Boy With A Fish
Song List:
1. Sometimes 4:52 [sample mp3]
2. Plastic Raincoat 5:45 [sample mp3]
3. Out Into the Empty 4:39 [sample mp3]
4. Boxers 4:28
5. Birds Fly Backwards 5:23
6. Wait For Me 3:47
7. In the Poppies 4:58 [sample mp3]
8. Glasses 5:40 [sample mp3]
9. Basement 5:20 [sample mp3]
10. People Go Under 5:58 [sample mp3]
11. Red Sparrow Bridge 5:12
12. In The Rain 1:25
Appearing on this recording:
Jeff Claus - guitars, vocals, keyboard
Judy Hyman - violin, viola, vocals, keyboard
Rick Hansen - accordion
Jay Olsa - bass
Ben Wittman - drums, percussion
Elizabeth Steen - organ and Wurlitzer electric piano (tracks 1,2,4,6,7,8,9,10,12)
Eric Della Penna - electric guitar (tracks 2,3,4,9,10)
Robbie Aceto - electric guitar (tracks 1,7,8)
Billy Cote - electric guitar (track 2)
Sera Smolen - cello (track 5)
Boy with a Fish, a new band with members of the Horse Flies and Plastic Nebraska has released their first CD! Jeff Claus (vocals/guitar), Judy Hyman (violin/viola/vocals), Rick Hansen (accordion), Jay Olsa (bass), Ryan Cady(drums). Indie rock with quirky, poetic lyrics and a percolating beat -- dark, artful music that's sometimes edgy and sometimes hauntingly beautiful -- new music with twisted Americana roots.
"It's not necessary for you to know that Boy with a Fish is an offshoot of the Horse Flies, the much heralded Ithaca, NY twisted folk/rock outfit. But if you have an affinity for quirky Americana with a hushed but hauntingly powerful electric shiver, you should seek out Boy with a Fish's gripping new album, Birds Fly Backwards. The heart and soul of BwaF mirrors the Horse Flies' creative engine of vocalist/guitarist Jeff Claus and violinist/vocalist Judy Hyman. Claus sings in a reedy plea that sounds like a keening hybrid of Freedy Johnston, Jules Shear and David Byrne, while the band (fleshed out by Plastic Nebraska's Rick Hansen and Jay Olsa and, on this recording, Laurie Anderson drummer Ben Wittman) offers a dustily expansive soundtrack of melodic melancholy, airily suggesting the electric pop texture of Talking Heads and the authentic crackle of 16 Horsepower. From the shimmering opening strains of "Sometimes," with all the noir-ish menace of a Stan Ridgway short story/song ("Losing hair since I was twelve/and I think my car wants to hurt me/I can see it standing there/It's unsettling me..."), Boy with a Fish makes a deep impact with the simplest instrumentation and the sparsest arrangement.Birds Fly Backwards is quietly compelling and, with any luck, Boy with a Fish will enjoy the same longevity and accolades as their lauded parent band.
-- Amplifier Magazine
"With a smooth alternative rock sound and introspective, free-flowing lyrics, Boy with a Fish conjures up thoughts of the best of works by bands like Counting Crows and musicians like PJ Harvey"
-- Ithaca Times. Purchase Birds Fly Backwards today!
