Portland's Southerly sees proper national release for Champion of the Noisy Negativists as Greyday Records reissues the EP June 14, 2011
"There's a wonderful amount of variety here, from the crescendo that capitalizes on the potential energy of Krueger's coiled emotions during the self-doubting "If We All Forgot" to the pedestrian showmanship springing from the piano keys during the hopeful "Soldiers".... Krueger also sings with the fidelity of a songwriter who's seen what he's saying. In fact, he's often better at conveying his sentiments with vocal nuances than with the words themselves." - Grayson Currin, Pitchfork
Portland, OR is widely known for its wealth of dark-pop songwriters, and Southerly is one of its very best. The nom-de-tune of Krist Krueger, Southerly has announced the release of a lush, layered new work titled Champion Of The Noisy Negativists. The EP follows the artist’s celebrated 2007 album, Storyteller And The Gossip Columnist (Greyday Records).
Picking up where Storyteller left off, listeners can hear the natural progression toward what ultimately became Champion: a swooning, eerie, beautiful, morose and uplifting soundscape that serves as an undeniable reminder of the tension, release, intensity and intrinsic harmony that all of us experience and celebrate in life. Unlike the previous disc, Champion is a largely instrumental affair, using vocals as additional layers, rather than the music’s guide.
MP3: Southerly - "Trials"
Champion Of The Noisy Negativists is a continuation in the evolution of songwriter/producer Krist Krueger, whose work has often been compared to fellow moody pop artists The National, Brendan Benson, Richard Ashcroft and Tindersticks. Predominantly recorded at Krueger’s own Sonic Sandbox (Portland, OR) and completed at Haywire Studios (Portland, OR), _Champion _was engineered by both Krueger and Robert Bartleson and produced by Krueger.
The EP is dedicated to and in memory of Jeff Hanson, please visit www.myspace.com/jeffhanson to learn more about him and his beautiful music.
Southerly Summer Dates:
06.15 • Rotture (Portland, OR)
06.16 • Sunset Tavern (Seattle, WA)
06.17 • ZACC Art Gallery (Missoula, MT)
Previous Praise for Southerly:
“...one of the year’s most gripping releases with Champion of the Noisy Negativists. The five-‐track EP is a cauldron of methodical yet deeply moving instrumental rock (although “Allostasis” does contain some enchanting oms) that combines forlorn piano motifs with gradually intensifying, swirling drones and portentous orchestral swells (or very convincing simulacra thereof). This is slowcore animated by subtle Sturm und Drang. Southerly understand that you don’t have to go over the top to drive listeners to tears and trembling; they wield the killing feather. With Champion of the Noisy Negativists, Southerly have achieved a sublime condition of uplifting downheartedness. More bands should follow their example.”
-Dave Segal / The [Seattle] Stranger
“In a city that has as many musicians as it does trees, Krist Krueger is one of the most prolific. Under the Southerly moniker, and in conjunction with OPB Radio, Krueger wrote, recorded, and released a song each week for 22 weeks. It was the second time he’d undertaken such a project. Part of the purpose for the Song-‐a-‐Week series was to showcase that I don’t really write in one style,” says Krueger. Another part is the rush that comes with the immersion in creativity. What’s more impressive and more important than Krueger’s schedule is the thread of quality that ties together his work as Southerly. Songs are not dashed off. They are all rigorous, composed, and fully realized studio executions more Beatles than Daniel Johnston.”
-Andrew Tonry / Portland Mercury
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