American Rock Band. Minneapolis, MN.
Johnny Solomon. Molly Moore. Adam Switlick. Jonathan Blaseg. Al Weiers.
4 years ago, John Solomon walked away from music. After struggling with addiction and a brief stint in jail, he broke up his critically acclaimed band Friends Like These and moved to a small town in Wisconsin. And supposedly, that was that.
But even though Solomon left music, music never left him. And when the calls kept coming, he finally called back. After prompting from local record label owner Mike Boeser of Grainbelt Records, Solomon got in touch with some old friends to demo up a new album: the demos for “Soundtrack to the End.” In his basement in a small town in Wisconsin, Solomon put his struggles with addiction and lost chances down into a stellar debut.
Solomon and company have already reclaimed their sp
ot in the music world and then some with glowing reviews from critics all over, including Melissa Maerz of Rolling Stone and a debut from Fader Magazine, to name a few. Nationally renowned radio station 89.3 The Current picked up the songs right away, and Communist Daughter already have two #1 singles and were named one of NPR's favorite in studio performances of 2010. "Grey's Anatomy" featured two songs in their 2010-2011 season, and in fall 2011 Communist Daughter's debut album got a proper national release.
All the while, Minneapolis music fans have been flocking to Communist Daughter shows, naming them their favorite band of 2010 (Metro Magazine) over nationally praised and much better known Twin Cities acts such as Doomtree, Solid Gold, and Peter Wolf Crier.
Solomon has assembled a record worth taking note of now, having already been named one of 5 Emerging Artists to Watch in 2010 by Avid, the makers of Protools and M-audio. The album includes some of the Twin Cities' best and brightest, including appearances by Darren Jackson (Kid Dakota, The Hopefuls), Christopher Mcguire (12 Rods), and Dave Boquist (Son Volt). As 2010 closed, Communist Daughter appeared in several best-of lists, including the Minneapolis Star Tribune naming Solomon's return as the "most welcome comeback of 2010."
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PRESS:
"Fragile, daydreaming harmonies. Swirling synths that spin and spin until they fall down dizzy. Steady-galloping drums that coolly pass you by. These Midwestern boys have wrapped them all up into rip-your-heart out ballads about getting older but not necessarily happier – songs that capture the old joy of classic records and do-nothing days, and the ache of knowing they're mostly gone. Yes, there's a good kind of sadness, and this is what it sounds like."
- Melissa Maerz, Rolling Stone Magazine
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"Friends Like These always seemed like a band on the verge of breaking out to bigger things: they graced the cover of City Pages in an era when local musicians rarely even sniffed it, the Hold Steady’s Craig Finn was a major booster and guested on some recordings, and, most importantly, their jagged power-pop was undeniably top flight, simply too good to be kept Minnesota’s secret for long. Unfortunately the big break never really happened for FLT and for awhile it looked like the group’s frontman, John Solomon, was going to turn his back on music altogether.
Fortunately reports of Solomon’s musical retirement were greatly exaggerated and he’s back with a new band, Communist Daughter - featuring fellow former FLT-er Adam Switlick on bass, drummer Steve Yasgar and guitarist Jonathan Blaseg -which pursues mellower musical terrain than FLT but is similarly generous in the catchy hook department. Solomon’s currently putting the finishing touches on Communist Daughter’s debut, but in the meantime Reveille got a sneak preview of the goods in the form of two exclusive live solo acoustic performances."
- Reveille Magazine
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If you were too late to score a Bon Iver ticket, do yourself a favor and head over to the Kitty Cat Klub on Saturday to catch Communist Daughter perform..And if you're a musician, I guess you might want to start hunting for your own forgotten corner of Packerland to start recording the next budding masterpiece."
- Ross Rahallia, St. Paul Pioneer Press
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“Not The Kid” is both first single from that project and it is a JAAAMMMMM. The album from whence it came, Soundtrack to the End unleashes its mellow wrath on your springtime April 6th.
-The Fader
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"The result is a gorgeously sad and luscious album, Soundtrack to the End...Steeped in '60s-era Beach Boy harmonies and expansive, sunny choruses, Solomon's upbeat pop arrangements are contrasted with lyrics about loss, cynicism, and struggle, in a narrative that tells far more than Solomon would ever confess in an interview."
- Andrea Swensson, City Pages
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"The night, lit by a full moon, took on an even more imaginative feel when a song by Communist Daughter suddenly came on the radio. It happened while the band's heavily bearded and beat-up-looking singer/guitarist Johnny Solomon was describing how one of the best Minnesota albums of the year was recorded right there at his Wisconsin eatery on the St. Croix -- where he relocated two years ago, ironically or not as a way of retreating from the Twin Cities music scene now at his doorstep.
Things have fallen together in very weird, unplanned ways for Communist Daughter, and the Boxcar seems to have played a central role. The band's fluky ascent continues with Friday's release party at the Fine Line for its captivating debut album, "Soundtrack to the End," a mostly acoustic, lo-fi but highly melodic and inventive folk-rock collection that falls in with modern taste buds somewhere between Bon Iver, Blitzen Trapper and Belle & Sebastian. ."
- Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune
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