The Band:


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Alan Petherick - Guitar/Vocals
Evelyn Reyes - Keyboards/Vocals
Nicki Nevlin - Bass
Marcel Feldmar - Drums

The Black Kites began their initial flight back in 2005 when Alan Petherick and Nicki Nevlin started playing shows armed with only a guitar, a bass, some charming vocals and two retro drum machines. They attacked the Downtown L.A. art show scene with a vengeance, even though most of their shows ended up starting at around 3 am. Near the end of 2005, they fortunately acquired the multi-talented Evelyn Reyes (of Hona Lee) to provide some enchanting vocals and stargazing but dynamic keyboards to the music. Adding a drummer was the final step to take, and after playing many shows from Silverlake to Torrance, that step was finally cemented in the last days of 2006 when Marcel Feldmar, a recent transplant from Seattle (and Black Nite Crash and Blaise Pascal) stepped in to hit the kit behind the songs that could make a sad person dance. Taking inspiration from an eclectic variety of sounds (Velvet Underground, Jesus & Mary Chain, Stereolab, AC/DC, the Cure, the Birthday Party, Sigur Ros, Neu!, Tav Falco, David Bowie, Black Sabbath, and various showtunes, to name a couple), the Black Kites successfully released a sweet little EP that has gotten some nice feedback and even found its way into the realm of iTunes. Managing to combine a love of swirling and atmospheric shoegaze and an affinity towards feedback and delay with a driving sense of rhythm and gritty rock'n'roll pop hooked melodics, this quartet are poised to attack the country with what promises to be an exceptionally entertaining and musical live show. With plans to record another EP in the spring of 2007, this band is one to keep your ears and eyes open for... because they sound so good, but also because they photograph well, they like their noise, and their red wine, and they enjoy going to dive bars as well as fancy art events. It's most likely that nobody in the band has a twin, they have been described as sounding like Pink Floyd on speed, and you will very probably like them when you hear them... but life's full of empty promises.

Reviews:

from MILK MILK LEMONADE: Somewhere between the first whisper of All Wrong and the final echoed goodbye of the track Sadie, we found ourselves falling for a lovely dialogue of male and female vocals accented by a measured approach to the early 90s sound we adore. ...tracks that might bring to mind classic post-shoegazers Ride as well as more recent indie rock bands such as Low.

from AMATEUR CHEMIST: 8/13: Black Kites started the evening with a dreamy keyboard shoegaze collage of sounds. They seem to be second cousins of Mazzy Star, Sea Ray, and Longwave. Evelyn Reyes (Keyboards/Vocals) was working the keys of her Nord Electro and Nord Lead 2x as she provided breathy vocals that meshed nicely with Alan Petherick (Guitars/Vocals) husky vocal delivery.

from 3HIVE : Black Kites is an LA band that's got a little bit of everything — male and female vocals, droning guitar, heavy drums, mellow synth — and it's all dreamy & dramatic. Kind of old school, sort of new wave, it's like I'm buying my first pair of Dr. Martens all over again.

from THE SUNDAY EXPERIENCE: Featuring three slices of swirling skin peeling sun bathed shoe gazed grandeur bled through with softly shimmering sheens of summer glazed psyche pop, Black Kites masterfully navigate the finite nuances of the once derided but of late reinvigorated scene often compared in passing to Slowdive.

from THE PLASTIC ASHTRAY: US based band the Black Kites are a four piece who take inspiration from a range of bands like Jesus & Mary Chain, Velvet Underground, Stereo Lab & Neu! Their three track ep ‘All Wrong’ has all the hallmarks to make this band a real indie rock sensation. Whether it’s the dreamlike guitar swirls, the twinkling keyboards or the velvets style cool of the vocals, it’s all here.

from GET WEIRD TURN PRO: The too cool for school twin vocal play between Alan Petherick and Evelyn Reyes offers a nice contrast of styles that's carried through to the music where contemplative, beautiful melodies are combined with non-nonsense, driving rhythms.

from INDIE-MP3 (UK): 'What To Do In Case Of Emergency' has a great sound. I can hear echoes of Galaxie 500/Velvet Underground shining through, guitars shimmer, but all of this is happily wrapped up in a tune that most bands would give their right arm for.

from DISCOBLOG: (badly translated from French via BabelFish) This mixture of pop and English rock'n'roll sounds like a good memory. Recalls of Mazzy Star version rock'n'roll, an atmospheric voice that one had forgotten for a long time, of the rock'n'roll agreements without being assomants... In short, an alchemy which one did not hope for any more since one small moment in the planet rock'n'roll. A fast listening of Glass Parade should persuade you that Black Kites is worth really the turning

from HOTSTOF: The Black Kites make nice guitar rock and they are influenced by Jesus & Mary Chain, Stereolab and The Cure, to name just a few.

from DELUSIONS OF ADEQUACY: Black Kites are comparatively new on the scene, starting out in 2005 in L.A., and they sound like Stoned And Dethroned-era Jesus And Mary Chain hanging out with Mazzy Star. They forgo the narcotic lulls of those bands in favor of a more brisk pace, yet still hold on to a slight alt-country twang to their tunes.

from THE DEVIL HAS THE BEST TUNA: 'All Wrong' could melt the hardest heart, this is music that could make a trappist monk renounce his vow of silence and sing for joy. Black Kites are ready to fly!

from FREE ALBUMS GALORE: The Black Kites have the advantage of two good vocalists in Evelyn Reyes and Alan Petherick. Tasty background and solos are provided by the instrumentation of guitar, piano, electric bass, and drums. Those who are looking for a new worthwhile band will be quite pleased with this excellent debut EP.

from POP TARTS SUCK TOASTED: Black Kites describe their sound as shoegaze and that's pretty much dead on. Listening to the four songs on their Myspace page I could easily picture myself bobbing my head up and down with my arms folded to their music. Then again I could also picture moving around a bit thanks to the steady rhythms that provide the tempo for their version of sad bastard music.