The 92s

#1 song of 2014 - "Cutlery Wives"
"Dan Durley and co. have made a masterpiece of an album with Television Fuzz, and the stand-out track happens to be the last one on the album..." - Smile Politely

"The split features some of the best produced recordings either band has released to date" - Ghost Track

On their debut long player, Television Fuzz, Champaign-Urbana transplants (now based around Chicago) The 92s find themselves riding a bump free musical stride. The title track and "Read My Mind" have vibes that smack of urban grittiness and guitar riffs as dirty as a used Keith Richards needle. And as if to not betray their bucolic beginnings, songs like "Put Me In My Place" and "Impossible Today" feel as if they were hatched in a Central Illinois cornfield. You can practically smell the spilt beer in the dumpy bars that helped birth their craft.

July 2014 issue, page 14 - Illinois Entertainer

The 92s have played around Champaign-Urbana enough for us to know what to expect at a live show, but Thursday night’s performance was on another level from what’s come to be expected of them. Frontman Dan Durley’s vocal performance was perhaps the best he’s ever done, hitting impressively tight whistling notes in addition to the shaking falsetto he brought into the show. Perhaps it was the festival PA system the band played through which made those minor details really stick with you, but regardless, The 92s brought their A-game to Pygmalion. - Buzz Magazine

Which brings me to the record itself. The A Side of this album is front-loaded with ostensible singles. They’re catchy, playful, short and sweet. “Impossible Today” could be a television theme song — no joke. Every song sounds slightly the same, but they’re not redundant. It’s an established style, and a solidified sound. Durley sings like a singer, actually. There’s a nice vibrato he applies to certain lines. I hate that.

But, for some reason on these tracks, it works for me. The production on the album makes everything seem pristine and precise; but at the same time the vocal and instrumental performances retain character and a kinetic quality. “Neurotic Laundry List,” it’s heart-on-sleeve, tongue-in-cheek title aside, is a quality tune that almost gives Frightened Rabbit a run for their money. I suppose the harshest burn I could lay down is also the biggest compliment: I can truly hear commercial appeal for this record. And that indeed seems to be what the record itself is preoccupied with. Why do this if you don’t give it the gusto and go for the gold — but at the same time, why be so deluded with ambition that you cannot just enjoy the fun of making music in the now? This ambivalence to me is best represented in the track segue between “Everything” and “Good To Be Nothing.”

- See more at: http://www.smilepolitely.com/music/its_good_to_be_nothing_at_all/#sthash.15qLmE2Y.dpuf - Smile Politely

The 2012 RedEye Rock ‘n’ Vote winners put newfound force and confidence into the already pristinely structured folk-rock tunes on its “Don’t Bury Me” EP.


Read more at http://www.redeyechicago.com/entertainment/music/redeye-exclusive-lineup-and-highlights-from-bud-light-stage-at-taste-of-chicago-2012-20120516,0,3857198.story#YvRsQJ2TSL0FWQJD.99 - Redeye

The 92s have made a name for themselves with their first full-length album, Television Fuzz. Gaining momentum after their set at Pygmalion last September, The 92s have proved themselves throughout the music scene with their rhythmic genius.

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As a whole, Television Fuzz proves to be a fantastic full-length debut album, showing the CU band’s variety and stressing its strengths in catchy melodies and captivating harmonies. - Buzz Magazine

I still think he and his band do some of the most thoughtful songwriting I’ve heard from CU locals. Songs start with the crashing of drums and cymbals, a poppy guitar riff or a few mandolin chords. They progress into Wilco-esque crescendos and flirt with country twang. The 92s have been working on an album all summer, and fans waiting to hear those songs were not disappointed by the very cool new jams brought forth by the band. - Buzz Magazine

16. THE 92S — TELEVISION FUZZ - Top 20 albums of the past 5 years

Champaign-Urbana is a college town full of college kids and it turns out a few of them like to make music. Dan Durley was one of them, and as his band the 92s made their album Television Fuzz, Durley was in the midst of the uncertainties and indecisions that come with having the end of a 4-year bachelor’s degree stint in sight. The result? A beautifully earnest, musically complex, poppy arrangement of songs by and for the young’uns of C-U. — MR - Smile Politely

2. THE 92S — TELEVISON FUZZ
The 92s have intensity to their music that pushes it further than their pop punk equals. Their songs often begin innocently, with bouncy guitars and Dan Durley’s lighthearted singing, and then take it to the next level with a funky distorted guitar solo or the whole band hammering their instruments to make noise resembling Sgt. Pepper’s-era Beatles on “A Day In The Life.” Such a talented band with such well structured songs, but The 92s aren’t afraid to let loose and play them in a house party environment if it means having a good time — and throwing in a Weezer cover in here and there. — MR - Smile Politely

Our new song "Made of Nothing" has been selected as a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition! Past finalists include Kimbra and Bastille, among others. - ISC