Monday, March 10, 2008

You won’t hear a debut as original and exciting as this all year: Cleveland duo mr. Gnome finds unique alchemy of Cat Power, Celebration and Pelican.

“Boy does this Ohio duo make a lot of noise. Such is the overwhelming nature of the twosome’s aggressive-yet-beautiful sound.” – Paste Magazine

“The duos’ aggressive yet melodic style is catchy and very innovative. The group is sure to become one of the top most new acts in the country.” – Chicago Flame

The music of mr. Gnome has been described as utilizing elements of AltRock, Metal, Post Punk, and Prog, but lands in a realm of their own making, crafting a compelling sonic-psychedelic melange of indie rock. Since its conception in 2005, the Cleveland duo has released two EPs, receiving wide-ranging and honorable comparisons to Massive Attack, PJ Harvey, Tool, Portishead, Cat Power, Pelican, Death From Above 1979, Celebration and Blonde Redhead. Above all else, mr. Gnome’s compositions work -- and in very unusual and clearly soon-to-be-influential ways, where truly adequate descriptions aren’t yet available.

While comparisons vary, one thing is certain - the duo’s unique sound explores unpredictable shades of violence and intensity, while meshing the sludgy, reverberating monsoon of hardcore with the feminine. Its debut full-length CD, Deliver This Creature, hits stores May 6, 2008 on El Marko Records.

Guitarist/vocalist Nicole Barille and drummer Sam Meister began experimenting a few years ago with a sound based on minimalist instrumentation and the rigid dichotomy of soft vs. loud and masculine vs. feminine. Within a year, the two released their first EP, Echoes on the Ground, and were touring the regional circuit. Their second EP, self-titled, was released in November of 2006 and the two, having hooked up with Lost Barrio Artists, a booking agency based out of Tucson, AZ now found themselves touring nationally. After completing their first two national tours, Barille and Meister found it hard to go back to the daily grind and felt an immediate urgency to continue traveling the countryside.

With the road calling, Nicole and Sam ditched their belongings in a storage space and temporarily parted ways with the Midwest. mr. Gnome, an officially homeless band, began touring the United States, living out of a van and sleeping on random couches for the second part of 2007. With a handful of new material in their setlist, the two used practice spots along the way to complete the writing of their new creation and by the force of their journey, discovered both Larry Crane’s Jackpot Studios (Elliott Smith, Cat Power, The Shins, The Decemberists) in Portland, Oregon and Craig Schumacher’s Wavelab Studios (Calexico, DeVotchka, Neko Case, Animal Collective) in Tucson, Arizona where they recorded their first full-length album with engineers Kendra Lynn, and Chris Schultz. mr. Gnome headed back to Cleveland to put the finishing touches on their album at Ante Up Audio (Bone Thugs N’ Harmony, Tori Amos, Guided By Voices) working with Michael Seifert. The album was then mixed at Butch Vig’s Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin by Beau Sorenson (Death Cab for Cutie).

With four national tours under their belt within the last year and countless regional dates, mr. Gnome, with the support of El Marko Records, will continue to tour the countryside in spring of 2008, with dates nationwide being scheduled for May.

More Quotes From The Press:
“mr. Gnome glides through catchy and crunchy hard rock arrangements, thanks to big sonic blasts of aggressive elegance. The Cleveland duo showcases a knack for squeezing big hooks into hard driving numbers.” – Amplifier Magazine

“Intense, singer-ly vocals are set against distorted guitar and huge drums, and it’s hard to believe all that noise comes from just two people.” – Tucson Citizen

“Two Midwestern kids who play the kind of rock ‘n’ roll you thought no one played anymore.” – Tucson Weekly
“Cleveland rocks, indeed: This Midwestern two-piece manipulates easy rock cliches and uses deliciously off-balance, schizophrenic time changes of their songs to make enviable and glorious noise.” – Las Vegas City Life

“A mix of Death From Above 1979 with the intense vocal wail of Diamanda Galas, while Kurt Cobain sits in on guitar. In short, mr. Gnome makes a lot of beautiful noise.” – Albuquerque Journal

mr. Gnome Live:
03/15 Detroit, MI @ The Belmont
03/21 Fort Wayne, IN @ Kaysan’s 5th Down

Deliver This Creature Tracklisting:
Release Date: May 6th, 2008

01. Pirates (MP3)
02. Rabbit
03. Deliver This Creature
04. The Machine
05. Night of the Crickets
06. I'm Alright
07. Silhouette
08. Thief
09. After the Sun
10. Tied

Tools and Hi-Res Photos:
www.fanaticpromotion.com/rosterdetails.php?indexkey=1279

On The Web:
www.mrgnome.com
www.myspace.com/mrgnome
www.elmarkorecords.com
www.myspace.com/elmarkorecords

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