[ NOTEWORTHY ]


+ Produced by J Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines, Maritime)
+ Album art by Jesse Ledoux (Shins, Pedro the Lion)
+ "Call it Off' charted #82 on CMJ charts
+ Airplay & rotation on major NW stations: KNDD, KEXP, KUFO
+ 2008 in-store @ Ballard's Sonic Boom Records - watch here
+ Played with: Arctic Monkeys, Thermals
+ Completed 3 national tours since 2006
+ Seattle Weekly Best Pop Band Nominee 2006
+ 2006 Winners of The Seattle Stranger Big Shot contest

[ BIO ]

Established in the Fall of 2004, Seattle trio Speaker Speaker generated a quick and substantial buzz within the Seattle music community. Their 3 song introductory EP, Again & Again & Again, earned them regular rotation on the influential KEXP 90.3 and airplay at over 150 more college and public stations across the country, peaking at #147 on the CMJ Top 200. As a result of the exposure, they ultimately were nominated for Seattle Weekly's Best Pop Band of 2006 and were also voted by the community as the winners of The Stranger's Big Shot competition.

Their second EP, "We Won't March" (April 2007), featuring two originals, two live songs, and a cover of Jawbreaker's "Do You Still Hate Me?", left critics describing the group as a "nosebleed on overdrive" and a "defiant answer to indie rock's disparaging past couple of years". It also garnered them comparisons to Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Jawbreaker, The Thermals, and Mission of Burma.

Following up two successful EP's, the band builds on their foundation to release their finest work to date, the full length entitled "Call It Off". Recorded in Baltimore, MD with the illustrious J. Robbins (Against Me!, Dismemberment Plan, Promise Ring) at his Magpie Cage studio, and featuring original artwork by Jesse Ledoux (Shins, Pedro the Lion), "Call It Off" pounds through 13 songs in 31 minutes. It is the perfect mix of punk rock and a pop sensibility; each song gets stuck in your head for days. If you've never heard Speaker Speaker, let this work be your introduction.


[ MORE QUOTES AND PRESS ]


I was quickly enamored with this Seattle band after seeing them play around town a few years back and subsequently picking up their promising self-released EP. I was intrigued when I found out they were recording their debut full-length with J Robbins, and though it took a couple years to see the light of day, it really does sound quite good... The beefier production fits the band's energetic sound well, with these short and punky tunes reminding me of the Thermals, the Weakerthans and Racetrack... I have to say this is definitely the record I expected - and wanted - the band to make!"
- Indiepages.com

"Ted Leo at his fiercest fronting 24 Hour Revenge Therapy-era Jawbreaker... 4 out of 5 stars"
- Alternative Press

"They have a great sound that filled me with the sense that modern punk-pop isn't dead, that people still love and create good straight-ahead music that doesn't need a gimmick or doesn't require genre-mixing to have depth and quality."
- Mike Mess, Three Imaginary Girls

"… 'Call It Off' sound like Nirvana and The Posies are having a battle of the bands inside your stereo… Simply put, this is a must buy for anyone hoping to latch on to Seattle's next big thing before they explode."
- Seattle PI

"Quite possibly the catchiest song to come out of Seattle in 2008, “I Was Wrong” off of Speaker Speaker’s latest release, Call It Off, finds the Seattle punk band playing brilliantly in the punk-pop pocket, crafting a song that is aggressive, hooky and clever..."
- Seattle Sound Magazine

"The band’s influences are obvious (The Thermals, Ted Leo, Jawbreaker), but with well-structured songs that are non-stop hooks and melody, Speaker Speaker more than stand on their own. Guitarist Colin McBride, bassist Danny Oleson and drummer Jasen Samford are a tight unit, playing like a band that’s been together much longer than just over a year and a half.… Speaker Speaker are definitely a Seattle band to watch this year."
- Performer Magazine

"On Call It Off, Robbins brings out the distorted, abrasive side of Speaker Speaker's quick and clean pop-punk-circa-Berkeley-1994 sound..."
- The Stranger

"This pop-punk trio is the first band I ever interviewed for this paper, back when they were releasing a little three-song EP called Again & Again & Again in 2005. It was impossibly fresh and infectious, making you want to play it . . . well, you know. Since then, it's been fun to watch them blast off, from playing to adoring crowds at Bumbershoot, to winning a certain local contest for up-and-coming bands in 2006, to covering Jawbreaker on their second EP, to having their debut full-length produced by the king of this genre, Jawbox's J Robbins… it's a hyped-up Braid, a more fun Q and Not U, a more serious Dead Milkmen, an off-the-rails pop romance as unique as the three Seattle kids who made it…"
- Rachel Shimp, Seattle Weekly

"… Call It Off is a fun number that's reminiscent of a more pop-punk version of Ted Leo and the Pharmacists circa Shake the Sheets or the Thermals' more energetic days… Call It Off is as solid a debut as they come."
- Punknews.org

"Speaker Speaker’s first full-length album Call It Off contains music that you can not just simply sit down and listen to. From the very first few seconds, it is clear that this is music meant to inspire toe-tapping, head-nodding, singing along, and, most importantly, jumping around and possibly kicking something in a rebellious fashion… Overall, this album is not for the weak-hearted, but is a fun and enjoyable listen for anyone who needs to do a little venting. Speaker Speaker’s Call It Off is a roaring, confident, rip-rollicking good time."
- Megan Morgan, Independentclauses.com

" … pumping out songs that make you want to sing-along as you push forward through the crowd. Songs that make you pump your fist and forget about your job, your age and your life for even just two-minutes…"
- Hero Hill

"Frenetic, fast paced slamdance indie rock is the name of the game for the Seattle based band on their We Won't March EP. They're like a nosebleed on overdrive, coming down hard on you like The Thermals with extra snarls, a little Mission of Burma, a little old school 90s punk grunge... you can't ignore their enthusiasm."
- Palebear.com

"Produced by J Robbins (Jawbox, Burning Airlines, Jets to Brazil, the Dismemberment Plan, and Hey Mercedes), We Won't March is a defiant answer to indie rock's disparaging past couple of years. Drawing from an influential cast of characters such as the aforementioned Jawbreaker as well as the mainstream grunge giants Nirvana, Speaker Speaker crunches through teeth rattling indie rock filled to the brim with sharp angular guitar chords and pounding punk drumming. I dig the exploration into '60s vocal pop ala Brian Wilson amid the Superchunk inspired choruses."
- J-Sin, Smother.net

"Speaker Speaker is a three-piece post-punk band from Seattle. The band's style is very much within the '90s post-punk template, but being in the tradition isn't a bad thing if you make it interesting, which they do. Their take on post-punk features catchy songs that sound like Blake Schwarzenbach of Jawbreaker fronting Jawbox. On their EP We Won't March, the band manages to be both tight and energetic. That can be hard to capture in the studio, but they pull it off. It would be sad if the title song wasn't good, but Speaker Speaker doesn't disappoint. And it's the title song for a reason -- it was produced by J. Robbins, and it shows. It's a catchy song, one of those classic statements of dissent that punks are so good at. So it's also nice to see that they can also write songs about themselves; "Radio Days" is about music and ex-girlfriends, and it's another great song, with some cool harmonies on the chorus. It's rare that a young band shows so much maturity and range in their songs right from the start... These guys definitely have a long career ahead of them."
- Spacecityrock.com

"Seattle's Speaker Speaker throw a punk edge into their pop sensibility that somehow stretches from Green Day to The Clash with sneering approval... We Won't March goes deep to provide the listener a sugary yet substantial shot in the arm whose contagious choruses and sturdy underground foundation of indie rock and grunge allow for some slamming, bopping, and letting your ya-ya's out."
- Punkrocktheory.com

"Seattle band Speaker Speaker seem like a classic indie/power pop group that I could really get behind... Speaker Speaker make up for their brevity with some tight-knit songwriting and strong musicianship. The band's two studio tracks, "We Won't March" and "Loveland, CO", show a great deal of promise. And while the two live tracks and the cover do take a step down quality-wise, the band is still able to shine through quite well. Speaker Speaker prove they can write powerful, melodic songs that simply stick to your guts... Speaker Speaker are a band that has impressed and will definitely be staying on my radar. Come on boys, bring it on!"
- Soundaslanguage.com

"This Seattle band with a sweet pop punk ax to grind...I would like to see them live."
- Punkglobe.com

"Speaker Speaker's latest EP, the follow-up to 2005's Again & Again & Again, contains a lot of bounce and pop. The trio of Colin McBride, Danny Oleson and Jasen Samford start in fourth gear and keep the momentum there with a power pop gem which is quite rare for a four-minute tune. And this continues on with much the same passion and chops for "Loveland, CO", an extremely tight, crisp and polished ditty. Two live tracks also grace this effort, again with no letting up in the intensity or urgency with the gorgeous Call it Off before the vocals get a tad emo and scream-tinged... The only problem here is it's just an EP, dammit.... impressive 18-minute jaunt, one which you would be wise, oh so wise to seek out." (8/10)
- Popmatters.com

"Power pop seems too broad to describe the high energy and raw orchestration of this trio out of Seattle..."
- Hypezine.com

"Speaker Speaker We Won't March has a very enjoyable poppy antum style though the entire album. The first song We Won't March really reminded me of The Strike, with other songs following suite to Jawbreaker. This new album is a very refreshing and energetic with a sound I haven't heard in any new releases rescently."
- Truepunk.com

"Not quite punk and not quite pop, Seattle's Speaker Speaker walk that fine line with their upbeat melodies that deliver just a bit of attitude in their own way. The band's EP We Won't March offers five bouncy, riff-driven tunes. Included are two live tracks that show an edgier but less polished version of the band and a cover of Jawbreakers Do You Still Hate Me?"
- Pluginmusic.com

"Speaker Speaker could be one of the first bands I've heard that are quite obviously influenced by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and all I can say is about time... We Won't March is both solid and promising."
- Punknews.org

"Speaker Speaker don't screw around with formalities-like any good power-pop band they get right to the crunch, right to the hooks, and right to the melodies that usually stick in your head for hours, if not days."
-Michael Alan Goldberg, Seattle Weekly

"… punkishly sweet, sweetly punk, think the Shins-meet-Green Day. Their 50's pop knowledge of power chords - and probably a lot of Adult Swim - meets unexpected vocal melodies that end as abruptly as a slap outside a roller rink… (Speaker Speaker) isn't anything more than a fucking riot and a blast. The band is good, very good; their hand claps and "ooo-ooo"'s are on key and wonderful, very wonderful."
- Joseph Riippi, Three Imaginary Girls

"...thundering drums and a urgent riff that puts the band closer to any number of punk bands than anything those indie-poppers have ever come up with. Similarly, "I Was Wrong" has an audible sneer, giving Speaker Speaker a bit of an edge…"
- Iheartmusic.net

"This band has been getting some notice around Seattle for a few months now, and it's quite exciting! Probably my favorite local noise-pop band since Racetrack (although they're from Bellingham, so I'm not sure if that counts), these guys play short, catchy and energetic pop songs that fall somewhere between Superchunk, Racetrack (I've even seen 'em play "One Step Forward" live once!) and a punkier Fountains Of Wayne... so let's hope to hear more from 'em soon!"
- Indiepages.com