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Bio
Lowry the band is synonymous with Lowry the man. From a family of musicians, Alexander Lowry drifted from the peaceful country life of Kansas to the mind bending, cultural hurricane that is the East Village.
In his early garage days, Lowry 'let loose the demons' he would later identify as the driving force behind his music. And as time would have it, Lowry would then evolve well away from the rebellion of Marshall stack-driven power punk to a uniquely infectuous brand of melodic music that shares time in both the esoteric and psychodelic realms of pop music.
While Kansas City and Lawrence had provided a cultural corner for music making, it lacked the spark Lowry needed to become fully absorbed in the greater musical ether. After completing over 200 live shows within that corner, Lowry successfully extricated himself and landed where he needed to be -- New York City.
It has been an epic trek for Lowry. One that has included time spent in deep introspection, experimentation and personal triumph; A journey that ushered him through tragedy and rebound all happening within a temporal space defined by need, desire, sorrow, distrust, anger, darkness, elation...and humor.
The new Lowry album is a record in two senses of the word: "Awful Joy" is, of course, a musical recording while also an historical record of the artist's journey. And while Lowry prefers to subsume his physical identity into his music, Alex Lowry's characteristic rich emotional hues are omnipresent from first play.
RAVES FOR "AWFUL JOY", THE NEW LP FROM LOWRY
Voted one of the top 5 albums of 2005, Voted one of the top 5 live shows in Chicago in 2005--- CHICAGO INNERVIEW MAGAZINE *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Alex Lowry's psychedelic neo/anti-folk pop is an offbeat offshoot where the hurdy gurdy man takes us on a twisted magical mystery tour. Hot wired and intense, even in its quieter moments, this is challenging, innovative music that pushes established boundaries with alarming ease." CREATIVE LOAFING, ATLANTA *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"On the 13 tracks of the band's new release, Awful Joy, beauty, banality and brutality coexist — fragile and sincere — in fingerpicked guitars, whinnying harmonicas and cascading pianos. The result is as strange and beautiful as any acid excursion. As Lowry puts it in "Arkansas," sometimes the real world can ruin our good time, but it still contains the only magic that we know of, so what're you so scared of?" CHRIS GLENN, THE PITCH WEEKLY---KANSAS CITY *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
"Listening to Alexander Lowry's sedated croon on 'Fourth Of July,' it's a certain kind of soul that makes itself known. Not fragile, but vulnerable, his voice wavers just a bit in that post-Violent Femmes show of sensitivity. . ." JJ KOCZAN, THE AQUARIAN WEEKLY---NEW JERSEY *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Lowry's quietly strange brand of neo-folk music is akin to an ocean breeze stirring the hot, heavy summer air: It refreshes and delights, and leaves listeners smiling about the pleasant little surprises that await in life. Such a pleasing discovery is bound to unassumingly tuck itself away into one's soul, to be remembered and treasured for a long time to come." KATHERINE LATSHAW, ENCORE MAGAZINE---WILMINGTON/CAPE FEAR *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
". . .he is creating music that is timeless and groundbreaking. . . .More than just the production. . . the songs themselves come through as a force to be reckoned with", BLOCK MAGAZINE, NYC *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"One of the true musical gems to come out of the past year. . .Rather than the typical verse/chorus/verse structure many of the tracks from their debut LP "Awful Joy" build slowly and subtly before reaching their cathartic peaks, GHOST MEDIA, CHICAGO *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"If you're a fan of melodic, intelligent pop music in any form you owe it to yourself to check these guys out. Awful Joy is a spectacular album, and Alex Lowry's immense talent makes for an amazing show. . . Full of melodious hooks and emotional movement, the record is a testament to how overtly enjoyable pop music can be when it is stripped of self-consciousness and pretension. " DON BARTLETT, CHICAGO INNERVIEW MAGAZINE *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Lowry's ostensibly part of the neo-folk revival over-running the East Village, but this disc is all over the rock time line, from Ziggy-era Bowie to Yoshimi-Lips, with twangy intervals, chamber pop stops and even a prog-rock touch or two along the journey. He is not to be missed." JOHN SCHACT, CREATIVE LOAFING---CHARLOTTE *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"[Awful Joy] outdid my expectations by leaps and bounds…at least half of the album would be capable of winning legions of fans. .... So far this gets local release of the year in my book, setting the bar pretty high for what is capable by independent New York musicians." URBAN FOLK MAGAZINE, NYC *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
". . .truly one of the best performances in the history of the Jezebel Music Songwriter Showcase. . . Alex's songwriting operates within a timelessness that can't pigeonhole his sound to a particular era of music. . .his songs possess an edgy, angry, sarcastic, yet lovable uniqueness. . ." JEZEBEL MUSIC, NYC *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"The way Lowry manages to wrestle a melody out of all the seemingly disconnected layers of sound is a beautiful mystery that, whether it be serendipity or sheer diligence, makes the songs not merely intriguing but flat out catchy. . . .It's not often, as in "4th of July" that you hear cello and banjo working together but it is that sort of collage of sound and Lowry's dreamy fits of language that make this record not just a solid work of art but such an unadulterated and immediate joy." ROBIN CRACKNELL, AMERICANA UK *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Lowry might be a bit off his rocker but he has a mastery for crafting clever and intelligent pop hooks. . . .The East Village might be the proper place for him to call home but after a single listen he'll find himself at home in your stereo and music rotation." SMOTHER MAGAZINE *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"It's a mellow minefield. . .His singing isn't pretty, but it's earnest and sad and tough to ignore. His guitar work on the other hand, is pretty, and nimble and country-tinged too. This music isn't pop or rock or even alt-country, really, but a mish-mash of all three. Do not miss this band." BIRMINGHAM WEEKLY *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
-*-*-* ". . .a fantastic album brimming with mellow, folkie, psychedelic charm and outrageousness!" LYNDA DALE MCLEAN, CELEBRITY CAFE *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Awful Joy is the new album from singer-songwriter Alex Lowry, and its adventuresome sounds tear apart the guy-with-guitar stereotypes as they weave through atmospheric soundscapes, alt-country ballads and psychedelic pop numbers. Hints of Bowie, Zappa and more. Worth a listen. FLAGPOLE MAGAZINE, ATHENS *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Lowry has in 'Awful Joy' created an album of music that acts like water on a watercolor, blurring lines between genres and re-sorting them into something new and vital." DAILY VAULT, JASON WARBURG *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Love, self-discovery, fist fights, there's a little bit of everything on "Awful Joy." Mostly love, though. I mean, there is a sunflower on the album cover." CITY WEEKLY, OMAHA *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Nearly a decade before Alexander Lowry recorded [his sophomore effort] Left My Car on the Paseo with the band that bears his surname, he fronted a Pittsburg, Kansas-based outfit called Dirty Steve. Singing, he says, about "punk bullshit, 'fuck you, rah rah rah,'" Lowry and his cohorts hacked pedestrian punk and metal riffs through the biggest amps that summer jobs and allowances could afford. It's a typical teen-age rite of passage, made astounding by Lowry's transformation into the amiable vocalist of a good-times jangle-jam quartet. Imagine Dave Matthews living his wonder years as a profane mohawked rabble-rouser, or, on a local level, an adolescent David Basse doing his best Iggy Pop impression in a greasy garage". The Pitch Weekly Kansas City, May 2003 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
". . .His style does not lend itself easily to comparison. Often employing irregular time signatures and airy, off-the-beaten-path chord voicings, Lowry paints vivid images with his unique voice solid and smooth while suggesting vulnerability." LIBERATED MATTER, NYC 2004 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Lush and orgasmic at times, the music can shift shapes and transcend forms just as easily as the curious lyrics." THE READER, OMAHA *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Awful Joy is a sprawling epic of home studio dynamics and drunken self-immolation by the fires of ego and lust. His vocal delivery is beyond direct, he barely sings, he more intones his pleas of "Please Love Me" throughout the record. And I mean all this all in the best possible light. His songs arc like a bird in flight at the chorus, coming back down to the ground in the verse." ALEX COOK, OUTSIDE LEFT---BATON ROUGE *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
booking inquiries: claire@remedialmedia.com