Stamen & Pistils:
End of the Sweet Parade EPCD005

"End of the Sweet Parade", the debut release from Washington DC's Stamen & Pistils, is a collection of songs that aim to illustrate some of the follies of youth. The observation of uncertainty in ones self and others, and the result of perhaps putting too much of an emphasis on ones expecations of others.

But now we've reached the end. The songs tell excerpts of stories that speak of the time passed, and that contained with each instant. The company of friends, the embrace of lovers, rivalries engaged, a cathartic peak, and humbled hopes. The real focus of attention here is the sincerity in lyricism, self-effacing and at once honest.

Mixed by improvised electronic noise artist and sound designer Derek Morton of the Mikroknytes, and mastered by Alan Douches (Animal Collective, Def Jux, Her Space Holiday), the band present here an unconventional pop record. From the dense RIL-esque opener "Hand Painted Characters," through the futuristic aggression crest of "Boys Vs. Girls," to the innocent calm-after-the-storm sparseness of "Friction," Stamen & Pistils strike a balance between folksy acoustic stylings and left of center electronic sounds.

mp3's
1. Hand Painted Characters
2. Somewhere in Between the Beginning and the Middle
3. Peonies & Dahlia Petals
4. Penny Farthing Fair
5. Boys Vs. Girls
6. She the Widow, the Child Who Follows
7. Sleep for the Bells
8. Friction (pts 1 & 2)

format: CD

PRESS

"For a city that has long fostered a reputation as a musical hotbed, Washington DC hasn't produced anything the least bit surprising in ages -- until now. Budding duo Stamen & Pistils are spearheading a new movement, taking the music out of the streets and back to the bedroom. Lovely and lovable seemingly in spite of itself, End of the Sweet Parade is a wispy, hotwired collection of nouveau-folk bedroom pop that wavers between shambolic Mangum-like rancor and gorgeous laptop-abetted mellifluousness. A bright sprinkle of video game blips and bleeps dot "She the Widow, the Child who Follows"'s desolate lyrical landscape, and the impossibly graceful "Handpainted Characters" is three minutes of ether-burning loveliness with a painfully sad vocal tiptoeing over a verdant bed of acoustic guitar and broken beats. "Sleep for the Bells"'s cryptic crawl is at once caustic and serene, the beautiful bastard spawn of a fervent secret affair between Boards of Canada and Olivia Tremor Control. Insightful beyond its early years and brimming with blissful sorrow, End of the Sweet Parade is clearly only the beginning for the talented duo."—Jason Jackowiak, SPLENDID

"...appealingly dense. Titles such as "Penny Farthing Fair" give some idea of this duo's folkie core, but not of what happens next. Drones, bangs and whooshes mingle with the multitracked harmonies, creating both stylistic friction and a formidable sense of space. The result may not be exactly operatic, but it is richly textured and consistently inventive".—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post

"...a bizarre group, altogether unconventional and jarring to the ears. But that's exactly why they're so interesting. If Animal Collective were remixed or Hood played up the quirk factor a little more, it would sound something like this."—Jeff Terich, Treblezine

"...Stamen and Pistils show greater interest in the deconstructive side of contemporary pop (more aggressively so than, say, Wilco)."—Justin Cober-Lake, Stylus

"Done in a breathless half an hour, the sweet acoustics and electro-pop flourishes of this sort-of EP definitely make Stamen & Pistils ones that more adventurous Stars fans may want to keep an ear out for. With an impressive indie warbling leading the guitar and electronic beats through their journeys, it is in the balance between the beats and more traditional music that Stamen & Pistils find their triumph..."—Chris Whibbs, Exclaim!

"Electro indie rock takes a new experimental turn with this band. This was a hard band to compare directly to others because they are making original and intriguing music."—MP, Impact Press

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