BIO
Walking Bicycles are recording their upcoming full length lp this August. This will be their third release and is due out at the end of this year!
Jocelyn Summers, vocalist, and Julius Moriarty, guitarist, officially formed Walking Bicycles in December 2003 while living in Eureka, California. In March 2005, Walking Bicycles relocated to Chicago, IL adding Jason Leather on bass guitar and Johnny Mars on drums.
Walking Bicycles recorded their self-titled EP at Los Angeles' Cornerstone Studios with producer Trevor Cole, engineer Les Camacho (Massive Attack, The Killers, Pink Floyd) and mastering engineer Stephen Marsh (New Order, Depeche Mode, Patti Smith). Walking Bicycles self-released "S/T" in April 2005.
They recorded their second EP "Disconnected" at Chicago's Engine Studios with noted producer Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Califone, Modest Mouse), engineer/mixer Steve Albini (Pixies, Nirvana) and mastering engineer Greg Calbi (Dylan, Lennon, Sonic Youth, U2, Ramones). Walking Bicycles self-released "disconnected" in April 2006
Walking Bicycles also own and operate Highwheel Records containing "Dynamic, genre-defying acts" (Spin Magazine).
REVIEWS
"Frontwoman Jocelyn Summers and company manage to deftly evade the trite angularity and faux coldness of most post-punk revivalists, instead evoking early, abrasive Siouxsie and the Banshees and even touching on Clinic's more frenzied forays into noise pop. Last years full length 'disconnected' sounds exactly that: chaotic, disjointed, and confounding in the most exhilarating way possible."
-- THE ONION, (Chicago, IL)
"Backed by some of the biggest names in the Alternative music scene with recording duties shared by Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Califone, Modest Mouse) and Steve Albini (Pixies, Nirvana) and mastered by Greg Calbi (Dylan, U2, Sonic Youth), Walking Bicycles seems to have a yellow brick road of luck ahead and a wild sound to go along with it. Energetic and contagious as soon as it gets spinning Disconnected offers up eight tracks of raw post-punk guitar playing and sleek, rousting vocal performances."
--THE BIG TAKEOVER, (New York, NY)
Highwheel Records founders Walking Bicycles kicked off the show with a searing set of garagey post punk music a la Pixies, My Bloody Valentine and even a hint of Devo here and there that would set the tone for the rest of the evening. The smoldering but precise vocal delivery of Jocelyn Summers and the angular assault of guitarist Julius Moriarty leapt and slashed around the glacially marching low frequency bedrock of drummer Johnny M and bass player Jason Leather and within no time the floor was swarmed with a jubilant mass of sweaty rockers. Spin magazine was right on the money when they called Walking Bicycles “Dynamic and genre defying.”
-- KEXP, (Seattle, WA)
"On Friday night, while Lou Reed was joining Bright Eyes on stage at Town Hall, Trash Bar in Brooklyn played host to one of the most exciting new bands in rock. Walking Bicycles come from a mostly untapped Chicago music scene filled with promising young bands. For approximately 40 minutes, Walking Bicycles layed down a feast of tight, edgy indie rock, loaded-up with frantic, bouncing rhythms, chaotic post-punk meets shoegazer guitar and frontwoman Jocelyn Summers' icy vocals. While most of the set came from the band's first 2 E.P.s, it was the new songs, especially the set-closer 'Obvious Path,' that really set fire to the stage promising a bright future for Walking Bicycles."
-- NEW YORK PRESS, (New York, NY)
"This Chicago foursome rides the line where post-punk borders with commercial rock, a pretty good place to be at a time where bands like Interpol reign the airwaves. Their sound is bass-heavy with the shoegazer touch often found in britpop. "Welcome to the Future" warrants heavy Joy Division influences, but vocalist Jocelyn Summers' sense of playful melody gives the band a broader and probably more accurate comparison to the UK outfit Sleeper. (VC)
-- PUNK PLANET, (Chicago,IL)
"Chicago outfit Walking Bicycles plays sleeker, artier, and more rickety rock that claims sonic kinship to black sabbath and the Residents, yet sounds more like a riled-up Yeah Yeah Yeahs."
-- THE ONION, (Denver, CO)
"Walking Bicycles almost defies description due to its aurally vibrant uniqueness, but since it is my sworn verbose duty to adequately describe the joyous sounds hypnotically emanating from within, I shall now do so with the utmost of gleeful zeal. Jocelyn Summers' angelic, dreamy, narcotic-laced vocals are intoxicatingly complemented by Julius Moriarty's choppy, swirling, staccato guitar propulsions. And Jason Leather's rolling, billowing bass lines dramatically mesh with the thudding, factory-stomp drumbeats of Cris Castallan. The dazzling, effervescent combination of each of the aforementioned elements makes for one hell of an atmospheric, urgently delivered Post Punk sojourn into the past, present, future, and beyond. Indeed, the songs of Walking Bicycles are mesmerizing, redemptive, and inspiring, as all music should be."
-- UNDER THE VOLCANO, (Austin, TX)
"On their second EP Chicago's Walking Bicycles continue the hone their unique sound, which I still find myself at a loss to categorize. Is it Post-Punk? Shoegazer? Indie-Rock? Stoner-rock? All of the above? I don't know the answer, and it doesn't really matter, because with so many unadventurous bands flooding the world of music, being hard to pin down is probably a good thing... I still found the songs on Disconnected as strong as ever, with "Desparate", "Welcome To The Future" (which shows up twice - one version from each recording session), "The Hermit" and the Gang Of Four-ish "So Far" being prime examples of the catchy-yet-challenging sound and unique vocals (it's refreshing to hear a female vocalist that doesn't just sound like a carbon copy PJ Harvey, Debbie Harry, Rachel Goswell, Patti Smith, or Karen O, and can bring something new to the table) that brought me to the band in the first place. This will stay in your CD player for a long time to come."
-- LOSING TODAY, (New York, NY)
"Walking Bicycles prove there might still be some life in the whole post-punk/new wave thing after all. They are stuttering and jagged and raw, but with a deeply-ingrained melodicism that sets them apart from their similarly-influenced peers."
-- CHROMEWAVES, (Toronto, Canada)
"Walking Bicycles have taken off the training wheels for their second EP, Disconnected, careening through eight fresh songs including the grinding, guitar-driven “Desperate” and two separate renditions of the energetic “Welcome To The Future.” Strong vocals – courtesy of effervescent singer Jocelyn Summers – are a highlight, along with dynamic post punk beats. It’s obvious the band are having fun; there’s little question listeners will, too."
-- ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER, (Chicago, IL)
"Chicago's Walking Bicycles have been transplanted from Eureka, California to breathe new live into the post-punk scene of 'chi' town. Angular, Joy Division-esqe guitars and lofty female vocals, courtesy of Mr. Moriarty and Ms. Summers respectively, characterize the WB sound. Inspired, but not ruled by 80's dance rock, Walking Bicycles' unexpected chord choices in the songs 'stitch' and 'Worthless' set them apart from their peers."
-- THE SENTIMENTALIST, (Brooklyn, NY)
"Chicago-based Walking Bicycles is a band that in some way returns to the past. This is not the distant past, but hell, 15 years isn't an immediate past either. Part late 80's British wave of guitar rock [remember those people who used to stand at the front of the stage and stare at their own bloody shoes!], part pop and part angry mosh-pit assault, they end up finding the perfect balance between all sides of the musical spectrum. Vocalist Jocelyn Summers has a sneering set of vocals that can turn on a dime and become quite sweet and tender at once. The tunes are short enough to keep everyone's interest at a peak. The jingly guitars and a sense of urgency make this album a joy to listen to. Velocity Girl comes to mind, but that was a distant time, far, far away. What I love best is the prevailing sense of humour which the band displays in just about ever tune. "Let's play king of the mountain / I'll push you over and then I will laugh / Haha", Summers sneers on "King of the Mountain". Twenty minutes that go by in a flash. The EP only begs for the auto-repeat to be pressed."
--GAZ-ETA, (Poland)
"Over the past year or so, it became increasingly clear Chicago, without question, is a hot spot for this new wave of 80s-inspired dance rock. With post-punk-style guitars, ominous, yet sexy female vocals, and dance-friendly beats, the Walking Bicycles six-song, self-titled EP has everything one could want for those who always knew that love would, indeed, tear us apart, again."
--Dean Ramos, ILLINOIS ENTERTAINER, (Chicago, IL)
"The Walking Bicycles don't sound like anyone else on their debut EP, and that makes for a hard review to write. I can't write convenient comparisons like "sounds like ____________ singing for a more atmospheric version of ____________, with ____________ producing." Their website (www.walkingbicycles.com) describes them as "dark neo-new wave" but their sound is more varied and complex than that. Opener "Lost Coast" is a post-punk storm of paranoia and fear that is both atmospheric and completely focused and hard-hitting at the same time -- which would actually be a good way to sum up the band's sound without resorting to genre-categorization. "King Of The Mountain" is a playful track, with Jocelyn Summers' vocals taunting the listener as the band hammers away, sounding something like Fugazi on drugs (as improbable as that would be). "Killing Time" closes in on a shoegazing sound with sheets of guitar noise riding above the tight-as-hell rhythm section. Things slow down a bit on the droney "HeavyHorse", which has The Walking Bicycles earning that "dark neo-new wave" tag. "Stitch" is more upbeat but doesn't have the stand out catchiness of some of the other songs. It's not bad, just not as exciting as what came before. The album ends with "Worthless", one of the best songs on a really good EP that stands up to, and deserves, repeated listening."
--LOSING TODAY, (New York, NY)
"The burst of sound that heralded the beginning of Walking Bicycles show remained constant throughout. The songs were loud, fast-paced, almost punk in tempo and feel... They were exceedingly tight, and could change time in the middle of a song without dropping a beat; which is decidedly un-punk... I’m not sure who is behind the composition, but the songs are constructed extremely well with each instrument building on the other. It all adds up to a wall of sound that will buffet you from beginning to end."
--Ian, KAFFEINE BUZZ, (Denver, CO)
"catchy, danceable music with more edge and authenticity than some of its more commercially successful cousins."
--SPILL MAGAZINE, (Toronto, Canada)
