Search - Laguardia :: Welcome to the Middle

Amongst the best newer bands around

patrick | VA | 04/02/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"alright...do this:
take a lil radiohead...put it in a bowl.
then take some coldplay, and put it in there too.
then, take a slab of smashing pumpkins, and toss it in as well.
and finally, throw in your favorite emo band. blend it up...you now have...laguardia!i'm not sure why this hasn't caught on more yet. fans of the alt/rock scene should be eating this up. the vocalist sounds like thom yorke trying to sing like billy corgan. lyrics: think emo. the music: think the complexity of radiohead, with the sound of coldplay, with the aggression of some of the old pumpkins albums. the first 3 tracks are amazing, as well as...well...all of the songs. so jump on the indie train and pick this up."

This band is destined for great things....

patrick | 03/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw these guys a couple months ago at the Black Cat in D.C. and I instantly loved their fresh sound in a world of banal and trite manufactured music. I saw them again last week while they were on tour in support of this album and their set was tighter and more emotionally powerful than ever.
I would blend Laguardia somewhere between pure, solid rock and roll and a more progressive, alternative indie sound supported by an awesome keyboard and powerful drums that are at times haunting and other times hard driving, fist-shaking rock. The tracks on the album are phenomenal, especially "Banner", which always finds me singing out loud from the first lyric, "Come back home and see your friends....We all have the best intentions....Banner...." The single off the album, "Holy Ghost" is a truly great track which is normally the first song I turn on to start my day with caffeinated, musical energy.
"Roseanna" immediately makes you wonder the kind of "behind the music" story about the girl who inspired (or should I say uninspired?) such a great song. Finally, "Butterfly" is as complex an arrangement as you'll find in modern music, taking the listener on a roller-coaster of sounds that suddenly stop at the end of the Penn Station line.
In the end, every song on this album is pure and unspoiled from the paradigms in today's music world. The band brings you through the rise and fall of life's mecurial, emotional thermometer and saves us the hangover normally associated with such troubles by delivering these experiences in a nicely packaged jewel case."

The Best CD Ive Heard in a Long Time

Dan | philadelphia, pa, usa | 03/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is one hell of an album. laguardia is from my home of philadelphia, and i have seen them them live a few times over the years, and theyve given incredibly fun and high-energy shows. this is an amazing album, and with its infectious rhythms and melodies, i cant stop listening to it. a few of their songs sound kind of similar to bands like radiohead, but they really do have a style all their own. its just an upbeat, fast-moving alternitive-type album that never stops rocking! I love it!"