From American Songwriter Magazine
"Like a Deep South cross between Tom Petty and Elvis Costello, Atlanta power pop trio Young Antiques have always been one of those bands who manage to write mature, impeccably intricate rock songs without ever making them sound overthought."
Thanks for the praise, American Songwriter! Read the entire article here.
In praise of Armies in the Alley: "it’s a gorgeous and moving track, filled with the sort of close-your-eyes hooks that sound best when you let them wash over you. But pay just the slightest bit of attention and you’ll notice that beneath those majestic grooves lies a post-apocalyptic tale mired in social and political unrest."
Read the review and stream Armies in the Alley here!
From Jeff Clark at Stomp & Stammer: "...about that title track. Oh, man… it’s not that it says anything new or profound ‘bout the often-unmanageable emotional coin toss between falling (back) in love or falling (back) apart, but it doesn’t need to. Its simplicity, honesty, vulnerability and tenderness are what make it work, all encapsulated within Rainey’s vocal performance along with faint traces of soul that aren’t typically apparent. It’s deceptively low key; in truth, “Another Risk of the Heart” could be Rainey’s greatest song."
Read the entire thoughtful review here.
From Atlanta's Creative Loafing:
Another Risk Of The Heart is the latest release from longtime Atlanta songwriting hero Blake Rainey and the Young Antiques. Released via Southern Lovers Recording Co., Another Risk Of The Heart is pressed on gorgeous blue vinyl, and finds singer and guitarist Rainey flanked by bass player Blake Parris and new drummer John Speaks (Skirt, the Jody Grind), all reveling in new anthemic songs with titles such as “Euclid Creeper,” “I Think You’ll Never,” and “Goin’ Home” featuring vocals by Atlanta expat Kelly Hogan (Neko Case, the Decemberists, Rock*A*Teens, The Jody Grind).
Each song was recorded in Rainey’s home Southern Lovers Recording Studios, blending his signature blend of power pop hooks and storytelling with a rural Southern inflection and crystalline production. Chris Lopez ( Rock*A*Teens, Tenement Halls) and Tom Cheshire (West End Motel, All Night Drug Prowling Wolves) also make guest appearances throughout the album.
Young Antiques frontman Blake Rainey isn't just a formidable songwriter, he's also a fabulous cook.
Jam in the Van (for whom Rainey performed a few years back) called up mid-coronavirus quarantine and asked if he'd whip up something tasty on camera, and Rainey obliged with a killer recipe for spicy Szechuan chicken and shrimp. A couple cigars and chili peppers later, and this video was comin' in hot.
Thanks to Jam in the Van for the invite! We're loving watching the rest of the series too!
Blake on Jam in the Van:
Please Erase All Memory of Me
The Angels Were Wrong About Her
FIRST LISTEN: HELICOPTER ROSE
Blake Rainey is a songwriter caught between traditions—those of the Southern folk storyteller (he’s a native north Georgian with roots deep in Atlanta’s indie music scene), and that of the scrappy-smart rock underdog spitting intelligent lyrics over jangly guitars that he cut his teeth and broke in his first Telecaster idolizing.
Helicopter Rose is Rainey's 2nd full-length release with the quartet Blake Rainey & His Demons, which follows two quiet, eponymous releases and the fist-pumping albums of his other outfit, The Young Antiques. This newest nine songs pulls from both of these worlds Blake lives so well in, mixing folk music and barroom country with vintage-rock and punk sensibilities overlaid with pedal steel, organ, and Memphis-style horns. Listen to the title track:
Helicopter Rose drops on the Southern Lovers label in early December, kick-started by a show at the EARL on Atlanta's east side. It'll be a little pre-Christmas gift that mines and meld a rich American musical landscape into a modern sound we all recognize as comfortably ours in the U.S.—something that is heart-on-the-sleeve, a little proud, and a little conflicted. Pre-order the whole soundscape of love, loss and loner literature here.
Vents Magazine sat down with Blake a while back to ask about the new album, the title (Helicopter Rose), the recording process, and what he's learned in his 15+ year career in music:
"I’ve learned, the hard way, to do only what feels right in your gut and don’t put up with anyone else’s shit. It’s also a good idea to surround yourself with people more talented than yourself who also have a positive and encouraging attitude. The older I get, it’s harder to find folks with good attitudes who you can trust. Entertainment is a dog of a business."
Read the entire interview here.
Helicopter Rose comes out in full 12/8/16 with an album release at the EARL in Atlanta, but you can pre-order a digital or fancy, transparent red vinyl copy at the Southern Lovers web store. Do it now, and you won't even have to wait for your copy: we'll ship it out TODAY. Merry early Christmas.
Thanks to 'Nooga Magazine for their well-thought review of Blake Rainey & His Demons' Helicopter Rose and the first single, "Trouble on Holiday." "It's what you'd get if Tom Petty and Nick Lowe sat down together to write a song steeped in the perspectives of someone who's spent their whole life in the Deep South."
Hear the track on Nooga.com.
Helicopter Rose comes out in full 12/8/16, but you can pre-order a digital or fancy, transparent red vinyl copy at the Southern Lovers web store.
Blake Rainey & His Demons' newest album, Helicopter Rose, doesn't drop until early December, but you can listen to the first track, "Trouble on Holiday," thanks to Glide Magazine. It's a rocker, and according to the online music magazine, "checkered with smart wordplay and sharp storytelling in the tradition of (Rainey's) legendary influences...a track that maintains a modern urgency, while keeping its footing with the indie credibility of Hüsker Dü and The Posies." Yep - that about covers it. Thanks for the write-up, Glide!
Hear the track on Glide's website.
Helicopter Rose comes out in full 12/8/16, but you can pre-order a digital or fancy, transparent red vinyl copy at the Southern Lovers web store.
A while back, The Jam in the
Van crew stopped by the (sadly now defunct) Thunderbox Studios and recorded
some farewell-to-everyone's-practice-space tunes by ATL players. Blake
performed a couple, and the above video is a favorite.
Get The Angels Were Wrong About Her on Blake
Rainey & His Demons' 2015 release Love Don't Cross Me.
FIRST LISTEN: HELICOPTER ROSE
Blake Rainey is a songwriter caught between traditions—those of the Southern folk storyteller (he’s a native north Georgian with roots deep in Atlanta’s indie music scene), and that of the scrappy-smart rock underdog spitting intelligent lyrics over jangly guitars that he cut his teeth and broke in his first Telecaster idolizing.
Helicopter Rose is Rainey's 2nd full-length release with the quartet Blake Rainey & His Demons, which follows two quiet, eponymous releases and the fist-pumping albums of his other outfit, The Young Antiques. This newest nine songs pulls from both of these worlds Blake lives so well in, mixing folk music and barroom country with vintage-rock and punk sensibilities overlaid with pedal steel, organ, and Memphis-style horns. Listen to the title track:
Helicopter Rose drops on the Southern Lovers label in early December, kick-started by a show at the EARL on Atlanta's east side. It'll be a little pre-Christmas gift that mines and meld a rich American musical landscape into a modern sound we all recognize as comfortably ours in the U.S.—something that is heart-on-the-sleeve, a little proud, and a little conflicted. Pre-order the whole soundscape of love, loss and loner literature here.
