Brooklyn Vegan: “The Bruar Falls show also features local power-poppers Onward Chariots who sound pretty good on their Myspace.”
Eardrums (Norway): “I think I have found a new favourite band, a band that has such an effect on me that I want to listen to their songs over and over again and I still want more. Chariots of Tuna make super-melodic pop songs with 60s influenced falsetto harmonies and very clever arrangements. The music is full of sweet lightness, but there is nothing made easy here. Ben Morss’ songs are full of interesting arrangement-details and it is easy to hear that these songs are made with care and planning, and with a heart that probably beats for music both from our time and from some decades back.
I want more! Can’t get enough of this music…”
kalporz.com (Italy): “One of the summer’s most blogged-about bands… in that nice hopeful stage of possibly exploding on a global level: everything seems to be going the right way so far. The American music blogs in fact very much like their extremely melodic pop, which evokes the 60s but also the Housemartins. They call themselves lovers of the Beach Boys, the Shins, the Decemberists and Beck, and – yes – we’re there with the right influences. In particular, listen to “Air” on MySpace and see if it’s not the Beach Boys!” (translated from the Italian by Kedja & Michael)
Milk Milk Lemonade: “Think of a sound that exists somewhere between a polished Beach Boys single and an old dusty album from classic label Homestead Records and you will most likely understand why we are so taken with this music. It’s no small wonder that Slumberland Records is front and center on the Chariots Of Tuna MySpace page. We can’t imagine it being too distant of a relationship… for long, anyway.”
Eardrums (Norway): “Aahhh! A new single from Onward Chariots is better than Christmas, and this one is actually better than most things I can think of!
I adored their debut single, as you can see from my review, but the band has really progressed since then, and this is even better than I had dared to hope for. The songwriting is even more to the point, the vocals are more focussed and better, and these two songs are two gorgeous pop-treasures that in my ears are perfect. I am one of those who feel a little pain when I hear ecstatic guitar solos, but on “Seven miles away”, even the guitar solo is good!”
Powerpopaholic: “Onward Chariots play a lovely baroque alternative pop. The light falsetto vocal harmonies and matching jangle guitars on ‘War Hero’ are just a delight.”
Rock Sellout: “The lighter than cotton candy sounds of Brooklyn’s Onward Chariots were quite pleasant to my ears this morning, so I thought I’d share a song and a few words. It’s an incredibly easy listen in the vein of The Clientele or Belle and Sebastian.”
A Layer of Chips (UK): “I know a good falsetto when I hear one, and Chariots of Tuna’s singer Ben Morss does it better than most. Have a listen to indiepop epic War Hero on the band’s myspace page, and tell me that this sort of summer-y pop isn’t just what you need a Monday that seems to have dragged on forever. Onward Chariots fill that space left by fifty per cent of Beulah, and Belle and Sebastian before they turned into the Barron Knights.
If they don’t come to the UK soon, I’ll duff them up.”
SEA Fanzine (Southeast Asia): “If you need some energetic popish song I’d recommend Onward Chariots’ I found me & Seven miles away. I’ve first seen them on youtube playing ‘War Hero’, which blew my mind at that very first listen.”
Trip TV: “Onward Chariots have a rather different sound (which is one reason these split singles work so well), they sound like they like The Smiths. “I found me” drives on with some nice jangly guitar and psychedelic keyboards. “Seven miles” is a sweet little pop song and maybe the best on this EP with its retro rock and roll guitar riffs. So there you go, another winning excursion into the globalised world of modern C86!”
El Jardin de Octopus (Spain): “A mí me suenan como Matt Bianco, como los Teenage, pop transparente, brillante e iluminado, con melodías de enorme sencillez y gran capacidad de atracción. Una verdadera delicia.”
Desaparezca.net (Spain): “Una nueva y esperada entrega con tres singles en vinilo de color y en edición limitada. Los protagonistas: Zipper -herederos del sonido de Juniper Moon y recientemente confirmados para la I edición del Madrid Popfest-, el dúo que forman Coral y Javi Band À Part, y la primera edición foránea de la colección a cargo de los neoyorquinosOnward Chariots en la mejor tradición pop de ayer (Teenage Fanclub), de hoy (Camera Obscura) y de siempre (The Beach Boys).”
MEJORES DISCOS DE 2010
Lost and Found (in Japanese)
Tweendie Webzine (France): “Le groupe new-yorkais Onward Chariots, anciennement connu sous le nom de Chariots Of Tuna et par ailleurs signé chez February Records, vient de sortir un single chez l’excellentissime label espagnol Elefant. Le titre éponyme Save Me Maryann est on ne peut plus entraînant. Pour cette chanson d’amour où l’on traite de dépendance et où l’on attend que l’autre vienne nous sauver d’un coup de baguette magique, quoi de plus normal qu’un clip flirtant avec le côté féérique de la scène dessinée de Mary Poppins. Souvenez-vous; Mary et Bert sautent dans une des toiles que ce dernier a griffoné à la craie à même le pavé et ils s’aventurent alors dans un parc imaginaire. Ils dansent, volent, et marchent quelques pas au dessus du sol, tout comme le font les deux protagonistes dans la vidéo dont il est question ici. Le couple que vous verrez à l’écran est en fait composé de Shawn, le guitariste du groupe et d’une artiste brooklynoise: Katie Sokoler A.K.A. Color Me Katie. Nous vous laissons donc avec ces quelques minutes de couleur et de réjouissances.”
Intellectual House of Pancakes: “My Favorite Songs of 2010” (War Hero)
Burning World: “Pod Fodder 2010 – best of year
3. Onward Chariots – A New Beginning (Tweefort)”
This Love is Not Wrong (UK): “Brooklyn’s Onward Chariots followed, brightening up rainy London with a tight set of warm, summery pop, recalling sounds of the 60s; they have previously confessed their love for the Beach Boys and indeed, are victorious in recreating that sunshine sound also resonant with The Shins and Beck.”
Powerpopstation (Brazil): “Aqui continuamos nosso trabalho em desencavar os segredos e tesouros mais bem guardados da América. E não estamos falando em procurar nas altas montanhas de picos nevados ou desertos profundos onde só sobrevivem serpentes e bases aéreas secretas. Bandas também se escondem no centro mundo, mais precisamente no Brooklyn, Nova Iorque. E é de lá que vem o Chariots Of Tuna. Há 10 anos Ben Morss trocou a capital da Califórnia, Sacramento, pela capital do mundo e resolveu trazer seu antigo grupo à vida novamente. Com a ajuda de Shawn Setaro, Rus Wimbish e Dan Davine, preparou este EP de três faixas, onde prevalece o clima de maciez indie pop. Algo entre Belle & Sebastian e Brian Wilson. ”War Hero” abre o EP com placidez acústica, delicados coros vocais e os acetinados falsetes de Morss. “Save Me Maryann” segue por paisagens oníricas e teclados sobrepondo texturas. A brianwilsoneana “Air” é levada por teclados vintage e a voz de Ben apenas cantando um coro, fazendo jus ao nome da faixa. Esperemos que, quando as novas canções do Chariots Of Tuna ganhem vida, não precisemos chamá-los mais de “segredo bem guardado do Brooklyn”.”