(PR) Innerpartysystem is one of the newest signings to NYC label Stolen Transmission (The Oohlas, The Horrors, The Photo Atlas, etc). Stolen Transmission is re-releasing the band's debut entitled The Download EP (10/2/07), which features two additional previously unreleased tracks, "Don't Stop" and "Lovers Dancing Remix". Innerpartysystem has been quickly gaining notoriety, a fact that is evident through the presence of "Heart of Fire" on the MTV VMA's playlist, and the band has also licensed its music for 2 EA video games. The song "Don't Stop" will appear in FIFA, and "Heart of Fire" in Burnout.
Innerpartysystem is composed of four guys who were reared in the bleak small towns that surround Reading, Pennsylvania. The weathered houses, rusted factories and sprawling farms make this the landscape of true America. These environments are stark, urban and mechanical, and they are pregnant with dark and anxious hope – sentiments that Patrick Nissley, Innerpartysystem's main songwriter, carries in his writing. Nissley captures this blue collar and proletariat aggression of small town America, no doubt a product of his past singing in hardcore punk bands, but he synthesizes this with influences from electronica music. Other band members Kris Barman (keyboards, guitar, programming), Jared Piccone (drums, beats, programming) and Jesse Cronan (keyboards, programming) follow cue and add textures, electronics, keyboard lines and traditional rock instrumentation to each song. It's this intermingling of styles and instruments gives Innerpartysystem a distinctive vision, as its songs incorporate throbbing electronic beats that nod towards Autechre or Squarepusher but also the melodic aggression that's not far from that you'd find in Nine Inch Nails or Nirvana.
However, don't be mislead, despite Innerpartysystem's darker leanings its vision is coiled in music to which you can dance. Let that be rephrased, it does not create music to which you can dance, but to which you must dance. Not the mindless dance music that one might find saturating the dance clubs today, but rather a sort that is predicated on a release of sharp energy with the most expressive means possible – your own movements on the dance floor. This is what makes Innerpartysystem special. There is a depth to the dance beat. There is a lingering emotion in the lyrics. There is an undeniable energy that will make you move.
Just as any great artist can reveal their minds eye to the listener in a three minute song, Innerpartysystem somehow finds a way to do more – it takes your hand, places something important inside it, walks you through the seedy and desolate alleys of its home-town and then it holds the door for you as you gape the dark and familiar. But don't be afraid, it's just entertainment.
TOUR DATES:
10/17 - - New York, NY - - The Annex (Stolen Transmission CMJ showcase w/ The Photo Atlas, Plus Move!, special guest and DJ set by Ultragrrrl)
10/19 - - Reading, PA - - The Silo
10/26 - - Boston, MA - - Harper's Ferry (Paper Party)
THE DOWNLOAD EP TRACKLISTING
Don't Stop
Heart of Fire
The Way We Move
Night is Alive
The Lovers Dancing
Lovers Dancing Remix