
without question, is a hot spot for this new wave of 80s-inspired dance
rock. With post-punk-style guitars, ominous, yet sexy female vocals,
and dance-friendly beats, the Walking Bicycles six-song, self-titled EP
has everything one could want for those who always knew that love
would, indeed, tear us apart, again."
--Dean Ramos, ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER, (Chicago, IL)
"The Walking Bicycles don't sound like anyone else on their debut
EP, and that makes for a hard review to write. I can't write convenient
comparisons like "sounds like ____________ singing for a more
atmospheric version of ____________, with ____________ producing."
Their website (www.walkingbicycles.com) describes them as "dark neo-new
wave" but their sound is more varied and complex than that. Opener
"Lost Coast" is a post-punk storm of paranoia and fear that is both
atmospheric and completely focused and hard-hitting at the same time --
which would actually be a good way to sum up the band's sound without
resorting to genre-categorization. "King Of The Mountain" is a playful
track, with Jocelyn Summers' vocals taunting the listener as the band
hammers away, sounding something like Fugazi on drugs (as improbable as
that would be). "Killing Time" closes in on a shoegazing sound with
sheets of guitar noise riding above the tight-as-hell rhythm section.
Things slow down a bit on the droney "HeavyHorse", which has The
Walking Bicycles earning that "dark neo-new wave" tag. "Stitch" is more
upbeat but doesn't have the stand out catchiness of some of the other
songs. It's not bad, just not as exciting as what came before. The
album ends with "Worthless", one of the best songs on a really good EP
that stands up to, and deserves, repeated listening."
--LOSING TODAY, (New York, NY)
"The burst of sound that heralded the beginning of Walking Bicycles
show remained constant throughout. The songs were loud, fast-paced,
almost punk in tempo and feel... They were exceedingly tight, and could
change time in the middle of a song without dropping a beat; which is
decidedly un-punk... I�m not sure who is behind the composition, but
the songs are constructed extremely well with each instrument building
on the other. It all adds up to a wall of sound that will buffet you
from beginning to end."
--Ian, KAFFEINE BUZZ, (Denver, CO)
"catchy, danceable music with more edge and authenticity than some of its more commercially successful cousins."
--SPILL MAGAZINE, (Toronto, Canada)