We get a lot of emails, many of them from publicists. It’s fun when you receive an email straight from a band, when they include a rickety link to an MP3 that doesn’t work, but you make the trek to their MySpace anyhow, take a listen, and discover they kick ass. This doesn’t happen often, but it did with Rooftop Vigilantes a ramshackle rock trio from Lawrence, Kansas. We don’t know much about them. Which is refreshing. Influences: “the baltimore ravens, hamm’s, and cellular telephones.” Sounds Like: “the texas rangers, only with more teeth.” We think they can sound like the Promise Ring but with the energy of Small Brown Bike (the excellent “Charley No Want Girlfriend”) or maybe a drunken Fugazi in certain cadences (“Charley Want Mario Chalmers”), but usually we just hear loud, sloppy summertime rock with a sense of humor (see: “Track Need Be Hidden” and all this Charley business). To see what we mean, take a listen to the infectious, organ-drenched “Oscar Want 7 Inch.”
The group includes Zach Campbell who recently worked as Blood On The Wall‘s touring drummer and plays with BOTW’s Brad Shanks in Bandit Teeth (where there’s some guy named Charley, btw) and Oscar/Allen Guinn of the awesome Boo And Boo Too. He obviously wants a 7″. And there are obviously a lot of good bands in Lawrence.
Hear other tracks at their MySpace. The band tells us to expect a 3-song 7″ on Blue Sea in August/September. It’ll be the band’s official debut as well as the first release for Vigilante Seth M. Wiese’s Blue Sea label. Woodenman’s putting out a full-length in the winter/spring. There’s a delay and vague release date because Oscar’s currently on tour with Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk and the Vigilantes “need to spend some time writing and recording.” We’re looking forward to all of this.
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ummmmmmm…ok then.
Woah, this was a pleasant surprise. Good to see Stereogum giving Lawrence some love. Definitely check uut Boo & Boo Too. I’m not sure how widely distributed their upcoming album will be, but I know they’re planning on touring after its release, and you’d be fucking crazy to miss it. Last time I saw them in April they completely upstaged the night’s headliner, Dodo’s, and that show is still only behind Radiohead as the best I’ve seen all year.
SonicRyan took the words right out of my mouth! But that Dodos/Boo & Boo Too show didn’t compare to the Flaming Lips performance at Wakarusa Music Fest. And I gotta say, the Lips show stands out above Radiohead’s, IMHO.
Chomp womp!!!
chomp womp!!
CHOMP WOMP
they sound like taking back sunday
not good
hmmm, I’m a good friend of Oscar’s and I didn’t even know he was in a band called Rooftop Vigilantes. Well, thanks for the heads-up, Stereogum!
Taking Back Sunday called, they want their schtick back.
they don’t sound anything like taking back sunday, what are ya’ll talking about?!
if anything, i’d say they sound like a cross between fugazi and the replacements.
CHOMP WOMP, kids.