Perfect upbeat melencholy pop-rock songs played by guys who grew up in the 80's. Artistic integrity made fun.

7 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Modern Rock, ROCK: 80's Rock



Details:
Talking to Walls is Brian Kelly. But forget the image of the quiet singer-songwriter sitting on a stool with a music stand. Over the course of a growing tour schedule and fan base, his solo shows have fit both punk-rock clubs as well as any coffeehouse. The songwriting is the kind that keeps you up at night with headphones on - but only after being on your feet at the sweat-drenched live show. In early 2004, a determined solo TALKING TO WALLS performance landed Kelly third place in a New York competition amid a showcase of full bands.

After a few years carrying backpacks and guitars to major cities around the country, the release of the 2006 album âNakedâ finds Talking to Walls maturing into a the full band lineup, with talent to back up the ambition. Teamed with Matt Krupa (cousin of the late Gene Krupa, the pioneering drummer for Benny Goodman in the â30s) on drums, and Peter Shindler (of the Berkeley School of Music) on bass, their focused, tight and driving pop-music attack is a take-no-prisoners approach to dynamic and emotional performances.

With influences such as the Cure, Soul Asylum, REM, U2, Green Day, Talking Heads, and a touch of â80s hair bands, they make artistic integrity fun. Talking to Walls weighs in with the nostalgia factor, not only in writing style, but also in choosing unusual, popular cover songs that are mixed into the live sets. However serious the band takes their music, they take themselves less so. How often does one hear Tiffany, Cher, or Fine Young Cannibals songs being teased during a set list? The band gets the crowd to laugh while hearing songs they forgot about and secretly love. The gambling certainly pays offâwhen they ended up on a hardcore metal bill, they played "Puff the Magic Dragon" and got lots of respect.

But it is the songwriting and passion that consistently gets the band its recognition. Engineered by Ron Spataro at Roncon Studios (a bunch of R&B bands you never heard of), and mastered by Matthew Azevedo at M Works (David Bowie, Nirvana), âNakedâ boasts of seven radio-ready songs, poised to overtake the airplay their last single, âSleeping with the Enemyâ (from 2003âs âTwo Weeks in Novemberâ) received from stations all over the Northeast. The opening track and lead single, âCut Out.â starts with the sparse, simple confessions of reality in an almost solo performance, before dropping into a heavy club beat that careens into controlled chaos by songâs end. âSong Without a Chorusâ follows, with Kelly lambasting himself over a former lover in a punk-rock dirge, before rejecting anotherâs advances in âFade,â a bass-heavy U2/dub-inspired track. The rest of the album scrawls on, in postcard notes, until its rejoicing conclusion in âCome Home With Me.â

With a schedule planned to keep them busy playing and promoting along the East Coast and beyond, Talking to Walls will be committed to the vows of poverty and chastity that go along with being an unknown touring band from Connecticut...