Just a short ferry ride from the city of Seattle, in the small town of Port Townsend, big things are happening. Three teenage boys who call themselves New Faces, have stepped on to the scene impressing critics with their considerable musical talents.
After winning Sound Off! 2008, Experience Music Project's under 21 battle of the bands competition with their "blissful jumble of 70s rock, 80s pop and today's indie", landing coveted spots at Bumbershoot, the Capitol Hill Block Party, and on the roster at Loveless Records, these boys may have conquered the Seattle music scene. Now they just have to make it through high school.
Seattle Sound Review New Faces
http://www.seattlesoundmag.com/2008/09/new-faces-at-home/ “It’s a rare treat to see a band’s CD release in their home town. Especially when their home town is the tiny, close-knit community of Port Townsend. And especially when the band members are New Faces celebrating the debut of their first album Two Years, and all their high school friends are spilling out of what is probably the only all-ages venue west of the Sound, the Boiler Room…”
Seattle Weekly New Faces Review
http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2008/08/new_faces_two_years.php “Only when the stars align and the heavens agree does such a mature sound comes from such a young trio of players. Yet the 2008 Sound Off! winner, Port Townsend’s New Faces, have achieved a level of polished mastery that is well beyond the crash of cymbals, off-kilter guitar rhythms and tone-deaf vocals that many garage bands of their age group display…”
Three Imaginary Girls Review New Faces Album
http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/recordreview/2008aug/new_faces/twoyears “New Faces consists of Nico Janssen on lyrics and lead vocals and guitars; Kyle Hove on bass and shouts and claps; and Conor Sisk on drums and those ever-present shouts and claps. These three young men from Port Townsend astonished judges into giving them first prize at the EMP Sound Off this year out of over one hundred entries. The band has been getting play on KEXP and hitting all the requisite block parties and regional festivals besides…”
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Interview New Faces
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/375053_newfaces15.html “Since they won Sound Off! - the annual underage battle of the bands put on by Experience Music Project and the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame - Port Townsend's New Faces haven't stopped to take a breath. Lead singer Nico Janssen, 18, has graduated from high school, but bassist Kyle Hove, 17, and drummer Conor Sisk, 17, still have a year of school left to go…”
Sound on the Sound Review of High Dive CD Release Show
http://www.soundonthesound.com/?p=3321 “If, before you’ve even released a record, on the hottest day of the year, you can attract a full crowd to dance in a bar, you know you’ve got something going. That was exactly the case on Saturday at the High Dive in Fremont for the New Faces‘ record release show, and the trio seemed to appreciate the attention of playing to such an enthusiastic group. If there was any doubt as to whether these young gents are ready for their moment in the sun, with a new record titled Two Years out next week and a Bumbershoot appearance to boot, Saturday’s set was confirmation that no doubt should exist…”
New Faces Sign to Loveless
http://lineout.thestranger.com/2008/06/new_faces_sign_to_loveless “New Faces won Sound Off 2008 earlier this year, and their success just keeps going—the Port Townsend trio just signed to Loveless Records.Their new full-length, Two Years, will be released on August 26th. You can see them at the Block Party on Saturday, July 26th. Congrats, kiddos (and I do mean kiddos, they’re the youngest band on Loveless’ roster).”
The New Faces Sign with Loveless, Ready LP
http://www.soundonthesound.com/?p=3146 “Loveless Records has welcomed some New Faces into the fold, literally. The Port Townsend trio who took home the title at this year’s EMP Sound Off! competition have been welcomed into the Loveless family and are currently putting the finishing touches on their first LP, due in late August (26) titled Two Years. You can hear a number of the new songs over at their myspace page. The rest of the year will be big for these gents with big local appearances at both the Capitol Hill Block Party and Bumbershoot (in the SkyChurch no less!). Congratulations are in order for a great up-and-coming band!”
Sound Off! winner New Faces signed by Seattle label Loveless Records
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/thebigblog/archives/141559.asp “After listening to New Faces in March, I kind of knew it wouldn't be long before they'd get a record deal. These high school students from Port Townsend who channel Britpop well enough to land this year's underage band Sound Off! crown from the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame now have a label under their belts: Seattle-based Loveless Records…”
"Some bands you see for the first time and realize they're going to be big"
-SEATTLE PI March 3rd 2008
"Brit-punk guitar licks, non-stop toe-tapping hooks and a dynamic stage presence"
-KEXP BLOG, SEATTLE, 4/18/08
"You'll no doubt be hearing about this band for a while"
-THE STRANGER, SEATTLE Meagan Seling March 13, 2008
"hugely promising"
-THE STRANGER, SEATTLE Eric Grandy, May 8, 2008
"catchy as hell"
-THE STRANGER- Line Out Blog August 2007
"a treat: The members are a rare pool of musical talent, distinctive craftsmanship and charisma that will make you tap your toes at the very least"
-TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE
"With music catchy as the pox and a brilliant live show to tout, I can’t imagine this group won’t go far...true indie-rock contenders!"
-THREE IMAGINARY GIRLS, SEATTLE - Chona Kasinger, Show Review March 08
"They play catchy-as-hell, simple Britpop beats (think a local flavor of Franz Ferdinand), with Brit-kid haircuts to match. It's the kind of music that can get pleasantly stuck in your head, the kind that drives you to make converts of your friends so you have people you can gush with.
-THREE IMAGINARY GIRLS, SEATTLE - Show Review April 08
"talented songwriting and solid live shows...a new band to sit up and pay attention to"
-WHAT"S UP MAGAZINE, BELLINGHAM
TOUR DATES
Fri, Nov 7 Portland, OR @ Music Millennium in-store (All Ages) - 7:00pm
Sat, Nov 8 Portland, OR @ Backspace (All-Ages) - 7:00pm
Weds, Nov 12 Tacoma, WA @ Pacific Lutheran University (All-Ages) - 9:00pm
Sat, Nov 15 Seattle, WA @ Everyday Music in-store (All Ages) - 5:00pm
Sat, Nov 15 Burlington, WA @ Common Ground (All Ages) - 8:00pm
Fri, Nov 21 Seattle, WA @ Neumos w/ Deerhunter and Times New Viking- 9:00pm
Sat, Nov 22 Whidbey Island, WA @ Bayview Front Room (All Ages)- 8:00pm
Fri, Nov 28 Spokane, WA @ The Empyrean (All Ages)
Sat, Dec 6 Seattle, WA @ KEXP Audioasis Live Broadcast at Sunset (21+) - 9:00pm
VIDEO
EMP Sound Off 2008 Bootleg Video. New Faces wins it!
