The Paranoid Style

The Paranoid Style
Origin Washington, DC, United States
Genres Garage rock, new wave revival, indie pop
Years active 2012-present
Labels Bar/None, Misra, Battle Worldwide
Associated acts The Mendoza Line
Bird of Youth
Members Elizabeth Nelson
Timothy Bracy
Bruce Bennett
Ken Flagg
Bud Carroll

The Paranoid Style is a Washington, D.C.-based garage rock band led by the husband-and-wife duo of Elizabeth Nelson and Timothy Bracy. Formed in 2012, the band is named after Richard J. Hofstadter's 1964 essay The Paranoid Style in American Politics.[1] Their first two releases were the EPs The Power of Our Proven System and The Purposes of Music in General. Both EPs were released together in 2013 by Misra Records in a limited release.[2] The band's first physical release was the 2015 EP Rock & Roll Just Can’t Recall, released by Battle Worldwide Recordings.[3] Their full-length debut, Rolling Disclosure, was released on July 15, 2016 on Bar/None Records. It was preceded by the single "Giving Up Early (On Tomorrow)", which was released earlier that month.[4][5]

Critical reception

Robert Christgau gave the Paranoid Style's 2013 EP The Power of Our Proven System an A- grade. In his review, Christgau wrote that "this band has yet to release a dull song" and that on the EP, the band "mine[s] a pop-rock vein that braces Wilson's cleanly uncrystalline articulation against Bracy's noisier guitar and a straight four that doesn't quit." He later gave Rock and Roll Just Can't Recall an A grade and Rolling Disclosure an A- grade.[6][7] Spin's Dan Weiss reviewed Rock and Roll Just Can't Recall favorably, describing it as "some of the smartest rip-and-roar you’ll hear in a season mostly notable for its plethora of excellent releases by hungry rappers."[8] Also for Spin, Jason Gubbels gave Rolling Disclosure an 8 out of 10 rating, and described its songs as "doomsday anthems primed for a sock hop". Gubbels also wrote that on the album, "the drummer takes off, pianos crash, and a bemused all-male Greek chorus mugs along."[9] Marcy Donelson of AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5, and concluded by describing it as "the type of record that will sell tickets to shows, and maybe even inspire a new Hofstadter fan or two."[10] Jon M. Gilbertson reviewed the album favorably for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and praised Nelson's "tunefully dry delivery" that he said "gives a matter-of-fact wryness to the boisterous and dense indie-pop and indie-rock songs of the glorious first TPS album."[11] Writing for the Texas newspaper The Monitor, Jon LaFollette gave the album an A-, writing that on the album,

...[Nelson's] limited grasp for melody manages to lighten her cynical streak. Where she falls short in the hooks department, Bracy steps in with a bag of garage riffs that lack in imagination but remain punchy due to a steadfast delivery.[12]

Discography

EPs

  • The Power of Our Proven System and The Purposes of Music in General (released together by Misra Records; 2013)
  • Rock & Roll Just Can’t Recall (Battle Worldwide Recordings; 2015)
  • Underworld U.S.A. (Bar/None; 2017)

Albums

  • Rolling Disclosure (Bar/None; 2016)

References

  1. ↑ Donelson, Marcy. "The Paranoid Style Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  2. ↑ "The Paranoid Style". Misra Records. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  3. ↑ "Video Premiere: 'National Sunday Law' by The Paranoid Style". Artrocker. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  4. ↑ Donelson, Marcy. "Rolling Disclosure Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  5. ↑ Brennan, Collin (6 July 2016). "The Paranoid Style abandon hope on hook-laden single "Giving Up Early (On Tomorrow)" — listen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  6. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: The Paranoid Style". Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  7. ↑ Christgau, Robert (5 August 2016). "The World is a Setup". Vice. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  8. ↑ Staff (7 May 2015). "SPIN Overlooked Albums Report: Young Guv's Power-Pop, Lord Huron's Folk Revival, and More". Spin. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  9. ↑ Gubbels, Jason (15 July 2016). "Review: The Paranoid Style Make the Trump-Era Send-Up of the Year on 'Rolling Disclosure'". Spin. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  10. ↑ Donelson, Marcy. "Rolling Disclosure Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  11. ↑ Gilbertson, Jon M. (14 July 2016). "New albums in stores this week". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  12. ↑ LaFollette, Jon (19 August 2016). "Women who roll with the punches". The Monitor. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
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