Managed by NYU Recorded Music Major and founder of Atlas Management, Mike Barron, Motel Motel has been doing rather well for themselves amongst the New York music scene. With several shows during CMJ, including one the same night as The Depreciation Guild at the Knitting Factory, and upcoming performances tomorrow at The Bell House in Brooklyn and next Wednesday at Mercury Lounge, Motel Motel has been able to reach a rather broad audience in a short amount of time - Barron looks back at some shows at Union Hall saying that theyre "always a great time". A five-piece Americana/Indie Rock group by way of Hawaii, Virginia, and Colorado, they describe themselves via Myspace as:

The five grievous angels who comprise Motel Motel steal the candlelight, bali hai wine, shotguns and steam trains from forlorn honky-tonkers like Gram Parsons and Townes Van Zandt and escape without being smothered by the alt-country label. Unlike their more direly nostalgic peers, New York-based Motel Motel imbue the gothic storytelling of their forebears with a nubile energy that suggests they're living just as hard but having more fun. Literate, classic, occasionally baroque; Motel Motel isn't riding a wave or clinging stalwartly to a movement so much as they're hunkering down for a long run at rock relevance.

Spring 2009 will see a re-release of their debut album New Denver and the boys will be touring much of 2009. By Summer and Fall of next year, theyll have even seen Europe. Still unsigned, they were named one of the 20 Best Bands in NY by NY Press, alongside Sonic Youth, Animal Collective, TV on the Radio, and many more, saying that "The debut record New Denver clocks in at an ambitious 72 minutes, and every single one of them is necessary listening. This is NYC's best debut record of 2008." (NY Press) Sandwiched between The National and Danger Mouse. Check out their track and their shows for some promising up-and-coming Indie Rock.