The New Up

Recent RIFF-featured duo The New Up just released a new album, Tiny Mirrors, a distinct move away from grungy pop and toward anthemic alt-rock. Singer-guitarists Noah Reid and Emily Pitcher told us they reimagined their sound to better encapsulate themselves in the music they made. The process also included building a studio from the ground up and many late nights questioning their motivations and views of the world today. - Riff Magazine

The New Up played the newly opened Union Hall, and brought a rock n roll flare to its reinvention. The venue had, unfortunately, burned down a few weeks ago, and revive its spiritual blaze, The New Up were a rightful choice for its re-opening. After having the pleasure of interviewing them, I knew they would deliver a thoughtful, high energy show. Clean, crisp, and captivating were three words that crossed my mind as the dynamic duo handed everyone “tiny mirrors”/ songs to look at the world.

The whole purpose of a concert is to elaborate what a record cannot or might not. For the New Up, their concert was a display of their rock n’ roll back-drop. As their guitar cried in sonic bliss, it was hard not to be impressed by their musicianship. Each of their bandmates physically invest in their instruments, closing their eyes, and shaking their torsos as if shaking themselves helped release their notes. Noah Reid, in particular, looks upward to sky when he really feels a chord/ spirt coming on to riff his guitar. It is exciting to see musicians have tells; like an intro to an action film. When he looks up, you know guitar God is coming, and, of course, ES Pitcher CANNOT fall behind in glorious style. She moves her body with precision and pizzazz, and having a glitter blue ensemble certainly added to her super-heroine aura. There is something sincerely magnetic about women who KICK BUTT, and ES felt like she could take on the world with a voice that is like a battle cry from Wonder Woman. Having such prowess was helpful in striking the emotional chords of ‘Black Swan”, “Almost Human”, “Future Is Now”, and “No Fly Zone”, which are each songs tapping into different elements of America’s political climate. The New Up are unabashed in their political opinions, but they sing their thoughts with a mutual wisdom and fire. When Pitcher belts, especially in “Future Is Now”, the lyrics leap at you with vivid importance; we are, socially, at a crossroads of which apathy can only lead to Trumps.

Overall, I would see The New Up’s show again. They serve the spiritual zest that combines fun with value. When you are not head-banging or following Pitcher in spontaneously rhythmic dancing, you are sitting and peering in to lyrics that could be quotes apart of acclaimed literature, or you could be watching Noah play his guitar as if it is playing him. Together, he and Pitcher bring a personality that is friendly and even humorous. Mr. Reid splashes his sarcasm into bits throughout the show, while Pitcher might be the coolest woman to lose her tambourine mid-concert. All in all, in a world that questions whether fun and thoughtfulness can be one in the same, The New Up is the answer. - Diandra Reviews It All

By walking the fine line between being both politically charged and reflective, San Francisco’s The New Up are no stranger to writing songs full of meaning. Blending blissful electronic-pop and jagged alt-rock, the band led by guitarist/vocalists ES Pitcher and Noah Reid bring out a sound that’s accessible and poignant.

Their February album, Tiny Mirrors, exhibits a raw approach to songwriting, capturing a rhythmic pocket that anchored by Pitcher’s poetic vocals and Reid’s stellar instrumentation. Those sounds will be on live display this Friday (May 19) as The New Up play P.A.’s Lounge in Somerville for the latest stop on their nationwide album release tour.

“Creating Tiny Mirrors was both a catharsis and the birthing of a creative baby all at once,” Pitcher reveals to Vanyaland via email. “The incredible range of emotions one can experience from day to day in this oversaturated, overstimulated, and as a result often shallow world were all experienced by us during the writing, recording, mixing, and producing of Tiny Mirrors. From very personal deaths that happened in the process to the birth of our daughter, our journey with the making of this album combined the highest joy to opening up to the deepest and darkest places where things we don’t want to discover about ourselves lie.”

Pitcher says the new record is a pure extension of the band itself, and that’s most evident on standout tracks like “Black Swan” and “Almost Human.”

“The ups and downs and struggles and triumphs of the group all fueled the creative direction, and ultimately, the emotional content of the lyrics and music of the album,” she adds. “The process was more than a labor of love, it was intertwined with life itself in a way that makes Tiny Mirrors almost more like another appendage of the band members than just another offering from struggling artists with something crucial to say to the world, although either would be valid characterizations.”

Tiny Mirrors is currently streaming via Spotify. Give it a listen below. - vanyaland.com

The New Up with the Neuro Farm and Herschel Hoover The San Francisco-based indie electro-rock band plays in support of its new album, “Tiny Mirrors.” - The Washington Post

Spring is in full force and there's no better way to combat spring fever than to enjoy a concert in the city.

Fresh off the release of their new album Tiny Mirrors, San Francisco-based duo The New Up—Noah Reid and ES Pitcher—will bring their tour to Brooklyn's Union Hall on May 18. Although they've previously played in Brooklyn at venues like Southpaw and Trashbar, next Thursday's show will mark the first performance for the pair at the 5,000 square foot bar/restaurant and venue Union Hall: "...we've never played at Union Hall specifically," they said, "we're looking forward to it."

Tiny Mirrors, which dropped in February, follows three previously self-released EPs and a full-length album. Collaborating for the first time with an outside producer, Jack Frost, the duo explores a more electronic rock sound with their sophomore release than they were previously known for. Politically charged yet introspective, the album speaks to listeners through humming synths, fierce vocals, and conscious lyrics and serves as a mighty reminder that we, as individuals, are in control of our own lives. "We want people to be empowered to take life into their own hands and not wait for someone else to make it into what they want it to be," they told Musical Notes Global.

At this historic moment in time that sees the country divided in a way that feels almost irreparable, the duo acts as a voice of encouragement with their new work, advocating for the unification of self and of society. "There are so many ways that people are dividing themselves into tiny little segments, when the real promise of our species is fulfilled when we work together. The songs are meant to not only remind you of the range of emotions you might feel on any given day, week, month, year, etc., but to take you through that range of emotions and give you a blueprint of how they can all lead to self-realization and self-actualization," they said. "It's a manifesto for self-empowerment with a tough backbone, meant to identify with people's despair at the current state of the world and draw out the hope that they need to overcome it."

Recording Tiny Mirrors over the past year and a half was a special experience for the duo that saw them through numerous obstacles and significant events in their personal lives, including the death of several friends and the birth of their daughter. "The solitude that recording affords artists is really alluring, it's a safe space to fully explore your creativity and be in the presence of others with a singular goal," they said about the recording process. "We usually end up recording in places that are surrounded by beautiful nature, and even though when you're in the studio you're so engrossed and there are typically no windows, it's still inspiring to know that natural beauty is surrounding you, and to be able to take breaks periodically and walk outside." However, they also noted the importance of being surrounded by fellow musicians and producers while in the studio: "We make meals together, discuss the state of the world, share in frustration, joy, loneliness, boredom, creativity, laughs, and dread together, and experience just about every emotion possible together. It's like being in a war together with someone, really, because no one else can possibly imagine what you've been through together at the end of it all."

This tour has already brought The New Up to cities like Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., and following their show on May 18 in Brooklyn, they will head to Massachusetts and New Hampshire. "While there are so many difficult aspects of touring, there are also so many great aspects as well," they told Musical Notes Global. "Although the camaraderie when you tour with your bandmates is pretty amazing, the act of actually getting on stage and performing night after night is usually pretty exhilarating and thrilling. The interaction with fans makes it a unique experience and when you're on stage and you're really in the moment, there is no other feeling that can possibly match it. You literally leave your body and often have moments where you don't know where you were for a minute or two."

After experiencing one of their shows, attendees can expect to walk away wholly satisfied and invigorated. "We hope they have a flood of complex emotions, ranging from 'holy shit that band was amazing and I have to tell everyone I know about them and bring them all to the next show they do here' to 'I feel like I can go out and conquer the hopelessness that this world can sometimes inspire inside me'," they expressed. "We also want them to feel things that they can't put their finger on because they are so deep inside and powerful that no words can do them justice. Sort of like the rush you get after riding a rollercoaster or jumping from a plane." - musicalnotesglobal.com

Remember in college or high school, when you used to have those “quad forums”, where every teen an twenty-something genuinely thought they had the answer to humanity’s historical crises. People always make fun of those “common- room conversations”, but I love them. They show a hope and fire that many lose as they grow, while others fight with spiritual sparkle to keep. I firmly believe that the answer to bettering humanity is within humanity, and the many peoples who provide themselves as doors or opportunities for light and love. The New Up are definitely ones of those peoples, and you can see why in Part 2 of my interview.

Diandra: What I love most about Tiny Mirrors is that it is an album that, in essence, is about finding stability in yourself because life is too uncertain. What songs in the album do you feel most help in dealing with uncertainty and why?
The New Up: This is an interesting question, because each song does this in a totally different way. In Black Swan, it’s about knowing that sometimes you have to just say “fuck it” and that that’s a part of the deal, but knowing that saying “fuck it” doesn’t mean that you’re not working through something important. In Future Is Now, it’s about thinking about what you want and what you’re doing and being aware of how it will affect other people. In Almost Human, it’s about looking for the answer inside of yourself and not blaming others or looking outside yourself for reasons why things are or aren’t working out the way you wanted them to.



Then there are songs like Corners of Our Mind and Space Invader, which discuss interpersonal relationships and being responsible for the choices you make in the people you admire and surround yourself with. Songs like, No Fly Zone and Spill It Out, deal with the macro of society and the ills that people in power commit towards their subjects, and implores people to not accept these ills but to demand that their governments serve them instead of them being demanded to serve their government. So it’s hard to say which ones are more effective in most helping listeners deal with uncertainty, because in some ways every song on the album is a crucial part of the blueprint of how to navigate this crazy and chaotic world in a meaningful and empowered way.

(Diandra’s Emotional Sidenote: Please re-read these last paragraphs, and then buy Tiny Mirrors. There is sincere wisdom and understanding in these answers. NOT KIDDING!)

Diandra: For you guys, music seems to be a wise guide through life. Name one song you find to be the wisest or most inspiring in its wisdom about life?
The New Up: That’s a really tough one. Almost Human notes that we should “Forget about the things that we can’t change or we’ll forget about the things that we could”, which is all about how crucial having an internal locus of control is for all of us to live and work together constructively and productively.



Diandra: You have said that you wrote the album for those that are just “another human being” without extraordinary wealth or power. Do you feel that the music industry/ entertainment can focus too much on material power rather than spiritual empowerment? If so, do you feel it is what has caused/ motivated negativity in the current state of the world?

The New Up: Without question. Everything that is directed towards the masses and has a need to make money falls prey to this ill. In some ways, music is just another part of the media, who needs to A) dumb things down to the lowest common denominator, B) focus on only the most sensational news, and C) sensationalize things that aren’t necessarily sensational in order to make money. Music is no different, and a large majority of the music industry is directed towards sticking to superficial topics and not getting too deep, because for some reason when deep topics are brought up in public they are treated as if they are threatening. This even translates to industries like the grocery stores and the items they carry, fashion and the designs they carry, books that are published and offered and highlighted online, etc.

All of these industries have been consolidated so that the power to decide what products are featured and carried throughout stores around the country and the world is in the hands of a few people. The irony, though, is that those people are mostly followers and not trendsetters, and the result is that you have a few people who are followers trying to pedal products that are chasing what they think is popular, instead of people taking chances on innovation and being willing to fail in an effort to move all aspects of society into the future. It’s like followers leading followers, so we get stuck in a feedback loop where everything becomes vanilla, soulless, sterile, and shallow. What’s funny, though, is that most of the time the stuff that really knocks it out of the park in terms of popularity is the stuff that is completely innovative and doesn’t conform to the normal rules. From our perspective they are the real trendsetters, and all of the people at the top that are recycling what they think will sell are really just inauthentic and often lack creativity.

(Diandra’s Emotional Sidenote: PREACH!)



Diandra: Your album was about so many personal and global issues. What is one topic you feel you did not write about or write enough about, and wish to continue to explore in future music? Moreover, what are other genres you would like to explore, as well?
The New Up: Social and environmental racism is something that we feel super strongly about but didn’t necessarily touch on specifically in the album. We’ll definitely be talking about that on the next album, as well as the disparities in wealth and the unspoken class system. Musically, we’re going to be exploring a lot more of the electronic elements, as well as ethereal soundscapes and innovative song structures. We don’t plan on abandoning our rock roots or getting rid of the types of vocal melodies we did on Tiny Mirrors, but we plan to build on the direction we went in on this album. Expect even more creativity and emotional and metaphorical connection on this next album. The world is filled with people who are incredible and who, with just a little bit of inspiration, can be voices of positive change, and we are going to be there until the end to keep pushing those people to rise up and face important topics that should be forever kept on the top of our collective brains.

There is nothing left to be said after that perfection, but to learn more about the The New Up and the music experience that is Tiny Mirrors Click Here. - Diandra Reviews It All

Here is why I love interviews. I like meeting people. I might be the only one at a party standing next to the “chatty guy” who genuinely feels compelled to recite his life history because he knows I am genuinely intrigued by it. People are amazing because each individual has a story to share, and the details of their “storybook” might shock and teach you in how they compare to yours. I say this because The New Up might be one of my favorite interviews as they, seemingly, share that mindset. Every head you see walking down the street is their own world, and their new album, Tiny Mirrors, gravitates to that notion, and attempts to sonically unite every single, individual world unto the ultimate one that matter: Earth. Enjoy Part 1 Of My New Up Interview!

Diandra: Tiny Mirrors seems to be written in love, reflection, and disappointment to the socio-political atmosphere of our current world. What makes the album, for you, a new, distinctive voice upon certaintopics that, unfortunately, seem stuck in tired conversations like, immigration and Climate Change?

The New Up: This is a great question. What really feels different for us is that we aren’t pedaling any particular ideologies. We’re not saying you have to feel this way or that way, or believe in this or that. What the music asks the listener to do is look at the world around them as it really exists and not how they want it to be or how other people have told them to look at it, explore as many other perspectives as they possibly can, truly think and feel for themselves based on what they find, and then act on what they learn from that process. No matter where that path leads them, if they are truly thinking and feeling for themselves and acting on those feelings then this world is destined to be a much better place.



Diandra: Compassion seems to be a major desire/ sonic achievement of Tiny Mirrors. Cite one moment where you felt either the most compassion from yourself or someone else.
The New Up: We’ll never forget when we were on our way from San Francisco to Santa Barbara for a show at Soho, which is a great spot. We were so excited for the show as it was our first time playing there. Unfortunately, when we were about 2 hours south of San Francisco our van at the time began to smoke. In a desperate effort to keep going and make it to the gig, we stopped at an auto parts store and asked them what we could do. The person there told us to get this stuff that gums up the radiator and can stop leaks. We put some of that in the engine and got back on the road, andnext thing you know the engine began smoking again. We made it to the next exit, which was south of Gilroy, California (the garlic capitol of the
world). We took the van to the local service station and asked that they check it out and let us know the deal. Of course, being musicians we naturally decided to go to the bar for a drink while we waited.

The bar was surprisingly rockin’ for 1p on a Friday, and next to the guitarist sat a Mexican gentleman and an American gentleman who were trying to communicate with each other, but didn’t speak each other’s language. Guitarist Noah Reid – who happens to speak spanish – decided to jump in and help the two men communicate with each other, which was a huge
relief to both of them. The American guy explained that they’d been trying to communicate for months, and that Noah had just helped them get past a major impasse. Upon further conversation, it turned out the American guy owned his own garage – mainly for big trucks – and owned a fleet of tow trucks meant to tow big vehicles (our van had a trailer attached). Completely out of the kindness of his heart, he not only agreed to take on the van repair right away, he agreed to give us a ride back to SF that day in one of his tow trucks and tow our trailer back with us, and he did the repair for free. It turns out it needed a new engine, so this was no small expense. The only thing he would let us do in return is get him drunk back in SF that night. For a bunch of broke musicians, this felt like an angel literally coming down from heaven to help an impossible situation. We
never did make it to the show that night, but we got drunk with one of the best and most compassionate people we’ve ever had the chance to meet! ( Diandra’s Emotional Side Note: I LOVE THIS STORY!)



Diandra: Tiny Mirrors is an album of metamorphosis; for better or worse. What are the most important changes you feel you have made, musically,mpersonally, and and spiritually, during and since the album?
The New Up: The ability to communicate effectively through our music is the biggest leap we’ve made. Not just through the lyrics, but the music now conveys the feelings and emotions that we want to communicate to the listener as well. There’s also a new attention to quality and detail that wasn’t there before. Everything we say literally and musically means something now,
there’s no fluff. We’ve finally connected with what we’re trying to say, and we finally have the ability to say it the way we want to.

GAHHHH!!! They are so articulate and thoughtful in their responses that I want you, the reader, to relish The New Up’s responses and story for three minutes, and then click HERE for the rest of the interview. YOU ONLY HAVE THREE MINUTES lol! - Diandra Reviews It All

America has had a long history with protest and political music — dating all the way back to the Civil War and songs like “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again.” And contrary to what popular culture might portray, given the constant usage of Vietnam War-era anti-war rock songs consistently featured in modern-day war movies and television shows, protest music is very much alive.

However, it just looks a little different. In terms of lyrical content, 2013’s “Hell You Talmbout” by Janelle Monae isn’t that different from 1967’s “Saigon Bride” by Joan Baez — they just sound light years apart. And Buffalo Springfield’s iconic “For What It’s Worth” isn’t so far removed from “Black Swan,” a song off San Francisco-based band The New Up’s latest album, titled “Tiny Mirrors.”

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The five-piece band is touring in celebration of the new album and will be making a stop in Cottage Grove on Saturday to play at the Axe & Fiddle.

During a recent phone call with guitarist and vocalist Noah Reid, we talked about the evolution of protest songs and how “Tiny Mirrors” fits in. Reid likened the changing sound to an “emotional, psychological evolution of our culture.”

“There was a certain innocence in the early ’60s that really got lost after the Vietnam War, and that loss deepened after 9/11 and it’s been a growing up a little bit.

“The protest music of the ’60s had this silver lining of ‘power to the people’ and ‘we can do this!’ and now everyone is so deep into the feeling of, ‘oh my god, this world is so messed up’ that the music has now had to evolve to reflect that new emotional, psychological state of mind.”

Reid notes that he and bandmates ES Pitcher, Hawk West, Nick Massaro and Art ­McConnell didn’t necessarily set out to make a political album.

The band formed gradually during a few years more than a decade ago, swapping in and out members with Pitcher and Reid being the mainstays. They have released three EPs and a full-length album, titled “Palace of Industrial Hope.” Still, when it came time to start working on this latest album, Reid says it was an “exercise in finding our own voice.”


“We’ve been drifting along not really knowing what our purpose was and what our message was, and I think this album kind of made us.”

They wrote 40 songs, realizing that the deaths of friends, the birth of Pitcher and Reid’s baby and the general political landscape at the time of writing all was influencing what they were writing. But there was something missing, a connection of some sort.

“We did a lot of introspection, and some of our good friends who are wise people were telling us, ‘What are you trying to say, who are you talking to, what is your point?’ and we really took that to heart,” he says.

He says they thought about who they were as a band and as people; what they wanted to say and how they wanted to connect with music lovers. What they ended up with was a deeply emotional, sometimes dark collection of songs that became “Tiny Mirrors,” which eventually was released in February.

“We wanted to represent the broad range of emotions that people feel on a daily basis, on a weekly basis, on a monthly basis, even throughout their whole life, and kind of connect with the complexity of feelings that we all go through.

“And, to let people know that they shouldn’t let other people make the rules for them, they shouldn’t accept what people tell them blindly and they should think for themselves and to also not buy into cynicism,” he says.

Things get political and there are themes that cover the band’s feelings about the state of the entire world — but it isn’t fatalistic.

“We’re still trying to use music as a way to combat that whole narrative (of hopelessness). We’ve always been kind of reticent to get political because I think you can get cheesy really quickly, but we finally said (screw) it, we’re going to get political and try to be a positive influence on people’s lives.”


In the end, The New Up has hope for the future, and Reid says that even in the wake of depressed feelings over the outcome of the presidential election, playing the songs on “Tiny Mirrors” gave (and continues to give) the band hope.

“When we sing these songs, we are totally connected to what we’re saying. These are things we feel are very important to say and for people to hear and hopefully that’s making it more poignant.” - The Register-Guard

San Francisco based band, The New Up, have recently released their new album Tiny Mirrors (Feb. 3), and while it's politically charged, it's also filled with introspective intent, and raw emotion seared through lyrics and music. They have recently released three singles from the album, "Black Swan," "Future Is Now," and "No Fly Zone," and the duo's highlight in their music is their gritty garage riffs, and sharp electronic beats. Tiny Mirrors is some of their most honest works to date. The duo sat down with us and talked about pursuing an outside producer for the first time, the personal losses and gains experienced that influenced them, and their current North American tour.

AXS: You guys collaborated with an outside producer for your new album, Tiny Mirrors. Why did you both decide to do that, and what was that collaboration like?

The New Up: We really wanted to have an outside musical perspective from someone that we trusted to increase the quality and innovativeness of the production on the album. We chose to have our dear friend DJ Jack Frost produce because we admired his ear and his music sensibility, as well as his shear vast knowledge of music. He is the best DJ that we personally know, and makes some pretty amazing music himself, so we already knew he would produce on a professional level and come up with ideas that would compliment ours. In terms of the actual collaboration, it’s a complex endeavor and it’s kinda like a marriage where you really run the gamut of emotions, but if you work at it and you’re open to communication about whatever, it can be really fruitful. What added a certain degree of complexity to the process was that we adopted a “no compromises” kind of approach, where if we didn’t all feel that the quality of any aspect of the music - no matter how big or small - wasn’t exactly the way we wanted it, we didn’t let it fly. This made for some long nights and testy situations, but the outcome was that we produced the best quality piece of music we could have produced with the tools and money we had to work with. It was definitely grueling at times, but it was super rewarding and well worth the long sessions and occasionally hurt pride.

AXS: You both dealt with many personal losses and gains during the making of this pivotal album. How did that influence your music and lyrics?

TNU: It was absolutely crucial to the music and lyrics. Because of the way we recorded the album, where we were completely engrossed in the process for the entire time we were working on it and it basically permeated every aspect of our lives, everything that was happening to us in our personal lives crept in on the creative process, and for a while there it seems like what was happening with us personally became one with what we were coming up with creatively. The reason why the album spans the entire spectrum of emotion so thoroughly and in such a real way is because it was basically a reflection of what was going on inside and outside of us during the writing and recording process. We didn’t want to make this album about anything other than what it’s like to be alive in this time in history, from the perspective of living it out each day as just another human being without extraordinary power, wealth, or influence.

AXS: This album also explores garage rock and electronic; why did you guys decide to explore both genres?

TNU: We were really following our creative hearts. We like so many different types of music, but those two in particular feel like peanut butter and chocolate to us. Swirling them around in a big creative pot just seemed like the natural progression of where we were headed, and Tiny Mirrors is really just the beginning of the process of exploring that marriage for us. We plan on really going down that road over the course of the next couple of albums, until we feel we’ve perfected the art of melting them together. We’re dead-set on finding that secret alchemy that turns the combination of the two into a style and feel that finally and decidedly pulls music to its next natural incarnation.

AXS: You’re currently on tour on the west coast, and will be heading towards the east coast soon...what's the most noticeable differences when playing on each coast?

TNU: One of the things that we notice every time we go from one coast to the other is how in your face the disparity between the haves and have nots is. On the West Coast it’s quite a bit more hidden, and it seems like the poor have just a little more and the rich have just a little less, even though that perception is probably not correct. But in our experience on the East Coast it’s really stark sometimes, especially in certain parts of the South.

That being said, there’s a difference in the way people consume live music. On the West Coast people tend to be much more subdued when watching bands perform. Of course, as with the East Coast this is a generalization and can’t be said about the entire West Coast, but it’s generally true up and down the coast in cities like LA, SF, Portland, and Seattle. On the East Coast, people are a little less self-conscious about dancing and showing their enthusiasm, and the diversity of people and their mannerisms is much more stark from city to city, for example from Atlanta to DC, or DC to NYC or Boston.

AXS: What do you both most love about touring?

TNU: The ability to directly connect with fans is an amazing experience. Being on stage is one of those situations where you’re having a conversation without words with a whole group of people, and you’re literally feeding off of the energy that they’re giving you. It’s a pretty special feeling and one that is really a big part of the reason why many of us are musicians.There’s also a camaraderie that you develop with your bandmates that you wouldn’t otherwise develop, and that’s a pretty cool experience, too. It’s one of those special experiences where no one but you can really understand the experiences that you’ve had together, and you get to know each other on a whole new level. - AXS

After being unsatisfied by the results of 2010 EP Gold, The New Up took a step back to reflect on the direction of its pop music, which skewed heavily toward grunge and psychedelia.

Over the past seven years, the San Francisco duo (and couple) built a studio and wrote songs endlessly to produce a contemplative and politically engaged sophomore follow-up in Tiny Mirrors.

“We did a lot of soul searching,” vocalist and guitarist Noah Reid said. “We were trying to figure out why we weren’t connecting with people through music.”

Reid and vocalist-guitarist Emily Pitcher finally realized the music wasn’t vibing with their interests and tastes either. They took control of their musical journey to uncover their artistic endeavors. Tiny Mirrors explores the emotions experienced in everyday life. Happiness and sadness are common, but as Reid explains, there is a plethora of different feelings more difficult to pinpoint. The duo hopes Tiny Mirrors helps listeners identify them and turn them into something positive and meaningful.

Tiny Mirrors is very much a DIY project and required Pitcher and Reid to extensively plan. The band first started an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. Once the two raised the cash, they invested in better equipment and wrote more than 40 new songs.

“A million little decisions were made, in every direction of the album—we did not compromise on quality on any decision,” Reid said. “So this whole album, from stem to stern, is exactly what we wanted it to be.”
Concentrating on the authenticity, Reid and Pitcher made Tiny Mirrors in three locations throughout Northern California. Besides their home studio, The New Up also recorded in a barn near Mendocino and at their engineer’s home in Marin.

The lonesome barn was the basis for the acoustic drums and bass. The San Francisco studio staged the dubbing and electronic tones. Pitcher and Reid intertwined the sounds together while surrounded by redwoods.

“All the places where we played were magical and they also were places we felt really relaxed and at home,” Reid said. “I think that allowed the whole album to come from a real place.”

During a time of political unrest, The New Up tried to separate its music from the current political climate. After processing the songs and the purpose of the album, the duo knew what it was making precisely pertained to what was happening now.

On “Almost Human,” Pitcher belts, “It’s a beat down world/ Do you think we should/ Let it all go/ Forget about things that we can’t change/ Oh we’ll, forget about the things we could.” The duo embraces the unrest and harshness of the world. Sonically, the song follows mid-2000s Muse, with blaring, overbearing guitar, mirrored by echoing synths, and simple-but-powerful percussion.

“I think that was my fear,” said Pitcher about incorporating politics into the music. “I didn’t want to turn anyone off. This album is so much more political than I thought. The only thing that keeps me going is thinking that maybe all of us will wake up a little bit more.”
The social and political renaissance, as Reid describes it, allows connectivity to thrive on Tiny Mirrors. The relationship between music and politics has the ability to make waves. The New Up continues to push for stronger community growth and political knowledge throughout its musical journey.

Alongside the struggle of producing an album, the band experienced personal struggles and gains throughout the process. After a close friend passed away, Pitcher and Reid had a child; their first. Making music became a form of therapy during the emotional roller coaster.
“I always find where there is death, there is life,” Pitcher said. “For us it was literal. There was major death in our life then I got pregnant. I think throwing myself into the creative process was the way that helped me through it.”

The unexpected twists and turns personify Tiny Mirrors. The uncertainty and possibilities that any ordinary day can bring are exemplified through the raw acoustics and amplified electric drums. Pitcher and Reid want to empower listeners to do the impossible and break boundaries.

“We want to spark people’s imaginations and their emotions so that they can make their own connection with the music and with what everything on the album means,” Reid said. - Riff Magazine

an Francisco indie/electro-rock collective The New Up – comprised of ES Pitcher, Noah Reid, Hawk West, Nick Massaro, and Art McConnell – released their new album Tiny Mirrors on Friday. With all of the hullabaloo around the much-anticipated title, they easily could have snubbed us. But we did get a few moments to ask them some questions – and get to know them a little bit better – just before the record dropped. So get a little glimpse into Tiny Mirrors – and the band themselves – below!

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What was the first song/record you remember hearing, and who introduced it to you?

ES Pitcher: “Honeypie” from the Beatles’ White Album, which was practically playing when I came out of the womb. My four older sisters had a huge influence on what songs I was introduced to at an early age. I had a little performance piece that I would do to the song when I was like 4 years old…one of my earliest memories.

Noah: “Billie Jean” from Michael Jackson’s Thriller, which my older brother and sister played for me after they came home from school one day when I was 3 years old.

What made you pursue music?

ES Pitcher: Although 3 of my 4 older sisters – including my dad – played the piano, I took dance lessons starting in the 2nd grade and pursued it very seriously, getting my degree in dance and dancing professionally for a short period. However, I was always obsessed with music and having 4 older sisters, I was constantly exposed to music that I still love to this day. At some point I came to terms with the fact that, because I love music so much, I wanted to be inside of it and learn to play guitar and sing. I began taking music theory classes, but what really prompted me to learn to play guitar and sing was writing my own songs.

It all came to a head when my sister’s friend came to a restaurant I was working at in Chicago and I asked him about buying a bass, because I was starting to learn the bass as well. He was in a popular Irish rock band in Chicago at the time called the Drovers, and he asked if I was interested in auditioning as the singer. Up until that point I had only sang in the shower. Next thing you know, I was playing my first show at a sold out House of Blues in Chicago. It’s kind of tough when you have that being your first show…needless to say they haven’t all been like that ; ) but from there, I felt I had no choice but to play music.

Noah: I come from a family of musicians, my father and cousin both played bass professionally growing up, and as a kid I toured with my dad in the summers because we couldn’t afford childcare on a musician’s salary (he wasn’t a songwriter, so he just got paid the journeyman’s wage). I started seriously playing musical instruments when I was about 5 (although I’d dabbled in them pretty much from birth), and in kindergarten a musician came into my class to give a presentation on stringed instruments. At some point she asked for volunteers to come up and try practicing vibrato (holding the string down while gently moving it up and down to create a singing quality) on the strings of a cello, and when I raised my hand she picked me. When I tried it she seemed surprised and said “wow, you’re a natural”. That was when I knew I wanted to play musical instruments.

But what really kicked in my desire to pursue music professionally is when the band I’d formed in middle school played the 7th grade talent show. I’ll never forget the moment we finished the song – everyone in the whole auditorium stood up and cheered and went wild – and that was the moment when I knew this was what I was going to do. And by the way, we won the talent show.

What’s the official origin story of The New Up?

The band formed slowly over a number of years, rather than in one spontaneous moment. It started off between ES Pitcher and Noah working together acoustically, meeting serendipitously in the parking lot of a music festival in Indiana (at the time Reid lived in Charlottesville, VA and Pitcher lived in Chicago) and then hooking up musically after Reid moved to Chicago a few months later. After a short time of honing their songwriting together they met Hawk West, who brought a whole new element to what the sound could be. After a move from Chicago to SF and an iteration or two with different drummers and bassists, who were adding their own flavor to the sound and really changing it to something different than what Pitcher, Reid, and West had originally envisioned, the three founding members decided to take the sound into their own hands and pursue a purer creative vision. The culmination of that refining of the process really hits it’s stride on the new album, Tiny Mirrors.



Your track “Falling From The Sky” has gotten quite a bit of attention, and we can see why. Do you think this song serves as a relevant pre-cursor to the upcoming album?

The answer is simultaneously yes and no. As we did with “Falling From the Sky”, we tried to infuse each song with raw, real emotions and to connect with the listener by creating the most evocative soundscapes we could, using as many layers of depth and meaning as possible without convoluting them. In addition, we wanted to convey our own original feel while maintaining an air of familiarity with every song. So in those respects, it was our goal to paint all of the songs with these same colors throughout the album. With that in mind, though, our intention was also to create somewhat of a concept album that would take the listener through the range of emotions that one might experience over the course of any given week, month, or year. We worked diligently to get out of the way of the emotion of the music and let it take on all of the complex elements of the intense but beautifully exhilarating and fulfilling journey we are all on. In a nutshell, we’re hoping listeners will find a strong emotional connection with each song on the album, while also using the music to observe themselves experiencing this range of emotions that make up the completeness of what it means to exist in today’s world, and as a result gain understanding of themselves and the world through the music.

What inspired that track, specifically?

Simply put, looking around the world at Syria, the xenophobia that seems to be pervasive now, the lack of ability to think in a long-term way as a species, and all of the other ways that we seem to be going backwards – away from the prospect of having a world where we all live with dignity – was the inspiration for not just this track, but for the album as a whole. They say you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone, and that’s been true with this period of globalism over the past 70 years or so. We didn’t know how much we had been moving toward a world where everyone can be assured of the basic elements of survival until we saw what the prevailing winds were bringing us in this seemingly new error of rolling back of individual rights. In fact, the song “No Fly Zone” also really hits on that very point, taking on the concept of borders and how they are created arbitrarily, with no regard to those living within them and used by the wealthy and powerful for their own gain, with devastating effects on the less fortunate.

What are you most excited about regarding the album release?

The hope that it could inspire in all of those people out there that feel that they’re alone in feeling alone and hopeless. There aren’t enough artists out there these days talking about things that may be considered political, but that we feel are just human. LOL, I guess politics is just the art of interacting with other humans with different interests, right? But really, in the spirit of U2, Bob Marley, Pink Floyd and so many other greats that have come before us, we intend to use this album as a way to inspire others to never give up hope, and to pursue positive goals with vigor.

How do you imagine people enjoying the album?

Kind of funny you ask that. On the inside cover of the hard copy of the album (yes, we actually still have our music available in a non-digital form), there is an excerpt titled “Some things we hope you feel while you listen…”, and the first thing on that list is “The wind through your hair as you drive through the hot desert”. It goes on to note things like “winning doesn’t create real happiness”, “the power to change the world and yourself is in you”, “fear and hate, hope and love are two side of the same coin”, “blame is a diversion from the truth”, and “the inevitable is definitely NOT inevitable”. It could be confused for fortune cookie wisdom, but if you think about those things as you listen you’ll really get the meaning.

So to answer the question directly, we imagine people doing things like riding a roller coaster, skydiving, on a summer road trip with the top down on a hot day, or taking part in a revolution. The music is meant to be a soundtrack to the moments in your life you wish you could bottle up – the ones where you feel free for a moment or two – so that whenever you listen you feel empowered and are reminded of the fact that you can do anything you really put yourself into. The fact that that sentiment and so many other important ideas have become cliched (or even ridiculed) is exactly what we’re fighting back against, and what we want to help listeners reconnect with by being unafraid to appreciate those feelings again.

What’s your idea of the perfect venue?

A house party with a big stage, a great sound system, and a house full of people that are fired up to get down. There’s something about playing a party where everyone is there to have the maximum amount of fun possible that gets us totally in the space to play like we’re out of our bodies.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve consumed on tour?

A doughnut shaped like a penis. There’s a spot in Portland called Voodoo Doughnuts, which I think is kind of famous at this point. You can actually trade weed for a donut there, but they have a donut called the “cock ‘n’ balls doughnut”, and it’s of course filled with cream. So when you take a bite of the tip the cream totally squirts into your mouth. For some of us that was a more familiar sensation than others…LOL

What’s up next?

What’s up next depends a lot on what happens now. We’re pushing hard to make the biggest splash possible with this new album in the US, but we’re also making a huge push to make it a big success in the UK and EU. We’ll be doing a lot more touring in the spring and summer, with some East Coast dates planned for May and June. After that, as long as everything goes as planned, we will be doing a UK/EU tour. We’ve already got the team in place to make it happen, so it’s much more likely than not that it will happen, but of course we don’t even know if we’ll still be alive in June, so we can only be so sure that anything’s gonna happen, right?

After that, we’ll hunker back down in the studio in the Fall to start recording the next album and we’ll probably stop touring for a bit so we can focus on that. If everything explodes with this album, that whole timeline may get pushed up sooner by a bit, which we would welcome. - Impose Magazine

Let’s be honest: the world is a mess lately. But on their sophomore record, Tiny Mirrors, San Francisco-based indie pop duo The New Up find plenty of ways to channel the negativity into something positive. Since fatefully meeting at a music festival, Noah Reid and ES Pitcher have self-released three EPs and one full-length, but Tiny Mirrors is their first record to reflect both the unstable political climate and sweeping personal changes, including the birth of their daughter. Any time an artist sets out to create new work, they are expected to come out on the other side completely changed, but Tiny Mirrors takes that to extremes.

A little bit grungy and dark at times, the album is a perfect reflection of both turmoil and hope. No matter where you live, there’s a palpable tension in the air lately, but there have also been acts of resistance; when The New Up ask “Do you think we should let it all go, forget about the things that we can’t change?” on “Almost Human,” it’s followed by the warning, “We’ll forget about the things that we could.” Lead single “Future is Now” is all about finding a way forward, backed by an inexorable beat. Music can be a powerful tool to help articulate our feelings and emotions when we find ourselves unable to do so, and that’s exactly what this album does.

What was some of the inspiration behind Tiny Mirrors?

In some ways we were just writing about our experiences and what we were seeing around us on a day to day basis in our own lives. But quite honestly, I think there was a part of us that was looking around ourselves and reading the writing on the wall about where the human race is headed, and we felt compelled to speak about it through our music. A funny thing happened as we got deep into the writing and producing process, though: we realized we also wanted to give people a reality check that they are the ones who are in control of their own lives, and that in order to keep their worst fears from happening they have to remember to exercise that control and not continue to be apathetic in the face of imminent threats. This was all before the election recently, of course, so after this whole alternate universe became a reality, we realized that our music was unfortunately all the more timely. But it was the desire to create a soundtrack for the range of emotions that we experience from being alive in this day and age that inspired us to make this album and give listeners something they could use every day to remind them that they are not alone in feeling alone.

What does this album mean to you, both collectively as a band and on personal levels?

As a band it means incredible growth in every way. Musically, stylistically, lyrically, sonically, conceptually, and from a production and songwriting standpoint, every aspect of the band and the music has grown immensely. To us, it feels like the growth that happens between a 12 year old and a 17 year old, where you start to look at the person differently and then one day you see them and you think to yourself, “Wow, you’re kind of like an adult now.” The music really means something deeper to the band, and we really feel like we have a message and that we’re connecting with listeners in a way that just wouldn’t have been possible for us in the past.

Personally, this album represents a metamorphosis. While recording it there were births, deaths, political turmoil, unfathomable suffering and pain, unspeakable beauty, and a shit ton of self-reflection and self-improvement and shedding of things that weren’t helping us achieve our goals. If there weren’t some underlying solid foundations, one could almost say that we’re entirely different people from when we started to record the album. Whether it was the writing and recording of the album or whether that was just something that came out of the process, it has been a downright transformative time in our personal lives.

I saw that you had some personal ups and downs in the year while you were creating Tiny Mirrors. How does it feel to reflect back on that time now that your album is set to release soon?

It’s pretty crazy. Looking back, it’s almost unbelievable how high the highs were and how low the lows were. It’s not like we’re manic depressives or anything, but life just has a way of taking you on a rollercoaster ride sometimes and all you can do is try to hold on as tight as you can and not get thrown off out into the wilderness. Ironically, it seems like since those times, things have been thrown even more into turmoil. Thinking back to how we felt then and how things are now is a real gut check. There’s an almost palpable sense of uncertainty that’s so thick you could almost reach out and touch it. As people who are pretty steadfast in our sense of morality and solid in our ability to not be brainwashed, it’s crazy to think about how crazy we thought things were then, but then to look at things now and see how the truth has been twisted into an unrecognizable pile of garbage. It just reminds us that we can never be complacent; we can never think that things are in a good place and that we can sit back and let the world go silently in the direction of unity. That reality never existed, the only difference is that now we all know that we must always stay vigilant. I think that’s what reflecting on the process now most reminds us of.



What genre would you say your music best fits in to, if it fits into one at all?

Usually we like to let writers and other music industry professionals call out what we sound like, because we’ve always felt that our music was hard to fit into one genre, and genres have become so narrow and specialized that we thought that we would never fit into one. Luckily, there’s been a little bit of pushback on the increase in sub-genres in the last few years, and we can now kind of fit ourselves into a few if we mix them together. So considering we’ve got a little garage rock in us, a little indie, a little shoegazer, a little electronic and dance, and a little alternative, we just like to wrap that all up in a little bow that we call electro garage rock.

Are there any songs on the album that you feel a particularly strong connection with? If so, which ones?

That’s a tough one. That’s like asking someone, “You’ve got 12 babies–are any of them your favorite?” We might have one that we connect with a little more strongly, but we’d be hesitant to say it as we don’t want to risk making the other ones jealous.

What have been your favorite stop(s) on your North American tour?

It’s still going, and we’ve got a lot more dates to hit, but there are a few places that we always enjoy playing. Portland is always super fun, and you can’t beat our hometown, San Francisco. One of the shows that really surprised us was when we played in Reno recently. We’ve heard rumblings that there is an artist revival going on there (’cause it’s one of the only places that’s still affordable for artists), which is why we decided to play there, but to be there and actually witness it was really cool. The arts district is undergoing a major revival, and some of our friends have moved there and are part of this exciting renaissance.

What are you hoping people take away from your album?

Kind of funny you ask that. On the inside cover of the hard copy of the album (yes, we actually still have our music available in a non-digital form), there is an excerpt titled, “Some things we hope you feel while you listen…,” and the first thing on that list is, “The wind through your hair as you drive through the hot desert.” It goes on to note things like, “winning doesn’t create real happiness,” “the power to change the world and yourself is in you,” “fear and hate, hope and love are two side of the same coin,” “blame is a diversion from the truth,” and “the inevitable is definitely NOT inevitable.” It could be confused for fortune cookie wisdom, but if you think about those things as you listen, you’ll really get the meaning. The music is really meant to be a soundtrack to the moments in your life you wish you could bottle up—the ones where you feel free for a moment or two—so that whenever you listen, you feel empowered and are reminded of the fact that you can do anything you really put yourself into. The fact that that sentiment and so many other important ideas have become cliched (or even ridiculed) is exactly what we’re fighting back against, and what we want to help listeners reconnect with by being unafraid to appreciate those feelings again. There’s a definite political element to it, and we’re hoping to inspire people to get out and do something about all of this insanity—especially vote! The politicians who are in there right now are not going to listen to anyone; they’re going to do whatever they want, no matter how much people protest. So the only thing that is really going to have an effect on the direction of where we’re going is to VOTE!

What plans do you have in mind for the future?

What’s up next depends a lot on what happens now. We’re pushing hard to make the biggest splash possible with this new album in the U.S., but we’re also making a huge push to make it a big success in the U.K. and EU. We’ll be doing a lot more touring in the spring and summer, with some East Coast dates planned for May and June. After that, as long as everything goes as planned, we will be doing a U.K./EU tour. We’ve already got the team in place to make it happen, so it’s much more likely than not that it will happen, but of course we don’t even know if we’ll still be alive in June, so we can only be so sure that anything’s gonna happen, right? After that, we’ll hunker back down in the studio in the fall to start recording the next album, and we’ll probably stop touring for a bit so we can focus on that. If everything explodes with this album, that whole timeline may get pushed up sooner by a bit, which we would welcome. - audiofemme.com

San Francisco-based rock duo The New Up share a new single from their forthcoming album Tiny Mirrors, out February 3rd. Highlighted by radiating synths and reverb drenched guitars, “No Fly Zone” premiered yesterday with Substream Magazine. The band comments:

“What is the true purpose of borders? Is it to serve the interests of the everyday working person? Or is it to protect the interests of the wealthy and powerful few? No Fly Zone professes that borders were made by the wealthy and powerful, for the wealthy and powerful, and that the true natural state of our existence on earth is to have the freedom to go where we want, when we want. Borders are simply false divisions we create for ourselves, with real and dire consequences that affect the everyday lives of those within them. Using plain statements like ‘all our lives must equate to something’ and existential questions like ‘why are we here?’ it urges us to look more deeply at the divisions we create for ourselves, and to strive for true meaning that goes beyond borders and overcomes these superficial divisions.”

Staying true to their DIY approach, Tiny Mirrors explores the notion of overcoming disconnection with its buzzing synths and serpentine riffs, indelible melodies and sprawling arrangements. Produced with Jack Frost (Antarctica/BlackRock), The New Up previously shared the stark yet shimmering “Black Swan” and the hazy soundscape of “Future Is Now.”

Stay tuned for more as the band gears up for album release on Februrary 3rd. Fans in California still have a chance to catch them live in the last leg of their U.S. tour. See below for a full list of tour dates - Vents Magazine

San Francisco-based The New Up has delivered a thoroughly solid record in Tiny Mirrors. The duo, comprised of Noah Reid and ES Pitcher, created an exceptional independent rock record that is politically charged while also being clearly introspective.

They blend the intense rock ‘n roll of Muse and the electronics of Phantogram on the opening track where they sing “…it’s a beat down world/do you think we should/let it all go/forget about things we that can’t change/oh we’ll forget about the things we could…”

Tiny Mirrors explores disconnection through the band’s lyrics, captivating arrangements, and musical attitude. The buzzing synths and riffs create an attractive package for alternative, and even potentially, mainstream radio, which seems to be embracing more electronic music.

The single “Black Swan” delves into layers of dreamy keyboards, heavy bass, and rocking guitar riffs paired with lyrics that illustrate the frustration of today’s political map in America and worldwide. Pitcher admits “…it takes time, but I live it out/living in a world/that I know is wrong/sometimes it makes me wanna shout/but I know I gotta stay strong…”

The track, “Green Candle,” highlights the band’s ability to write and arrange truly captivating and mysterious material. Pitcher’s voice is almost reminiscent of Garbage front woman, Shirley Manson, the way Pitcher’s able to convey a message through her attitude and how she evokes curiosity and engagement.

On another politically-driven track, “Paranoid”, Pitcher sings “…witnessed too many lies/I’m not about to be/another one/living a life that isn’t free/another one/living a life that isn’t free/another one/living a life that isn’t free/paranoid/these things are happening to me/months turning into years/never filling up with tears/my God it is/the apocalypse…”

The New Up has created an incredible record with tons to say in Tiny Mirrors. The production, arrangements and lyrics throughout the album create a package from start to finish that really spells out success for the duo from here on out.

Rating: Bad-Ass - That Magazine

The video “Black Swan”, directed by Hassan Said, for the San Francisco indie/electronic band The New Up, captures a bizarre and possibly dreamt up encounter during a night out in clubland. Shot in one take, it’s a pragmatic rendering of what can happen once a person’s senses are in disarray.

The camera focuses on one woman, while the band plays in the club, as she tries to decipher what is imagined and what is real. ES Pitcher, lead singer of the band has said “Black Swan” gives a boldly detailed portrait of what “being young in the city and in a place where your loneliness and lack of self-love are so obvious—but you’re just rebelling against it and doing everything to forget that you’re alone.” - PulpLab.com

“Future is Now” is a memorable and rousing single from the forthcoming album Tiny Mirrors, a sophomore release from the San Francisco based band, The New Up. Amidst a hazy yet uplifting shoegazer type soundscape that includes expansive vocals and anthemic melodies, the lyrics hint at the cautionary parameters that come with attaining a perceived want or goal. So while the sound of the song comes off as a lush auditory hug, the lyrics work in juxtaposition giving the listener a stoic pat on the back and off you go.

The song, which has been featured on Aaron Axelson’s Soundcheck on Live 105, is just a sample of the many The New Upcolors and directions in the modern/electronic rock vein that The New UP excels at. For Tiny Mirrors, band members ES Pitcher, Noah Reid, Hawk West, Nick Massaro, and Art McConnell chose to work with DJ and producer Jack Frost. SF Sonic recently had a chance to chat with the band.

SF Sonic: So how did The New Up form?

The New Up: The band formed slowly over a number of years rather than in one spontaneous moment. It started off between ES Pitcher and Noah working together acoustically, meeting serendipitously in the parking lot of a music festival in Indiana (at the time Reid lived in Charlottesville, VA and Pitcher lived in Chicago) and then hooking up musically after Reid moved to Chicago a few months later. After a short time honing their songwriting together they met Hawk West, who brought a whole new element to what the sound could be. After a move from Chicago to SF and an iteration or two with different drummers and bassists, who were adding their own flavor to the sound and really changing it to something different than what Pitcher, Reid, and West had originally envisioned, the three founding members decided to take the sound into their own hands and pursue a more pure creative vision. The culmination of that refining of the process really hits its stride on the new album, Tiny Mirrors.

SF Sonic: Who or what artists would you name as inspirations to the sound of the band?

The New Up: Radiohead, Tame Impala, The Kills, Phantogram, Talking Heads, Wye Oak, The Beatles, Broken Bells, Poliça, Queens of the Stone Age, Catpower, Pixies, The Kinks, Massive Attack, Arctic Monkeys, Big Data, Empire of the Sun, Garbage, Portishead

SF Sonic: Was Tiny Mirrors recorded in the SF/Bay area? If so what studio?

The New Up: Tiny Mirrors was actually recorded in five different studios, four of which were in SF. Three out of those four studios were actually home studios. The only official studio that was used was Coast Recorders, which technically no longer exists. The other three included two of our home studios (we moved in the middle of the recording process), named “Pleasure Pad Studios” and “Uptown Studios,” and our mixing engineer’s studio, which he calls “All Kinds of Noise.” The real gem, though, was where we recorded the drums and bass, and some of the guitar and vocals. It was essentially a beautiful, amazing sounding barn on the Mendocino Coast that we converted into a state-of-the-art studio for six days. That place was nothing short of magical, but each place had its own charm and added its own distinct and gritty flavor to the album.

The New Up

SF Sonic: So the band kinda covers all aspects of indie/alternative rock… from the upbeat punch of The Vapors..the synth vs guitars pull of Spill It out.. to the shoegazer feel of “Future is Now.”

Was it intentional to try and touch on all these different colors?

The New Up: Yes and no. We didn’t really set out to do that from the beginning of the process, but as we started to illuminate the songs that were gonna be on the album, we realized that we had a very diverse set of sounds that we were going to be tying together, and that this was an opportunity to highlight the different types of music that we’ve all grown up loving. As we got deeper into the process we started to understand the way the songs represented different emotional aspects of ourselves and it turned out that a perfect subset of the emotion that we wanted to convey was represented in the feel of all of the songs that made up the album.

SF Sonic: OK. what’s your favorite restaurant spot in the Bay Area…..your go to and why?

The New Up:That’s a tough one as there are so many amazing restaurants in the Bay Area, but we’d have to go with Burma Superstar…for the samosa soup and the tea leaf salad, of course!

SF Sonic: Was there a specific reason why you worked with Jack Frost on this project? Something you heard someplace else?

The New Up: We’ve known him for some time and he’s an amazing DJ, in fact the best DJ we’ve ever personally known. He has an amazing ear and if you go to his SoundCloud account, he has countless remixes he’s done where he absolutely kills it (and judging by his plays and followers we’re not the only ones who feel that way). We really admired his musical tastes and thought he would be a great creative person to add a classy touch with some pop sensibility to the album. Judging by how the album turned out, we made the right choice and he was a crucial addition to the production process. - SFsonic.com

While cold rainy storms pound Northern California, things are heating up inside The Yolo Brewery as The New Up take the stage. The band is on tour and tonight’s stop is in West Sacramento. The subtle mouthwatering aroma of craft beer fills the cozy venue, while vibrant lights and lasers illuminate the stage. Surrounded by brewery equipment and stoked fans, The New Up start rocking. The mix of growling guitars and zealous vocals are accented by a full band and the occasional appearance of flute and saxophone melodies.

The band’s electric stage presence is well-received by the crowd, it is clear that The New Up’s live sound is just as impressive, if not more so their recorded tracks. The friendly interaction between the band and the crowd between songs makes for an enjoyable and immersive night. Keep an eye out for when they will be in your area next and visit their site for more info: http://thenewup.com - gratefulweb.com

The New Up are bringing goth-pop to the forefront but upping the notion of "alternative" to "victorian". Although they still have the sugared synths that make the genre massively friendly, they also add a debonair feeling through the serpentine riffs of ES Pitcher. Yes, I know that serpentine is equated with "snake", but the slithering of her voice is not negative or venomous. A snake slides in seduction and rattles to mark its entrance. In many ways, that is what Pitcher's voice in "No Fly Zone".

"No Fly Zone" is indie pop with a dark under-tone. Pitcher sings with a prowess over a baseline that sounds like crushed gravel. She has a phenomenal range that she casually scores through the song to show off her boredom with being bored. It may seem strange to be bored with being bored, but when people come up with plain rules to live by and then repeat them vigorously, you can reach a point of being so tired of feeling tired that you grow apathetic. "No Fly Zone" is the stirring of listeners' spirits to break apathy, and combat the exhaustion that can overtake a person when they see the irrational constructs of humankind, especially when its comes to borders. For The New Up, the earth was never made to divide and mark, but to live and share. Hence, their usage of sonics that are mutually grainy and glamorous. To show the earth is too all, you need a sense of humble glory, and Pitcher has that with her powerful voice and The New Up's inquisitive message: Why do we live to separate ourselves from each other, when we dream of life being shared? Our greatest moments are together.

The New Up is going on tour soon, to which I have left the dates on the bottom. In addition, their new album Tiny Mirrors is set to hit your headphones on February 3. Yet, I want to leave you with their amazing, wise words, from a Substream Magazine interview, on the pointlessness of manufacturing earthly life according to borders:

"What is the true purpose of borders? Is it to serve the interests of the everyday working person? Or is it to protect the interests of the wealthy and powerful few? No Fly Zone professes that borders were made by the wealthy and powerful, for the wealthy and powerful, and that the true natural state of our existence on earth is to have the freedom to go where we want, when we want. Borders are simply false divisions we create for ourselves, with real and dire consequences that affect the everyday lives of those within them. Using plain statements like ‘all our lives must equate to something’ and existential questions like ‘why are we here?’ it urges us to look more deeply at the divisions we create for ourselves, and to strive for true meaning that goes beyond borders and overcomes these superficial divisions." - DiandraReviewsItAll.com

San Francisco rock duo The New Up are just three weeks out from the release of their newest album, Tiny Mirrors, and today we have the honor of sharing one of its singles with you. “No Fly Zone” is a four-minute exercise in mood and calculation with a message that’s both topical and very real. Bringing to mind acts like Morcheeba, Shiny Toy Guns, and Blonde Redhead, The New Up is a new favorite on our list of bands to keep an eye on and we suspect they might land on a similar list of yours. - Substream Magazine

The New Up's dreamy new music video and single, Future is Now is moody, sensual and a bit psychedelic. - The Deli Magazine

The New Up is a two-piece from San Francisco, a duo who seem to compliment one another perfectly.

Hazy soundscapes and dreamy pop melodies, the pair seem to sculpt aural pathways that led down sonic rabbit-holes.

New album 'Tiny Mirrors' - their first in the UK - was recorded at their lair in Northern California, and it's redolent of perpetual heat and sunshine.

Lyrically, though, The New Up are unafraid to go a little deeper. New cut 'Future Is Now' airs on Clash, and it's a wonderfully evocative piece of songwriting, with a slight sting in the tail.

Guitarist Noah Reid says that the song is "about people not being willing to stick with what they know is right when everyone else is trying to influence them otherwise".

Tune in now. - clashmusic.com

Insanely good stuff out of San Francisco. - ajournalofmusicalthings.com

[The New Up]...make music with a message in the vein of Bob Marley or U2, and their timeliness makes [Tiny Mirrors] more powerful. - tahoeonstage.com

Pancakes And Whiskey is happy to premiere the newest track from The New Up called “Falling From The Sky” today. The band which is based out of S.F. brings us a swirling concoction of alt-rock with a hint of sensible power-pop that envelops us with a warm distorted hug. The thumping bassline is the backbone of the tune, all while the rhythmic guitar slashes through the ether with it’s jagged and pointed notes. Then the lyrics come at us like a wave of uncertainty – low and panicked, but with sense of belonging and strength. “Falling From The Sky” is the perfect tune for those who like a strong rock-tune that pushes and pulls all the right pop buttons, all while having a DIY attitude.

“Falling From The Sky” is off of the band’s upcoming album titled, Tiny Mirrors, and is due out on 2-3-17 - pancakesandwhiskey.com

Tiny Mirrors mixes pop and politics in a winning way that recalls U2’s Achtung Baby, Prince’s Sign of the Times, and Gang of Four’s Entertainment! Like these contemporary touchstones, The New Up have crafted music very much of their age and slightly out of time, a groovy dislocation in a richly layered landscape that feels ever-present, a unique envelopment where every detail is warm and well placed, the production and playing on-point throughout, captivating voices whipping through the air like birds in conversation. - dirtyimpound.com

The New Up are a great band from San Francisco. They’ve just revealed their new track ‘Future Is Now’. ‘Future Is Now’ is packed full of graceful melodies, airy vocals and hazy soundscapes. There’s a real sense of Beach House, Cocteau Twins in the track. - xsnoize.com

Every so often, a band comes along with a collection of music that transcends the present moment with sharp, poignant songwriting and vibrant soundscapes. For San Francisco’s The New Up, it’s their upcoming release Tiny Mirrors. The album is more than just another collection of rock songs (though these songs undoubtedly rock). Instead, it is a collection of carefully crafted tracks meant to be as thought-provoking as they are infectiously catchy.

...“Black Swan,” [is] a tale of rebellion against loneliness. Inspired by a true story, the video companion to the track is a one-take masterpiece that brings to life the tale of loneliness that can come with living in the city...the song is a slinky and slickly produced track in which shimmering and atmospheric electronics, slashing and angular guitar chords and a sinuous bass line are paired with ES Pitcher’s sensual vocals — singing lyrics that reveal the narrator’s urgent, carnal need, the need (and desire) to lose one’s self, if even for a little bit, her increasing frustration with people and human relationships and empty, soulless hookups. And at the core of the song is the growing loneliness that being in a large city can inspire in all of us. - joyofviolentmovement.com

San Francisco-based The New Up are getting ready to unleash their second record to the masses later this year. The cinematic sound is as melodic as it is ethereal. If this texturized tune is any indication of what's to come on their album, the band's fans are in for quite a treat. - purevolume.com

The New Up are one of those DIY bands that you’ve never heard of, but are compelled to pull up by their guitar straps once you do. Whether it’s by spreading the word or donating to their recent Indiegogo campaign to help them record and release their upcoming album, Tiny Mirrors, the electro rock band from San Francisco has an Id-alluring sound that draws you in.

The synth pop-charged, yet intense psychological horror tale comes from a real place as frontwoman Emily Pitcher explains, “Our friend was out with a group and found herself at this late night and pretty sketchy club in SF. Shorty after their arrival, she became separated from her friends. Feeling vulnerable and insecure without the safety of her crew and having partied too hard, she found herself in a piercing altercation with a woman at the club. This random woman continued to size her up and stare her down. The intensity grows and it feels like an eternity. Finally, she clenches her fist and goes to punch the woman in the face. She ends up punching a mirror — the woman that was ‘sizing her up’ was only a reflection of her own self.”

Pitcher, whose nuanced vocals give the bouncy track levity added, “There is a loneliness to living in a bustling, urban environment and we can get swept away with the lifestyle of partying and ultimately escaping to feel a false sense of freedom and happiness. We succumb to a superficial encounter or a one night stand in order to feel some sense of love and acceptance. Simultaneously, we are filled with fear resulting in a forced sense of overconfidence to not appear vulnerable. - craveonline.com

Future is Now has something of the beach house about it, and is this echoey sun soaked slice of indie rock right from the off. Built on this throbbing bass figure and insistent one-note guitar line, its sugared with these rather lovely harmonies, backing vocals and this gorgeous woozy melody. Behind all that though, there’s a darker message – Careful what you wish for, there’s no turning back.

Right now here at backseat mafia, we wish to hear a lot more of The New Up. - backseatmafia.com

San Francisco quintet The New Up takes the template of hard alternative rock and contorts it with singer ES Pitcher, whose voice is a pretty and husky as any pop starlet. It is an interesting contrast to hear the crashing, psychedelic guitars guiding through the haze with Pitcher’s incandescent vocals.

The band’s third EP, Gold, starts with its title track’s groaning guitar riff before Pitcher lays on her sweet nothings. Its the quiet-LOUD-quiet dynamic made famous by Pixies, but Black Francis would scream where Pitcher coos. The chorus dives into Noah Reid’s guitar riffing, which is worthy of Tony Iommi comparisons, before the catchy, sing-along chorus comes in.

Most of the choruses on this record are infectious and memorable, another thing that sets The New Up apart from the other distortion slingers currently coming out of California.

“Daydream” picks up the tempo and adds a slide guitar behind the cagey, Television-esque two-string rhythm work. Reid gets a chance to do some vocals on this cut. His voice sounds more conventionally harsh for a hard rock band, but when he harmonizes with Pitcher her high bounces off his low in a compelling team-up.

“Tiz Da Season” starts small, with a bass drum hit from drummer Drew Bertrand. When the guitar sidles in with abstract seventh chords, a drunk slacker vibe wafts through. The chorus gets off the couch with some exertion but the trippy arpeggios of the verse come out on top again. The sickly guitar solo feels even crazier on account of half-heard radio announcements underneath.

“Situation Overload” and “See Yourself” are also both heavy hitters. On “Situation,” Dain Dizazzo’s bass lumbers in before woodwinds and other ambient noises from wild card fifth member Hawk West infiltrate the soundscape. Pitcher says in the chorus that she “can’t stop” her subject from destroying themselves as the band hits a jarring stop-start pattern. “See Yourself” starts with an awkward, two-step metal riff that grows naturally until it is ingrained into the track’s harrowing wake.

“Emphasis” isn’t as craggy as its predecessors and has a guitar part that sounds something like Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun,” although it’s nowhere near as creepy as that classic. Reid gets some more vocal time in, as well. He also breaks out the slide guitar for the eerie dream pop chorus.

Speaking of dream pop, “Just Because,” here credited as the “Bushmills Cut” of the song, also takes that direction and is an even more rewarding experiment the second time. Sounding like the best song Beach House has never written, the elevated atmosphere of the track comes from Reid’s gently alternating guitar line, some more of West’s special effects and the loveliest melody on the album.

The last track, “Better Off (Bayview Cut)” retreats to the style that The New Up started with. But the song is constructed soundly and the chorus feels like an anthem. With an unnerving, drum-fueled fade out, it’s a satisfying conclusion to a successful preview of The New Up. Hopefully we can get a full album soon to see if they deliver on the promise of this EP.

Final Grade: ****1/2 (out of five) - Austin Music Entertainment Magazine

San Francisco's The New Up kind of sounds like an updated, slowed-down version of the old Hammerbox. Like, Carrie Akre's Hammerbox - all ferocious and female and flannel covered, circa 1990-whatever. But don't get me wrong; this five-piece is no rehash. While the scene stealing rock guitars, gut-punch hooks and the voice of female frontwoman ES Pitcher lend themselves to Hammerbox comparisons, there's definitely an air of originality to the indie rock The New Up pumps out. It can shape-shift from classic rock to iPod-contemporary at a moment's notice, and with no loss of impact - which is a skill few current bands seem to posses or even desire. After releasing the debut EP in 2008, the well received Broken Machine, The New Up is planning the release of a new EP, Gold. - Weekly Volcano

Lovers of early Jefferson Airplane and both Under the Covers volumes of ’60s and ’70s covers from Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs will find the swirling layers of dreamy instrumentation, lethal guitars and melodic vocals from ES Pitcher, frontman for this group (pictured above), to be a strong brew indeed. [Their CD] boasts a mere five cuts, but it’s a fantastic introduction to the San Francisco quintet’s powerful yet tuneful approach. - Orange County Register

Of those myriad performers, the New Up are a clear standout. Like Metric, the San Francisco five-piece specializes in dark, dreamy rock with gorgeous female vocals. Last year, the band released Better Off, the second in a planned trilogy of EPs that show off the band's sultry, tempestuous sound. Lead singer ES Pitcher's soaring vocals are worth the price of admission alone, and all you flute enthusiasts out there will be pleased to know that the band has one of those, too. - NBC San Diego

In the 1960s, San Francisco was the epicenter of a peace loving, free-for-all culture that featured music as its voice. Throughout the years, the idea of everything being so peachy has drastically changed. These days, themes of war, destruction, and disaster have become an overwhelming doctrine of modern day civilization. So where's the middle ground? Where's the hope? Meet The New Up, a San Francisco-based psychedelic indie rock quintet that embodies the light in the darkness of a crumbling utopia. Comprised of five very eclectic musicians - rowdy front woman and guitarist Emily Pitcher, jamming guitarist and vocalist Noah Reid, Dain Dizazzo on bass, drummer Drew Bertrand, and electronic-influenced Hawk West on flute and automation, the band transcends any one musical genre. On the surface, The New Up is a rock band; complete with sonic guitar, raw drums, and an aggressive female lead. But there are deep layers to this band. Having evolved from a basic structure of heavy guitars and walls of sound, the band now finds itself moving towards more of a psychedelic space. They are a sensory driven band, big on textures and big on noise, yet they balance that bravado with a sensual soulful awareness that comes through in their melodies and lyrics.

Read more: http://performermag.com/Bands/Article/2010/The%20New%20Up - Performer Magazine Feature

Hey, remember Garbage? No no, hear me out. If you go back and revisit their first album, the one with the pink feathers, I think you'll find time has proven them right about a few things: a balance between heavy-alternative jangle and fetching lead melodies, the virtue of buzzing guitars and a rhythm section just a hint funkier than it should be, and the potential of noirish imagery conveyed by a honeyed female voice.

Anyway, once you finish playing "Only Happy When It Rains" on Guitar Hero, take a moment to meet The New Up, an Inner Sunset-based quintet who put the vamp in "extended vamping." They're releasing an EP called Gold in late October, the third in a trilogy with an ambitious narrative scope... We chatted with vocalists and guitarists ES Pitcher and Noah Reid to talk about what to expect this weekend, influence versus inspiration, and the seduction of grammar. Well, one of us talked about that.

Read more: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2010/09/the_new_up_sultry_psych-pop_ja.php - SF Weekly Feature

Being in a band is about as close a relationship as a group of people can have without sharing a bed.

There are artists who come out of the gates full of promise and critical canoodling, but end up resembling a one-night stand; acts who, decades after a breakup, cannot even speak to one another unless a Coachella-size paycheck is involved; and downright abusive relationships, bound by a nostalgic fan base that romanticizes the good times.

The New Up falls outside any of these scenarios. Instead, the San Francisco band seems held together by an honest adulation that has both the spark of a teenage crush and the measured balance of lifelong sweethearts.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?type=music&f=/c/a/2010/09/16/NS6I1FATSC.DTL - San Francisco Chronicle Feature

MTV-lauded The New Up Announces CD Release Party for Gold "Glitz, Gold & Rock & Roll" at Café Du Nord Heralds in Fourth Studio Effort from San Francisco Band

August 20, 2010 - San Francisco, CA - The New Up, voted a Best Bay Area Breakout Band of 2009 on MTV2/Ourstage, proudly announces their "Glitz, Gold & Rock & Roll" CD release party in honor of their fourth studio effort, Gold, at Café DuNord, Saturday night, September 18, 2010. Golden Tickets include an advance copy of Gold plus admission, sans service fees, and can be purchased at www.thenewup.com

NBCSanDiego.com calls The New Up "dark, dreamy rock with gorgeous female vocals," Behind the Hype states, "Metric with a touch of The Rolling Stones, with a front woman with an addictive, classy, lingering voice," and Flagpole says, "striking, exotic and brashly coherent indie pop that feel[s] like the sonic equivalent of a thrill ride." In a recent feature article on The New Up, Tanya Fuller writes in the July 2010 Performer Magazine, "They are a sensory-driven band, big on textures and big on noise, yet they balance that bravado with a sensual soulful awareness that comes through in their melodies and lyrics."

Gold was recorded at Radical House Studios and The Pleasure Pad Studios in San Francisco, with engineering by Andrew Michael Bertrand and Adam Fine. Gold was produced by Andrew Bertrand, Noah Reid and The New Up, and mastered by Roger Lian (The White Stripes, Madonna, The Killers, Smashing Pumpkins, and The Strokes) at Masterdisk in New York City. Gold is the culmination of a series of three EPs that includes Better Off (2009) which Performer Magazine called, "An artful sonic balance that's miles beyond the typical indie-rock release," and the CMJ Top 200-charting Broken Machine (2008). Better Off, Broken Machine and The New Up's 2007 full-length studio effort Palace of Industrial Hope, all were mixed and engineered by one of the most in demand "audio alchemists" on the West Coast, Jaimeson Durr, who has worked with The Killers, Cake, Franz Ferdinand, and Handsome Boy Modeling School.

Delivering captivating live performances that combine uniquely catchy songs with polished chops and inspired musicianship, The New Up features Noah Reid on guitar, Hawk West on flute and automation, Dain Dizazzo on bass, Drew Bertrand on drums, and - front and center - the intoxicatingly liquid voice of ES Pitcher, who the Sacramento News & Review calls "the bastard love child of Siouxsie Sioux and Karen O."

In August of 2010, The New Up's entire critically acclaimed catalogue will be made available through all US music retail locations and worldwide digital music retailers through IRIS Digital Distribution.

The New Up's "Glitz, Gold & Rock & Roll" CD Release Party for Gold
(also appearing: The Hundred Days, The Moanin' Dove and Jack Frost spins the DJ Dance Party!)

Where: Café Du Nord (21-years and over please), 2170 Market Street, SF, CA, tel: 415-861-5016 www.cafedunord.com
When: Saturday, September 18, 2010, Doors at 8:30 p.m., Show starts at 9:30 p.m.
Cost: $13 advance, $15 day of show; $19.99 "Golden Ticket" includes an advance copy of Gold, available only through September 15 on www.thenewup.com, and no additional ticket service fees.



To order tickets, for band news or to check out The New Up's new award-winning Bitch video, please visit thenewup.com

To arrange interviews, show review credentials, or request a copy of Gold for review, please contact Christopher Buttner at 415-233-7350 or email chris@prthatrocks.com.

For radio enquiries, please contact Brian Gerhard at Rocket Shop Promotions at 303-258-6806 or via email at brian@rocketshoppromotions.com.

For US distribution inquiries, please contact Steffen Franz or Ben Lang at Independent Distribution Collective, 415-292-7007 or via email at sales@independentdistro.com - PRThatRocks

"The New Up decorate their trippy new wave with fetishisized guitar play - gentle wah-wah abuse and the kind of noodling that evokes Neal Schon, back when Journey was a guitar-geek band - held together by frontwoman ES Pitcher, whose thick voice has the irresistible presence of a Glace Slick or Deborah Iyall. They laid all this down in their self-titled, self-released debut album, and it looks like their follow-up is going to be a gem: the tracks move with a seething, aggressive kind of dream logic."
- The Chicago Reader

"To hear greatness in its germinal stage is intoxicating. Bookending the festival, San Francisco's The New Up was all prickly erogenous zones and contemporary disquiet. The quintet channels the future-forward zeitgeist of Radiohead, Lake Trout (who they covered), Talking Heads, and TV on the Radio. Singer E.S. Pitcher is a dizzying blur of hips and lips, seductive as memory with the sharp tang of the lash -- a thoroughly modern frontwoman that's actually a woman, and not some whiney little girl.

Superb, tight playing fuels a compellingly varied approach broad enough to rope in tweakers, hippies, and library bound indie kids. Subtle electronics and processed flute scuttle predictability, and while their predominantly compact compositions avoid bloated excess, there are enough guitar tangents to appeal to Pavement and Ween fans.

Singing about how "lonely machinery distracts us from our lives," there's a sense of giddy desperation in their sound that feels downright prophetic. Cute as hell in a scruffy sort of way, the New Up have the makings of a "Next Big Thing." They're a Luaka Bop band waiting to happen, a tastemaker cooked up from a recipe book of their own design." - Pop Matters

"The New Up are brazen but keep their cool by matching
aggressive songwriting with rocksteady new-wave style
on Palace of Industrial Hope, a sleek, sultry work
worthy of its mystical name."
- Salt Lake City Weekly

"In the luxurious breakroom here at SN&R, right next to the lab experiment-sploched microwave, are piles of books, DVDs and compact discs discarded by various editors who’ve deposited them there after coming up for air by digging themselves out of the mountains of books, DVDs and compact discs piled atop their cubicles. Considering the amount of swag that’s sent here, every day is like Christmas, but every Christmas present is socks.

Still, I make it a habit to rummage through the free-stuff pile and give a CD or seven a spin in my computer while dribbling out this drivel you’re reading now, which must go a long way toward explaining all the curse words you’ve been reading lately. On one such sonic journey, I was not ready to drop F-and CS-bombs, however, having been pleasantly taken back years ago, to the first time I heard Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on the radio. “Wow,” I thought back then, “Siouxsie Sioux cut a new album." Joke was on me, as it was when I played my breakroom freebie and immediately thought, “Wow, Siouxsie Sioux and Karen O have had a bastard love child."

That bastard love child would be ES Pitcher, the singer/songwriter/ guitarist for the San Francisco band The New Up, whose website makes no mention of the obvious product of a Sioux-O coupling, although it does refer to The New Up sound as incorporating “the rocking channel surfing feel of Ween with the pointed female roar of P.J. Harvey and Garbage."

Garbage, I doth protesteth. Slide in The New Up’s new release, Palace of Industrial Hope, cue up the third tract, (“Learning to Crawl”) and tell me if the musical intro and Pitcher’s vocals don’t sound like something Ms. Sioux could’ve mp3'd last week. Or that "Chewbacca’s Garden” couldn’t have been cut by a Siouxsie and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs supergroup (or Karen O and the Banshees for that matter). Or that the opener (“Arkansas”) doesn’t sound like the vocals from whatever protoplasm would squirt out of a Siouxsie-Karen O sandwich.

And, oooo-eeee–yoooo, all your Siouxsies lie in dust."
- Sacramento News & Review

"Metric with a touch of the Rolling Stones, with a front woman with an addictive, classy, lingering voice."
- Behind the Hype

"[Better Off] bears a song craft light years ahead of many contemporaries."
- Athens Banner-Herald

"[Better Off] exemplifies how The New Up has not only grown as a band over the years, but why they can't be boxed into any particular genre... The New Up is its own band, and getting better at what they do all the time."
- Blogcritics

"...striking, exotic and brashly coherent indie pop that feel[s] like the sonic equivalent of a thrill ride."
- Flagpole
- Various

Veering towards the new wave side of rock, San Francisco’s The New Up (as in “down is the new up”) has further spit-shined its sound with third release, Broken Machine. Jaimeson Durr, who helmed the band’s Palace of Industrial Hope full length (not to mention his work on sessions with Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and other big-timers), has given this five-song EP maximum punch, creating an artful sonic balance that’s miles beyond the typical
indie-rock release and closer to something one might expect from a
major label with money to spend.

Of course, this sound has just as much to do with the rock-steady rhythm section of drummer Jack McFadden and bassist Dain Dizazzo, flanked by lead vocalist/guitarist ES Pitcher, guitarist/vocalist Noah Reid and,
the cherry on top, ornamentalist Hawk West on flute and “automation” (read: laptop). No, the flute never does take a lead role in The New Up’s sound, but rather it slides snugly into the mix, most effectively realized on “Just Because.”

Though Pitcher’s smooth, elegant vocals are well suited for upbeat numbers, the songs on Broken Machine follow a more serious path. Typical of the EP’s overall tone is “Libations,” which is less of a celebratory drink and more of an expression of disappointment: “A fading space that once was mine / a never changing point of view.” The music, however, tempers the words with slow-moving vocal lines and expert pop arrangements. Yet this is actually a double-edged sword that cuts the whole EP – the messages carried by the vocals tend to get lost amidst the music’s infectiousness. This would be fine for a band that writes silly lyrics simply for their musicality, but for a band like The New Up, whose music has been described as “an ontological Molotov cocktail for modern primitives,” they can easily afford to be more hard-hitting and emphatic with their vocal lines.

-Michael Fortes - Performer Magazine

"[title track] 'Broken Machine' is set against a heavy bass line, a flurry of distorted guitars, and an occasional sprinkling of keys, with ES Pitcher's sultry vocals enhancing the sensuous display of alt-rock and post-punk. Most music of the genre tends to be gritty and instrumentally disoriented, but 'Broken Machine' emits an unconventional tone of polished anguish and melancholy; it is one of the several components that are responsible for the song's success... rarely do you come across an EP where the majority of tracks are even better than a preceding album that was impressive in itself." - Obscure Sound

Veering towards the new wave side of rock, San Francisco’s The New Up (as in “down is the new up”) has further spit-shined its sound with third release, Broken Machine. Jaimeson Durr, who helmed the band’s Palace of Industrial Hope full length (not to mention his work on sessions with Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and other big-timers), has given this five-song EP maximum punch, creating an artful sonic balance that’s miles beyond the typical
indie-rock release and closer to something one might expect from a
major label with money to spend.

Of course, this sound has just as much to do with the rock-steady rhythm section of drummer Jack McFadden and bassist Dain Dizazzo, flanked by lead vocalist/guitarist ES Pitcher, guitarist/vocalist Noah Reid and,
the cherry on top, ornamentalist Hawk West on flute and “automation” (read: laptop). No, the flute never does take a lead role in The New Up’s sound, but rather it slides snugly into the mix, most effectively realized on “Just Because.”

Though Pitcher’s smooth, elegant vocals are well suited for upbeat numbers, the songs on Broken Machine follow a more serious path. Typical of the EP’s overall tone is “Libations,” which is less of a celebratory drink and more of an expression of disappointment: “A fading space that once was mine / a never changing point of view.” The music, however, tempers the words with slow-moving vocal lines and expert pop arrangements. Yet this is actually a double-edged sword that cuts the whole EP – the messages carried by the vocals tend to get lost amidst the music’s infectiousness. This would be fine for a band that writes silly lyrics simply for their musicality, but for a band like The New Up, whose music has been described as “an ontological Molotov cocktail for modern primitives,” they can easily afford to be more hard-hitting and emphatic with their vocal lines.

-Michael Fortes - Performer Magazine

The New Up give modern rock a good name. Watching them sweat and shimmer in the smoke of the Bottom of the Hill stage one felt compelled forward, thrust – no, that's not the right word - coerced into the beckoning arms of what's next, a tomorrow that's scary and hopeful and full of unknown things. This young, highly precocious S.F. band reminds us of bright possibilities even as they ruminate on today's bog water mess, and this national tour kick-off and EP release show did so in a most visceral way.

Outside of a spot of spread leg, cock rock stage antics from hirsute guitarist-singer Noah Reid (who also dropped a Cheap Trick At Budokan reference, though he probably picked it up from the Beastie Boys' Check Your Head), there's nothing backward leaning about The New Up, no genuflecting before the clichés of yesteryear. It didn't take a whole song to pick up on their current bent – a puckish roughness in service of really catchy songs – and it didn't take two songs before one wondered why this band isn't already all over video games, diet soda commercials and Gossip Girl montages. None of which is to say they court the mainstream but there's a slinky coolness to what they do that only requires more ears, more exposure in order to woo way more fans. There's plenty of music I adore that has zero chance of commercial success. What I dig about the Up is how they sacrifice nothing artistically in their popish streamlining. Awash in their glandular surf, I couldn't help but think of early Roxy Music, middle period Sioxsie and even Joy Division – all greats that put art before commerce but still managed to make music with broad appeal.

A mixture of ad hoc stage outfits – Reid's lounge singer, chest exposing dress shirt, lead singer E.S. Pitcher's $8 dollar thrift store dress that she made work like vintage Debbie Harry – and post-modern Motown bodily interpretations, The New Up are a blast to watch, always interesting and full of neat angles. They put on a show in addition to being quite serious musicians, and in terms of pure entertainment they'll give just about anybody a run for their money. The mixture of technical concentration and slightly wild-eyed enjoyment on the faces of Dain Dizazzo (bass), Jack McFadden (drums) and Hawk West (flute, electronics, keys) was nearly as alluring as the more extrovert appeal of Pitcher and Reid, who admittedly are hard to take your eyes off of. Charisma, you just can't manufacture it.

They launched with "Benny Hinn" from their last full length, Palace of Industrial Hope, a blur of grungy guitars and snare snap that sends your head spinning, raw gold like P.J. Harvey before she sat down at the piano. And while they could just ride their new wave chooglin' and leave it at that, "Hinn" is peppered with odd digressions, ideally placed open air pockets that clear the steam away to reveal cool, green grass in your mind, and then back into rock with a decidedly dancey undercurrent. The crucial rhythm team and West's well-placed complications made sure even the most obvious "rock" moments shimmied a bit, generating an off-kilter, lighted dance floor with earthquake uncertainty.

"Hinn" was followed by the entirety of their brand new EP, Broken Machine (see JamBase's review here), played in sequence. From "Ginger Tea," which could be a nightclub hit in the time of Blade Runner (they love this one in the off world colonies...), to the gunfire percussion crack and flute dappled hardness of the title cut to the standing-on-your-own-two-legs anthem "Just Because," the band played with a sense of live possession, overtaken by forces greater than five musicians, shining a light that comes from the invisible world behind all our surfaces. They tacked on three more in their short set, finishing with a tune that sounded like "Foxy Lady" slipped some synthetic muscle relaxer and angried up with strobe flashes and snorting guitar bursts, while Dizazzo and McFadden kicked it John Paul Jones/John Bonham style behind Pitcher's kitten purr and bottleneck slide.

Taken together it was enough to make one downright hungry, and it's only decorum that kept me from taking a friendly nibble. Another smitten fellow had earlier shouted, "I want to have your baby!" to which Pitcher replied, "I'll think it over." With a sneer John Lydon would appreciate and a sound Blondie wishes they could make today, The New Up are a fleshy, fantastic thoroughbred that reminds us to "pump up the jam/ your life's in your hands," and does so without irony or gutless disco intent. For them, shimmy and roar rest in their double bed and grind beautifully. - Jambase

...the songs are excellent examples of grungy, female-fronted alt-rock. ES Pitcher's vocals are deadpan when they need to be and aching otherwise; melodies are strong... and compelling hooks and riffs land in all the right places. - East Bay Express

On Broken Machine, The New Up bring their moody dance-rock to a boil and keep it there. From the first moments of lead track 'Ginger Tea,' the EP oozes smoky atmosphere, as if Metric and My Bloody Valentine had collaborated on the soundtrack to a David Lynch film... Sounding like the twin sister of former Denali vocalist Maura Davis - particularly on the EP's emotionally-charged title track - and supplying every bit of the sultry, soaring delivery that the comparison implies, ES Pitcher's voice is truly something to behold... Relaxed but rocking, dark but poppy, tempestuous but delicate, moody but playful, the band maintains a careful balance, avoiding tactical errors that turn lesser bands into accidental camp rock. - Owl and Bear

The New Up give modern rock a good name. Watching them sweat and shimmer in the smoke of the Bottom of the Hill stage one felt compelled forward, thrust – no, that's not the right word - coerced into the beckoning arms of what's next, a tomorrow that's scary and hopeful and full of unknown things. This young, highly precocious S.F. band reminds us of bright possibilities even as they ruminate on today's bog water mess, and this national tour kick-off and EP release show did so in a most visceral way.

Outside of a spot of spread leg, cock rock stage antics from hirsute guitarist-singer Noah Reid (who also dropped a Cheap Trick At Budokan reference, though he probably picked it up from the Beastie Boys' Check Your Head), there's nothing backward leaning about The New Up, no genuflecting before the clichés of yesteryear. It didn't take a whole song to pick up on their current bent – a puckish roughness in service of really catchy songs – and it didn't take two songs before one wondered why this band isn't already all over video games, diet soda commercials and Gossip Girl montages. None of which is to say they court the mainstream but there's a slinky coolness to what they do that only requires more ears, more exposure in order to woo way more fans. There's plenty of music I adore that has zero chance of commercial success. What I dig about the Up is how they sacrifice nothing artistically in their popish streamlining. Awash in their glandular surf, I couldn't help but think of early Roxy Music, middle period Sioxsie and even Joy Division – all greats that put art before commerce but still managed to make music with broad appeal.

A mixture of ad hoc stage outfits – Reid's lounge singer, chest exposing dress shirt, lead singer E.S. Pitcher's $8 dollar thrift store dress that she made work like vintage Debbie Harry – and post-modern Motown bodily interpretations, The New Up are a blast to watch, always interesting and full of neat angles. They put on a show in addition to being quite serious musicians, and in terms of pure entertainment they'll give just about anybody a run for their money. The mixture of technical concentration and slightly wild-eyed enjoyment on the faces of Dain Dizazzo (bass), Jack McFadden (drums) and Hawk West (flute, electronics, keys) was nearly as alluring as the more extrovert appeal of Pitcher and Reid, who admittedly are hard to take your eyes off of. Charisma, you just can't manufacture it.

They launched with "Benny Hinn" from their last full length, Palace of Industrial Hope, a blur of grungy guitars and snare snap that sends your head spinning, raw gold like P.J. Harvey before she sat down at the piano. And while they could just ride their new wave chooglin' and leave it at that, "Hinn" is peppered with odd digressions, ideally placed open air pockets that clear the steam away to reveal cool, green grass in your mind, and then back into rock with a decidedly dancey undercurrent. The crucial rhythm team and West's well-placed complications made sure even the most obvious "rock" moments shimmied a bit, generating an off-kilter, lighted dance floor with earthquake uncertainty.

"Hinn" was followed by the entirety of their brand new EP, Broken Machine (see JamBase's review here), played in sequence. From "Ginger Tea," which could be a nightclub hit in the time of Blade Runner (they love this one in the off world colonies...), to the gunfire percussion crack and flute dappled hardness of the title cut to the standing-on-your-own-two-legs anthem "Just Because," the band played with a sense of live possession, overtaken by forces greater than five musicians, shining a light that comes from the invisible world behind all our surfaces. They tacked on three more in their short set, finishing with a tune that sounded like "Foxy Lady" slipped some synthetic muscle relaxer and angried up with strobe flashes and snorting guitar bursts, while Dizazzo and McFadden kicked it John Paul Jones/John Bonham style behind Pitcher's kitten purr and bottleneck slide.

Taken together it was enough to make one downright hungry, and it's only decorum that kept me from taking a friendly nibble. Another smitten fellow had earlier shouted, "I want to have your baby!" to which Pitcher replied, "I'll think it over." With a sneer John Lydon would appreciate and a sound Blondie wishes they could make today, The New Up are a fleshy, fantastic thoroughbred that reminds us to "pump up the jam/ your life's in your hands," and does so without irony or gutless disco intent. For them, shimmy and roar rest in their double bed and grind beautifully. - Jambase