NYU's Own Depreciation Guild Takes CMJ

NYU's Own Depreciation Guild Takes CMJ

There are tons and tons upon tons of NYU musical acts out there, be they of the rock or the showtunes variety, but none seem to be making the major impact on the outside world quite like Depreciation Guild. Formed in 2005, the band features twins Anton and Christoph as well as, part-time model, Kurt. Their sound is a Experimental Shoegaze Psych Alt Rock Something but it transfers to the stage in a really affective way. As sort of a shy group of guys, theyve managed to create some music that does seem to truly reflect themselves and thus, makes for an interesting live performance. Its easy to feel the way the boys love what they have created amongst the hum of the guitar and now, with the addition of Christoph's brother Anton as live percussion, there is a whole new element to be added onstage. Their albums are all available for free download via their Myspace, and there are also tons of photos and reviews to be read there. Apparently, there is much to be said about Depreciation Guild:

 

"Packs the midrange full with all sorts of shimmery textures-- the lo-res digital snares land with a static-laden splash, ringing guitars are haloed in harmonics, and stretched along the back is a fluttering curtain of white noise...Sky Ghosts is certainly a nice track to get lost in"
-pitchfork.com

"Adding elements of all your gazy favorites to the 8-bit Famicom-programmed beats, “Sky Ghosts” is a perfect distillation of the unique and powerful sound of The Guild. Not to be missed!"
-insound.com

"These two gents' music is a wonderful collage of guitars, drums, fuzzy electronics, and heartfelt lyrics that, in this writer's opinion, places them a couple steps ahead of most post-rock acts. Makes me want to hop the L train and give these guys a hug.
-xlr8r.com

"From a literal wall of color to a figurative wall of sound (and/or both)...Synesthesia surrounds their debut 8-bit/shoegaze album, In Her Gentle Jaws...aggressively crackling, pounding NES programming offset by that shimmer-wash of guitar and well structured pop vocals."
-talk was a dream (blog)

"Wonderful, dreamy shoegaze that co-exists with the very unique beeps and boops of a Nintendo soundchip...Filled with atmospheric instrumentals (the title track, “Water Window”) and some wonderfully upbeat numbers (”Sky Ghosts,” “Butterfly Kisses), this is the kind of album that should not be dismissed; furthermore, In Her Gentle Jaws is ESSENTIAL for any self-respecting music lover."
-the world that surrounds (blog)

"The Catherine Wheel of chipmusic– beautiful washes of guitars, dreamy rock songs, and… game systems? Definitely worth a listen..."
-resonatormag.com

"An extremely distinctive sound that raises questions of whether or not this whole ’80s revival thing occurring rampantly in fashion and music is really a longstanding niche after all....The Depreciation Guild present one of the most singularly distinctive styles I have heard all year."
-audio pleasures (blog)

"Buzzes with the energy of a hungry arcade – throbbing [low-bit samples] and pulsing [pulsewaves] kick the whole affair into a decidedly different atmosphere, making for an invigoratingly unique listen."
-permanent hiatus (blog)

"Every time I listen to these guys, I immediately want to look down and study my Sauconys. Brooklyn's The Depreciation Guild make lush, shoegaze-y sounds from guitars (no surprise there) and a Nintendo (surprise there)...In this case, the Nintendo (sorry, the "Famicom") acts as more of a background sound layer to fill in any gaps between nice and swirly guitar parts and catchy pop choruses sung in the band's best Britpop hush."
-ohmyrockness.com

"This NYC experimental rock duo (trio?) creates a beautiful maelstrom of raging guitars, 8-bit beats, and emotional vocals. Live shows feature the two human guitarists shredding alongside the modded [Famicom cart], each note corresponding to a different color on a nearby video screen"
-freeindie.com

"There is a cool band from Brooklyn called The Depreciation Guild. You can download their album for free at their website. If you like shoegaze and nintendo sounds this band will turn your brain into gravy sauce."
-everybody outside (blog)

"The Depreciation Guild is two guys and a Famicom. That’s techno for a certain brand of gaming hardware — Nintendo. The result is an intoxicating swirl of shoegaze dreampop and electro artfulness that leaves you swooning. ...Taking your beloved old school Nintendo Entertainment System to unexpected concert-hall packing potential; now there’s an idea!"
-lostateminor.com

(TRANSLATED FROM DANISH:)
"The unholy man/machine-alliance plays noisy shoegazer. Beautiful pop songs draped in a veil of guitar distortion, pulsating in 60 hertz, synced to the unsteady flicker of the television. Bloodveins and digital circuits tangle in a new body of sound. A body whose artificial limbs doesn't seem that alien at all. In the dreaming night sky of the band, the naïve, robotic and crystalline arpeggio-chords sparkle brighter than the stars in their innocence."
-soundvenue.com

"This is absolutely killer and it..s for free! Shoegaze + 8bit sounds + great melodies."
-we are monsters (blog)

"The Depreciation Guild is a band from Brooklyn, NY that deserves to be heard and talked about more. I would be surprised if the album doesn’t end up in the year-end best of lists massively."
-all favourites (blog)

"The Depreciation Guild present one of the most singularly distinctive styles I have heard all year....melodies are diverse and always enriching, a trait that makes In Her Gentle Jaws worth the listen, free or not."
-obscuresound.com

"In Her Gentle Jaws is mesmerizing. Download it immediately, sit back, and let wave upon wave of serene yet angst-ridden guitar walls, bombastic drumming, and swooning vocals flow over you..."
-bibabidi.com

(On Butterfly Kisses:) Electronic shoegaze! Sounds quite a lot like Slowdive, except a bit sharper around the edges. And the singer has the perfect voice for shoegaze - hazy and dreamy. So yeah, I love pretty much everything about this song. Let it sweep you off your feet.
-rocksellout.com

"It's like if the Cocteau Twins and Ride got together and made their best album together on an Atari 2600 or something. It's good as ****."
-lucidmedia (blog)

"To say that the band’s majestic, driving, sky-high pop melodies are ‘reverb-drenched’ and ‘blissed-out’ is to not do them justice - there is a vintage warmth amidst the chaos that makes the DG as comforting to wrap yourself in as it is enthralling to listen to."
-nodesertforyou.com

"Two humans (Kurt Feldman and Christoph Hocheim) and a Famicom, have perfected the art of chip music with their luscious, dreamy shoegaze rock. Feldman and Hocheim’s swirling, blurry, bleeding guitars layer over saturated beats, bass lines and synths produced by the Famicom for an epic experience."
-thedelimagazine.com

"Brooklyn's The Depreciation Guild make blissed out shoegaze with classic Famicom blips, bloops, crashes and swoooooooshes. Knee-jerk reaction that the two genres that don't reconcile well, but DG pull it off beyond expectations"
-wuxtry (blog)

"Free or not, this is one solid (and surprising) debut from and certainly worth the listen. Check out the warm and uplifting “Sky Ghosts” below and be sure to download the album (for free)."
-crackersunited.com

"I usually only have fleeting crushes on super fuzzed out/shoe-gazey bands, but I think it might be getting a little more serious for The Depreciation Guild."
-decibels & debacles (blog)

"There are loads of "new" bands exploding out of Brooklyn these days. The Depreciation Guild are one of my favorites...The band's strength is their ability to hold back on the wash and instead deliver some strong vocal melodies and interesting beats. Very nice work."
-surfing on steam (blog)

Depreciation Guild is scheduled to play next Wednesday, the 22nd, at CMJ's Knitting Factory Showcase around 8pm, as well as several other schedules dates around New York and in California and their show is certainly one worth checking out. The crowd is always mellow but never just standing still. Dont expect moshing but a nice even swaying of teens, relaxing and easy to enjoy.

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