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overlord

Last Updated: 11/30/2009

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Status: Single
City: Brooklyn
State: New York
Country: US
Signup Date: 10/14/2005

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Sunday, September 20, 2009

Transparent Tunes -and-The Wonderful World of Chemistry now available on iTunes and eMusic

After many moons, two early EPs, The Wonderful World of Chemistry and Transparent Tunes, are now available on iTunes and eMusic.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=332072669&s=143441

http://www.emusic.com/artist/Overlord-MP3-Download/11608017.html

Some reviews, from a previous epoch:

ALTERNATIVE PRESS
"Sounds Scanned: Rating: 9 [out of 10]. Who: Philadelphia-based indie-rock combo. Sounds like: Fuzzy pop laced with tasty melodies and retro-style production. How is it? One of those bands that sounds like a hundred others while maintaining their own distinct sound. This six-song EP bodes well for Overlord. Kindred spirits: Beach Boys, Magnetic Fields, Joe Meek."
Review by Todd Hutlock. (2001)

CMJ NEW MUSIC MONTHLY
“Don't let Overlord's metallic moniker fool you: Images of snarling aggro-rockers may come to mind, but that's certainly not the band's m.o. Instead, the West Philadelphia trio bubbles to the brim with melodic pop goodness. The title of Overlord's third full-length, The Wonderful World of Chemistry, is dead-on: The six George Pasles compositions included here are not unlike a pop-music experiment, fusing disparate elements that come together in a graceful, college radio-friendly mix that’s happy, peppy and bursting with love. "Populist Anthem" fizzles with the jangly guitars and endless-summer harmonies that make indie-pop kids swoon with delight, and "Meet the Situation Artist" is the sort of new wave synth pop that has recently retu rned to fashion. The pep of those two tracks serves as a pleasant introduction to the epic Brit-pop mope-fest "The Germ Theory of Thought" and the breathy dreaminess of "Girls Watching Boys Watching Girls". Lest anyone still think that musical declarations of death and destruction are still part of Overlord's repertoire, the EP's final track, "The 70th Love Song," flagrantly displays love for the Magnetic Fields much-revered 69 Love Songs, in name, mood, and lovelorn wit. File Under: Pop goes the world; Recommended If You Like: The Magnetic Fields, Apples in Stereo, the Smiths”
Review by Stephanie Valera. (2001)

SHREDDING PAPER (ZINE)
"overlord - The Wonderful World of Chemistry CD. No, it's not some heavy metal devil worshipping band as their name might imply, but rather an indie fuzz pop band with plenty of odes to the Beach Boys on a couple of songs, especially on some of the "ba ba ba" vocal harmonies. Sounding a lot like the Bats or the Chills in melody and voice, this Philadelphia area band also has the balls to call their last song "The 70th Love Song" as an ode to Stephin Merritt's 69 Love Songs opus, and frankly, it could have easily fit right in. A surprisingly fun pop release, full of charm and beauty."
Review by Steve Yaver. (2002)

MAGNET MAGAZINE
"The Wonderful World of Chemistry EP (Storm Tower) not only has the most accurate titular self-description since Stereolab's Space Age Bachelor Pad Music, its six songs spark the ki nd of tingly chemical reactions in the listener's brain normally reserved for head-ons with obscure Beach Boys and Kinks bootlegs, Joe Meek wall of sound productions and the stray Elephant-6-collective neo-psychedelic jam session."
Review by Fred Mills. (2001)

PHILADELPHIA CITY PAPER
"It takes balls to write a track and name it "The 70th Love Song," an obvious nod to Stephin Merritt’s 1999 Magnetic Fields three-disc holy grail 69 Love Songs. Yet there it is, the final track on this six-song EP from Overlord. The oddly named band (they’re really not a metal band, a point they hammer home repeatedly) pulls off the trick, however, with an appropriately sappy pop homage and nifty lyrics about boys, love and science ("Some boys’ lips are made for smiles/ Some boys’ lips are made for sutures"). Not only is it an impressive feat of songwriting mimicry, but a bit of a clue to what makes George Pasles’ band tick… The Craig Wedren-esque falsetto of album opener "Atonal" makes for an interesting leap to the AM radio jangle of "Populist Anthem" which in turn leads to the Bats-influenced lo-fi indie pop of "Meet the Situation Artist." A scientific theme saturates the proceedings. It’s plenty to convince you that there’s a cold, crooked smile on the faces of these dour poppe rs as they toil away in their lab."
Review by Brian Howard. (2001)

THE BIG TAKEOVER
"Philadelphia's Overlord pens sweet whimsical, lo-fidelity pop that compensates for its lack of musical density with effortlessly true multi-part singing harmonies and overall good taste. Primary member George Pasles pays homage to Guided By Voices' brand of diverse, pure and short pop via Beach Boys, Kinks, and even early The Cure on "The Germ Theory of Thought." Actually, the standout is the sublime "Girls Watching Boys Watching Girls" which is so beautiful in its so ft, choral tonality, that it should be a carol. This is an unequivocally pleasant six songer. "
Review by Paul Regelbrugge. (2002)

SSMT
"My exposure to Overlord stems from a number of select live tracks and a few tracks off of their most recent album, The World Takes. I was very impressed by their brand of melancholic, reverb-heavy pop. From listening to their debut EP, one would be surprised to find that this is the same band. Not to say that this debut recording is bad by any stretch of the imagination. Quite the contrary, in fact. While Overlord, at this stage in its existence, bore a sound that was more redolent of The Beach Boys and the Apples in Stereo than the Smiths, there still existed a strong sense of songwriting, not to mention an almost-epic, wall of sound production, as the deluge of reverb-laden vocal harmonies would indicate. The album’s centerpiece, “The Germ Theory of Thought”, is a magnificent track that hints at the band’s more depressive characteristics. The same can be said about the almost-shoegazer sounding “Girls Watching Boys Watching Girls”. It is good to hear that bands such as the utterly incredible Arcade Fire and Overlord are here to give us an interesting take on old ideas. This is an interesting, all-too short EP that should be heard by all fans of good pop music."
Review by Alec A Head. (2005)