Kamikaze Hearts 'Oneida Road' album

With the local alternative weekly in Albany, NY touting The Kamikaze Hearts as the “Best Band” in the Upstate New York region, the band is ready to show the wider world their blend of four-part harmonies mixed with multi-instrumental arrangements. The band’s second full-length Oneida Road retains the band's signature lyrical prowess draped over a highly improved musical landscape by adding keyboards, accordion, bowed upright bass, a full drum set, and heaps of choir-like vocals to the banjo, mandolin, bass and dobro usually found in their music. Think rustic porch rock meeting the indie rock power ballads of bands like Broken Social Scene and the Mountain Goats.

With a rabid following on the east coast, The Kamikaze Hearts originate from the farmlands and mountains just outside Albany, NY in an area that was once the largest producer of collars in the United States. The band self-released their S/T album in 2002, and after that release they decided to continue self-releasing their albums on their label, Collar City Records. "From the first Kamikaze Hearts cassette, to the handmade packaging of the Mitch Elrod CD, it has simply just made sense to make everything ourselves, and experience everything on our own terms at the right time," says band member Matthew Loiacono. Oneida Road took the band nearly three years to create - the quintet proudly claims to be perfectionists in the studio, and it shows.

The unique upstate porch rock sound of The Kamikaze Hearts comes from five musicians who all know each other through the Albany music brigade. Bob Buckley, who sings and plays guitar and dobro, Nate Giordano plays bass, Matthew Loiacono sings and plays mandolin and banjo, Troy Pohl sings and plays guitar, Gaven Richard sings and plays the drum and the cymbal. There is no leader in this quintet – the people who have songwriting strength write the music, and the members who sing the best showcase their vocal talents. Every member of The Kamikaze Hearts plays their instruments with passionate precision both on Oneida Road and in concert.

The Kamikaze Hearts have a devoted fan base in the northeast tour circuit, and they have shared the stage with comrades like Animal Collective, Ariel Pink, Donna the Buffalo, Mark Mulcahy, Early Day Miners, PG Six, Marissa Nadler, Death Vessel, J. Mascis, Calvin Johnson, Heartless Bastards and Richard Buckner.

Are The Kamikaze Hearts as reckless with their hearts as the band name suggests? Listen to Oneida Road to find out. There's one thing for sure – The Kamikaze Hearts were anything but reckless with the recording and execution of their finest recorded effort to date.

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Tracklisting

Kamikaze Hearts - Oneida Road