A 21st century hybrid of Peggy Lee and Astrud Gilberto stumbles into a David Lynch-inspired den of grit and testosterone.

15 MP3 Songs
POP: with Live-band Production, EASY LISTENING: Lounge



Details:
âElevator Rideâ is the Beauty and the Beast-like collaboration of two downtown rockers and a sultry ingénue. Co-produced by Kenny Siegal (Johnny Society) and Jonathan Spottiswoode (Spottiswoode & His Enemies), Exterâs debut CD is at once visceral and sophisticated. It brings together the trademark rawness and punchiness of Siegal, the noir cinema of Spottiswoodeâs songwriting, and the breathy vulnerability of Exterâs singing.

Drummer Brian Geltner (Johnny Society, Nervous Cabaret) brings no shortage of grace and lunacy, and Spottiswoodeâs famous horn-playing Enemies make a few appearances too. Miss Exter, the youngest granddaughter of a Ukrainian communist, a Disneyland-tire maker, an Yves St. Laurent wedding dress model and the Chief Statistician for President Lyndon Johnson, polishes the album off with her own song, âFloat,â bringing the record to a lush, haunting close that anticipates a gorgeous second project, already in the works.

PRESS:
"On her début album, âElevator Ride,â Bronwen Exterâs voice is like a warm mist capable of obscuring all of lifeâs problems." - The New Yorker

âExter possesses a breathy, ethereal singing voice that is reminiscent of Rickie Lee Jones and the Cowboy Junkiesâ Margo Timmins. Elevator Ride is full of enchanting tales of scorned women, the Deep South, and intoxicating tropical nights, with Exter's voice creating alternating senses of narcotic tranquility and tragic nightmare ... Basically, if you don't like this album, then there's something wrong with you.â - BreakThru Radio

"New York vocalist Exter possesses a rich, breathy voice, and on this disc she applies it to fourteen songs written by pop dramatist Jonathan Spottiswoode. As a good interpreter should, she uncovers a new perspective on the material, her haunting voice echoing with obscure emotional implications. With the smooth-rock backing, it's something like an old Chris Isaak disc, providing a blurred but pleasing melancholy." - On Tap Magazine

"A beautiful woman with a lush voice sings the songs of Jonathan Spottiswoode. Got a problem with that? I didn't think so. ... I love it loads." - Aiding & Abetting

ABOUT JONATHAN SPOTTISWOODE, main songwriter and co-producer (www.spottiswoode.com)
âA master of the late-night vibe.â â The Washington Post

âGenius⦠astringently morose ballads about love.â â The New Yorker

âBrilliantly unreviewable, thick, disturbed and haunted⦠music to champion.â â Performing Songwriter

âA creative, mature, unique, and challenging artist. Each track is a mini-movie.â â All Music Guide

ABOUT KENNY SIEGAL, co-producer (www.johnnysociety.com)
âJohnny Society makes the kind of rock that grows from the gut. Kenny came over at 9 in the morning and played me the new record, I thought he might be totally insane. I still haven't gone back to sleep. That was three months ago.â â Joseph Arthur

âMusic you can sink your teeth into. Music that's like the best hamburger you ever ate.â â XM Radio

âJohnny Society can make even the most cynical listener love pop music⦠The disc [Life Behind the 21st Century Wall] is rich in sly, gritty soul and heavy blues, drunk on funk and sexy shuffle, a potion that hits you in the heart and bones⦠It follows on the heels of Clairvoyance, a record that won the 2002 Independent Music Awards "Album Of The Year" distinction, from a panel of critics that included straight shooters and talents like Tom Waits.â â Woodstock Times