PRESS
The Daily Pravda's new single "Country & Western" has no country or Western to it.
Well, that's not exactly right.
Frontman David Jackel slides into the track with some twang, some drawl and swagger when he sings, "Daaarling don't go out tonight..." It could almost be some sort of freakish country tune (like that The The does Hank Williams album from the early '90s maybe?).
Then the band washes any wagon dust off the track with the crunch of electric guitars, buzzing synths and computer squeaks. In comes the New Romantic-meets-Morphine saxophone, drums sticks pounding toms, and Ruby Rose Fox cooing and screaming and wailing.
Pravda has the skill set to make this work. On their last album, 2013's “Columbia,” the quintet roamed dozens of shadowy spaces: the heroin-age alleys of New York and Berlin, the post-punk dives of Manchester, England, Seattle and Cambridge and outer space.
But this is a new landscape even for them.
This is what Pravda shines at, it's their little bit of pop genius: atmospheric dark music with a hook sharp enough to keep you happy despite a serious sense of unease.
Jackel comes off as a bad man, not to be trusted. But you're better off with him on the lonely, dangerous road than with those fortune tellers and the cons that bugged the CB radio.
Wait, is this a Western?
Take a listen. Take a couple listens. Spend an hour with it, an afternoon with it. So much to be heard in just two and a half minutes.
- Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 6/10/2015
The Daily Pravda have always worn their influences on their collective sleeve. When you so expertly weave an elaborate musical tapestry from the best material, why not show off a little? Show off they do. “Take It” is downright majestic. The hint of tremolo. The slide guitar. The melodic bass and locked-in drums. All spot on. That’s just the intro. The verses build with a “Kashmir”-like haunting. The tension is palpable before flooding the chorus with saturated chords and a triumphant melody. Knowing there’s going to be a big payoff doesn’t make the outcome any less rewarding. It’s glorious, ready to take on all late night singalongs. The Daily Pravda have put out a bunch of great singles recently. This may be their best. The future is not boring. - Daykampmusic.com, 7/27/2015
Everyone agrees The Daily Pravda has a David Bowie fetish. It’s not just Bowie’s sound, but his fearless artistic heart Pravda digs. On the new album “Columbia,” the quintet roams dozens of dark spaces: the heroin-age alleys of New York and Berlin, the post-punk dives of Manchester, England, Seattle and Cambridge and outer space (check out the jaunty “The Race to Space”). On the top track “Like a Sister,” the band treks through each spot in a single song. - Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald
"That [Bowie influence] touchstone shows up right off the bat on “Columbia” with the theatrical rock flair of “I Can’t Take You Home” — particularly in Jackel’s vocal delivery and the mournful saxophone lead throughout. “Your Heart Is Boring” jumps ahead to the glam revival of the ’90s, channeling the epic melodramas of Brit-rock crooners Suede. “Wish You Were Her,” the album’s standout, sidesteps to Manchester for a Stone Roses-style guitar freakout from guitarist Adam Anderson, and a decidedly brothers Gallagher vocal delivery. In short, for fans waiting for the wheel of nostalgia to spin back round to Cool Britannia, it’s been going on under your nose this whole time in the clubs of Boston." - Luke O'Neil, Boston Globe
Well, that's not exactly right.
Frontman David Jackel slides into the track with some twang, some drawl and swagger when he sings, "Daaarling don't go out tonight..." It could almost be some sort of freakish country tune (like that The The does Hank Williams album from the early '90s maybe?).
Then the band washes any wagon dust off the track with the crunch of electric guitars, buzzing synths and computer squeaks. In comes the New Romantic-meets-Morphine saxophone, drums sticks pounding toms, and Ruby Rose Fox cooing and screaming and wailing.
Pravda has the skill set to make this work. On their last album, 2013's “Columbia,” the quintet roamed dozens of shadowy spaces: the heroin-age alleys of New York and Berlin, the post-punk dives of Manchester, England, Seattle and Cambridge and outer space.
But this is a new landscape even for them.
This is what Pravda shines at, it's their little bit of pop genius: atmospheric dark music with a hook sharp enough to keep you happy despite a serious sense of unease.
Jackel comes off as a bad man, not to be trusted. But you're better off with him on the lonely, dangerous road than with those fortune tellers and the cons that bugged the CB radio.
Wait, is this a Western?
Take a listen. Take a couple listens. Spend an hour with it, an afternoon with it. So much to be heard in just two and a half minutes.
- Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 6/10/2015
The Daily Pravda have always worn their influences on their collective sleeve. When you so expertly weave an elaborate musical tapestry from the best material, why not show off a little? Show off they do. “Take It” is downright majestic. The hint of tremolo. The slide guitar. The melodic bass and locked-in drums. All spot on. That’s just the intro. The verses build with a “Kashmir”-like haunting. The tension is palpable before flooding the chorus with saturated chords and a triumphant melody. Knowing there’s going to be a big payoff doesn’t make the outcome any less rewarding. It’s glorious, ready to take on all late night singalongs. The Daily Pravda have put out a bunch of great singles recently. This may be their best. The future is not boring. - Daykampmusic.com, 7/27/2015
Everyone agrees The Daily Pravda has a David Bowie fetish. It’s not just Bowie’s sound, but his fearless artistic heart Pravda digs. On the new album “Columbia,” the quintet roams dozens of dark spaces: the heroin-age alleys of New York and Berlin, the post-punk dives of Manchester, England, Seattle and Cambridge and outer space (check out the jaunty “The Race to Space”). On the top track “Like a Sister,” the band treks through each spot in a single song. - Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald
"That [Bowie influence] touchstone shows up right off the bat on “Columbia” with the theatrical rock flair of “I Can’t Take You Home” — particularly in Jackel’s vocal delivery and the mournful saxophone lead throughout. “Your Heart Is Boring” jumps ahead to the glam revival of the ’90s, channeling the epic melodramas of Brit-rock crooners Suede. “Wish You Were Her,” the album’s standout, sidesteps to Manchester for a Stone Roses-style guitar freakout from guitarist Adam Anderson, and a decidedly brothers Gallagher vocal delivery. In short, for fans waiting for the wheel of nostalgia to spin back round to Cool Britannia, it’s been going on under your nose this whole time in the clubs of Boston." - Luke O'Neil, Boston Globe