With only a few hints left of their artsy shoegazer-inspired past, Secrets Are Sinister sees Longwave continuing in the U2 by way of Snow Patrol vein of 2005's There's a Fire and aiming directly for radio acceptance, this time without major label backing. This seeming grab for commercial acceptance may be paying off, as "The Devil and the Liar"'s shimmering instrumental opening soundtracks a Lubriderm commercial. Musically, the song is a dead ringer for their peers Rogue Wave and likewi   [ read more ]

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Insound Staff Pick - 2008! Longwave's fourth album Secrets Are Sinister doesn't waste any time introducing the band's newly expanded sound. Opener "Sirens in the Deep Sea" sets the stage with a brief, dueling jangle of chords before exploding into a cosmic crash of pounding drums, falsetto, and larger than life fuzzed out guitar. The band's trademark sound is all still there - atmospheric, arena-sized guitars that build to an epic swell - but now their penchant for dreamy landscapes gives way    [ read more ]

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New York City's Longwave moves beyond its Strokes connection and sharpen its glossy, slick, shoegazing guitar work for a stunning second album, The Strangest Things. Echoes of classic U2, Echo & the Bunnymen, and Swervedriver resonate throughout, but the maddening double guitar work of Steve Schlitz and Shannon Ferguson singles out the album's overall fullness. Schlitz's magnetic vocal warmth is a nice fit to the band's lush, melodic distortion, giving producer Dave Fridmann   [ read more ]

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The Strangest Things is the major label debut of New York's Longwave. Initially discovered while opening for the Strokes at Maxwell's in Hoboken, Longwave have gone on to tour the US and Europe with the aforementioned Strokes, The Vines, Ok Go!, and The Donnas. The Strangest Things, produced by Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev producer Dave Fridmann is already garnering high praise for the band, with Rolling Stone touting them as "one of New York's hottest live bands," and England's NME simply sa   [ read more ]

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There's a Fire is more dynamic than anything previously recorded by Longwave. From the sustained explosion that is "We're Not Gonna Crack," to the orchestral and spooky "Underworld" and "Down In Here," Longwave explores a wider sonic landscape than ever before. The anthemic but inside-out title track, "There's a Fire," also introduces some of Steve Schiltz's most cinematic lyrical work, a continuous spooky and dreamlike imagery sustained throughout the album. There's a Fire is a truly cohesive   [ read more ]

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