S m * * c h R e c o r d s . bands . Andrew Douglas Rothbard

releases on Smooch: Abandoned Meander smooch 013 Radio 1190, Local Shakedown Vol. 2 (2004) smooch 005		.bio .images .media Andrew Douglas Rothbard Andrew Douglas Rothbard of San Francisco, formerly of Longmont, CO., used to play in the two greatest bands of the 90s: the VSS and Pleasure Forever(once known as Slaves). Andrew Douglas Rothbard. The very first solo recording and performance of Andrew Douglas Rothbard is documented on Local Shakedown II (Smooch #5) and features another ex Longmont resident and Slave, Jeb Bowes. Andrew D Rothbard spent 3 years perfecting his debut album 'Abandoned Meander'. It's a beautiful mix of folk & sunshine-pop and super heavy on the psychedelic side. Andrew has since released a new album. More information can be found on his MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/andrewrothbard Andrew Douglas Rothbard Press! Named #4 underground album of the year by Mojo Andrew Douglas Rothbard CD review [Amplifier Magazine] Andrew Douglas Rothbard cover story [SF Weekly] Andrew Douglas Rothbard CD review [Nonpop] "Seemingly from nowhere comes the next new-psyche-folk superstar to hopefully breathe new life into overcrowded scene. Andrew Rothbard was previously the singer for Sup Pop band Pleasure Forever and before that the keyboardist/bass player with VSS, but none of that will not prepare you for this astonishing solo debut. Take a heavy dose of tripped-out pop influenced folk add a hint of Banhart's vocal styling and drench it in dark swathes of heavy psyche, and then you'll have "Abandoned Meander". After becoming a reclusive character upon the demise of Pleasure Forever, Rothbard has spent the last three years honing these songs to perfection before releasing them on to an unsuspecting out-folk underground, indeed this is intended as the first part in a series of five albums that he plans on releasing outlining the discordiant concept of the law of fives(!) If they're all as good as this then I can't wait. A big hit here at Piccadilly, this psyche folk masterpiece is destined to be a surprise and deserved entry in many end of year charts, including ours. Highly recommended!!!" [Piccadilly Records] "Andrew Douglas Rothbard, the self-taught keyboardist, bassist and vocalist formerly of potent (and elusive) aural conjurers Pleasure Forever, Slaves and The VSS, has returned with his first solo album. On Abandoned Meander, Mr. Rothbard seems unconcerned with... no, make that completely detached from trends and popularity contests, and his openness to reinvention results in music which flows forth so naturally it seems effortless. While passages of Abandoned Meander are fleetingly reminiscent of early T-Rex, Zoso-era Zep or more recent artists such as Devendra Banhart and Ariel Pink, these generally lo-fi but ultra textural and weirdly 'orchestrated' creative forces exist in a realm far outside and beyond the current crowd of experimental psych-folk artists. Time is just another word in the as above / so below matrix of this release, with the I-ching derived musical concepts and astrological / musical conjunctions aligning just in time for us to hit 'repeat play' and reenter Abandoned Meander's audio alchemy. It's swirling strangeness also has the good sense to leave behind the faux eccentricities and posturing of mere mortals, with each hazy number crafted from an open palette of conventional and more unorthodox instrumentation. New and different but not wholly unfamiliar, Abandoned Meander may initially conjure a neo-psychedelic folk impression, but just as swiftly an altogether distinct and personal delirium takes over... and it's not one that we want to escape from anytime soon. Need we say? Highly recommended!" [Aquarius Records] "Its good to have a grand plan in mind when youre working on a record, I mean look what happened to everyones favourite Christian Sufjan Stevens he tells everyone hes gonna make a record about every US state (thats a lot of music) and next thing we know hes an indie superstar. Well Andrew Douglas Rothbard may not quite be as ambitious but hes dipping his toe into the sea of grandeur with Abandoned Meander which is the first in a proposed five part series. So far nothing seems too far reaching but when you take into account that the reasoning behind the five-part series is to show the Discordian law of fives; Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis, Parenthesis, and Paralysis, it instantly becomes a much more epic undertaking. Indeed on explaining the first stage (Thesis) which this album represents, he details I Ching, the goddess Venus and Tarot cards Im sensing a progressive rock monsterpiece here but I couldnt be more wrong. After spending his formative years playing keys and bass in VSS, Slaves and Pleasure Forever he became a virtual recluse and busied himself working on this debut solo effort, and from the sounds of it his seclusion has paid off. What Rothbard has managed to come up with is a weighty tome in the psych-folk genre that while borrowing heavily from fellow jangly Americans Devandra Banhart, Animal Collective and the like, manages to sound fresh and dangerously inventive. With a sea of sludgy effects and more incestuous twanging than a Mid-West banjo competition we have an album that is intrinsically American and yet manages to retain a spooky air of cave-dwelling mystery. In fact theres something eerily Tim Burton-esque to Abandoned Meander, maybe its just the fact that the winter is drawing closer and closer but this record reminds me somewhat of Corpse Bride or Sleepy Hollow. Its not like the music is similar (its not) but Rothbards shimmering mystique conjures up perfectly the spiraling psychedelic absurdity of Burtons most gothic creations. A beautifully cinematic record without ever resorting to the usual devices, Abandoned Meander may only be the first statement in Rothbards proposed five, but if this is any indication of how good the rest will be then Im already foaming at the mouth waiting for the next. Very good stuff indeed." [Boomkat UK] Andrew Douglas Rothbard Media! Bull in the Dell mp3! (from Abandoned Meander) Rabbit Hole mp3! (from Abandoned Meander)

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