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Off City Limits, September 19, 2004:
----------------------The first release from Glorious Noise Records will be from Quasar Wut-Wut, who hail from Chicago and give a skewed take on country-rock. Three tracks from the new album Taro Sound are available here, including the brilliant 'Enola Gay'.
Motor City Rocks: "There's three solid mp3's available on their website."
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Chicagoist
A nice write-up on the label and our darling boys. Nice photo too.
----------------------November 18, 2004
DIY Media
With all the growth in new technology and media mergers alike, it’s both easier and more important than ever to create, not just consume. As we head into the unofficial start of the weekend (is it OK to start the weekend on Thursday night or does that kind of thing become gauche after you leave college?), two events illustrate the possibilities:
Chicagoist believes there aren’t enough people writing about music solely because they get off on telling other people about a kickass new band and not because they’re drunk on their own perceived power (Jann Wenner, we’re looking at you). The folks over at Glorious Noise believe that "rock and roll can change your life” and everything they do springs from that mantra. So rather than just write about music (because we all know what that’s like), GLONO went the Rob Gordon route and formed their own record label: Glorious Noise Records. The newly minted label is throwing a record release party for Quasar Wut-Wut’s Taro Sound album tomorrow night at the Hideout (with Devin Davis and Darren Hanlon opening and a rumored appearance of a burlesque fan dancer). Quasar Wut-Wut describes their music as the soundtrack to an Edward Gorey cartoon and that's not far off. Samples of the clever arrangements of Taro Sound can be found on the CD Baby and Glorious Noise Records websites.
Chicago Reader, The Treatment (Friday, November 19, 2004)
----------------------QUASAR WUT-WUT When I wrote glowingly about this local act back in 2000, it wasn't entirely without reservation: it seemed all too likely that Quasar Wut-Wut's inspired, free-for-all loopiness could easily turn into tiresome self-indulgence. Once again, I'm glad to be wrong. This show is a release party for its third full-length album, Taro Sound (Glorious Noise), and the band's not only lasted but matured. As much as you'd want it to, anyway: its springy, crunchy art pop has depth and texture now, and a wide-angle sensibility reminiscent of Camper Van Beethoven. --Monica Kendrick
Rock de siempre:
Recibo un mensaje de una compañía muy pequeña (sacan sólo 2 Cds al año), Glorious Noise Records, para que escuche a Quasar Wut-Wut. Tienen una canción llamada enola gay, pero que no tiene nada que ver con la de Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, que puedes excuchar aquí. Gran éxito en su tiempo, los dorados 80.
Which means, according to Google translator:
----------------------Receipt a message of a very small company (they remove only 2 Cds to the year), Glorious Noise Record , so that it listens Quasar Wut-Wut. They have a called song enola gay, but that does not have anything to do with the one of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark , which you can excuchar here . Great success in its time, the golden 80.
What a Splendid Review!
I've always thought the boys were stupid--ly gifted...Stupidly gifted and versed in several genres, they make pit-stops at calypso ("Beaver Fever") and tropicalia ("Oh My Dear"'s Hawaiian guitars). "Ass-Kissin' Lips" flaunts their ease with a proggy epic, while "Enola Gay" imagines Zappa maneuvering within the gutted-out, wiry world of The Feelies. Glockenspiel, mandolin, vibes, accordion, jaws harp and one brutally spry bassist (Jordan Frank) all contribute to Taro Sound's propulsive vastness.
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Jim DeRogatis, Chicago Sun-Times:
"...brilliantly inspired...musical mischief..."
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PopMatters Reviewby David Brecheisen. Rating: 7
----------------------Stylistically, Taro Sound is all over the map, providing a sound that refuses to be easily categorized. The album is comprised of song after song of bizarre lyrics, incongruent lyrical phrasing, and complex, often angular guitar melodies. Somehow, Quasar Wut-Wut manages to blend these facets of its music into a cohesive, peculiar brand of rock that you will likely have difficulty putting your arms around on the first listen or two. Subsequent listens (and there will be subsequent listens) will reveal well-crafted, pop songs that are as sincere as they are witty and catchy as they are puzzling.
Chicagoist, December 30, 2004.
----------------------Best Local CDs Released This Year That No One Else Has Mentioned In Their "Best Local CDs Released This Year" Lists:
In this week's Reader, Bob Mehr covers some of the major Chicago releases that hit CD bins this year. But two of our favorites didn't make his list or anybody else's (we think): Taro Sound by Quasar Wut-Wut and the debut album from The Manhandlers. If drunken pirates set out to compose the great American musical then the result would be the wickedly ambitious music of Taro Sound (provided said pirates possessed a sharp musical acumen and a horn section). The Manhandlers' album delivers a solid primer on their Stooges-meets-X-Ray-Spex sound though seeing them live is still the better bet.
Blue Mag, March 16, 2005
Taro Sound is certainly a record that gives more with each listen, as the mad scientists in Quasar Wut-Wut buried plenty of musical Easter eggs to stumble upon. Once the listener reconciles the overriding goofiness with the well-honed ambition, however, Taro Sound pushes past the obvious gimmicks and reveals itself to be a fairly deep well.