Therapies Son – Touching Down video

“Alex Jacob is a wunderkind whose warped, synthy Americana nods to the Beach Boys and the Flaming Lips. And we love it” — The Guardian UK

“Come over and experience California’s enigmatic THERAPIES SON knock it out of the park with this to-ing and fro-ing, galloping playground pop jam “Rose Red Rose”, in which the initial whispered, tender intones make way for technicolour orchestral bursts, glittering melody and breathless, merry-go-round waltzing. Boundless and beautiful.” — Altered Zones

“‘Touching Down.’ It’s a wet and gushy, catchy all-senses takeover that’s still in some way clear eyed and tethered to the ground, like the best kind of love.” — The Fader

Therapies Son quickly won fans last fall when his humbly self-recorded demo of shimmering pop surfaced, catching the ears of some elite press and becoming something of an Internet sensation. Therapies Son, the nom de tune of 19-year-old Van Nuys, CA songwriter Alex Jacob makes its official debut this spring with a 5-track EP, Over The Sea via Sargent House. The band — Alex with a drummer and bassist — plays the official Sargent House SXSW showcase this month, as well as a number of day parties yet to be announced. Please see details below.

The EP will be released digitally (with a bonus track, “Golden Girl”) by Sargent House and on limited edition 10″ vinyl via UK blog and label Transparent on March 22nd. Over The Sea will then see its North American vinyl release on Record Store Day, April 16th via Jacob’s management’s label, Sargent House.

Heartbreak has long been the lynchpin for many a glittering and storied musical career, and to that proud and varied lineage joins Therapies Son. Turning to music and tapping into an innate gift for songwriting after the painful dissolution of a relationship last autumn, Jacob started writing gorgeous, otherworldly songs which somehow managed, in the space of about 3 minutes or so, to absorb a library’s worth of the most glorious chapters in the Encyclopedia of Pop, ranging from Flaming Lips to Beach Boys to Grizzly Bear, before reflecting it back through its own uniquely cracked, fractured prism.

On his debut EP Over the Sea, we have the to-ing and fro-ing, galloping playground pop jam “Rose Red Rose”, in which the initial whispered, tender intones make way for Technicolor orchestral bursts, glittering melody and breathless, merry-go-round waltzing, rubbing shoulders with the shimmering ebb and flow of the appropriately named “Still I Call”, opens up into something more vast, more widescreen, and, with its swirling strings and otherworldly beauty, absolutely not of this epoch. The exquisitely poised heartache of “Touching Down” meanwhile, sounds bizarrely all the more yearning with what sounds like an entire marching band behind it, while “Yellow Mama” kaleidoscopes a whole world of loss and longing into its short running time, Jacobs’ hushed vocals guiding the listener gently to a close. A truly one of a kind talent bound to break plenty of hearts of his own in the near future.

THERAPIES SON LIVE:
03/19 Sargent House / RLP Showcase @Emo’s Annex

Artist: Therapies Son
Album: Over The Sea
Label: Sargent House
Release Date: March 22nd, 2011 (digital) / April 16th, 2011 (10″ vinyl)

01. Touching Down
02. Rose Red Rose
03. Over The Sea
04. Yellow Mama
05. Still I Call
06. Golden Girl (digital only)

Since their debut album release in November, Gringo Star’s ‘All Y’all’ has been critically acclaimed, making them a band to watch out for in 2009…. The hardest working band from Atlanta continues on with their US tour tomorrow, including two shows with King Khan & The Shrines, before heading to SXSW. All shows and tour dates are below. Catch them now before they head to the UK for a tour with Black Lips.

Mar 13 Black Owl Muscle Shoals, AL
Mar 14 Sticky Fingers Little Rock, AR
Mar 16 Palladium Loft Dallas, TX****
Mar 17 The Warhol San Antonio, TX****

SXSW SHOWS:
Mar 18 The Mohawk 912 Red River St. 3pm
Mar 18 The Paradise 401 E6th St. 7pm
Mar 18 Hole In The Wall 2539 Guadalupe St. 12am
Mar 19 The Moon Tower 7404 East Cesar Chavez. 2am
Mar 20 Back Alley Social 303 W5th St. 2pm
Mar 20 Trophy’s 2008 S Congress Avenue. 3.30pm
Mar 21 The Belmont 305 W6th St. 3.40pm
Mar 21 Bill’s Place 3421 E Cesar Chavez 11pm

Mar 22 City Art Supply St. Louis, MO
Mar 23 Cahoots Lexington, KY
Mar 25 Subterranean Chicago, IL
Mar 26 Northside Tavern Cincinnati, OH
Mar 27 The Matinee Cleveland, OH
Mar 28 The Bog Scranton, PA
Mar 29 BAR New Haven, CT
Mar 30 Glasslands Brooklyn, NY
Mar 31 Mercury Lounge New York, NY
Apr 2 The Khyber Philadelphia, PA
Apr 3 New French Bar Asheville, NC
Apr 4 Snug Harbor Charlotte, NC
Apr 17 Head On The Door Montgomery, AL
Apr 18 The Loft Columbus, GA

****with King Khan & The Shrines

“With their excellent debut album, All Y’all, this Atlanta garage-rock band validate the CMJ buzz.” Spin.com

“This Atlanta, Georgia foursome add layers of rural lilt to their Brit-ish pop, garagey grit to others, while sneaking out slight-psych guitar blasts and gang yalps when least expected. If not the wheel rebooted, their self-titled full-length on My Anxious Mouth is stunningly seasoned for a debut.” CMJ.com

“A little scuzzy, a little jangly and a lot awesome” Blender

“A tapestry of jangly guitar and multi-part vocal harmonies, and ranges from psychedelia to garage rock to surf pop. A bit off-kilter and more than a little charming, it’s Atlanta pop at its best and communicates as well as any recording could what it’s like to see the band live. No song better represents the band than the title track (and first single), ‘All Y’all’: It’s anthemic, hook-filled and catchy as hell” Paste

“All Y’all” is an exuberant rush of early Kinks guitars, tambourines, handclaps, multi-part harmonies, and bits of tinkly piano, all catchy.” Pitchfork

” I would mark All Y’all as one of the most exciting albums of the year, and, probably the best debut release.” Blurt

“They’ve got a killer name and killer tunes. Gringo Star are definitely a band on the rise.”
The Big Takeover

UK dates can be found at:
www.myspace.com/thegringostars