The sounds of Calpurnia are rooted in the innovations of rock and roll’s past. Our music is a combination of blues rhythms and expansive rock melodies combined with modern hooks and grit. Every track re-asserts what music really does for people: it communicates love, heartbreak, and justice with power and sincerity. Our first effort is a four track disc entitled Glitz, Garters & A Dribble of Youth.
Booking information, including electronic or hardcopy press kits, can be requested by emailing [email protected] or visiting www.CalpurniaTheBand.com.
REVIEW: Calpurnia – Glitz, Garters & A Dribble of Youth (2008)
Glitz... is the first official offering from the four-piece Richmond rock outfit, Calpurnia, a mix of driving guitar melodies, upbeat drumming, and soulful lyrics. Their sound is built heavily on mid-90’s guitar rock, but combines elements evocative of later 90’s skate rock, the Rolling Stones, and even the Smashing Pumpkins. They have a polished bareness to their songs, which can be owed in part to the limited production, but also the rawness and newness of the songs themselves. Similar in straddling genres to the Black Keys, this first EP finds Calpurnia getting their feet wet, and finding out exactly where they stand with their music. At times it seems like the band wants you to classify them as more of the same, a decision you knowingly regret, because they don’t adequately fit into any mold. Solos and tempo changes add excitement to the guitar chords and drum beats, themselves unique in the music scene today, and leaves you wanting to do nothing but dance along. Singer Adam Triplett’s voice belongs more in an early century blues bar not alongside passionate rock and roll, but that contrast is exactly where their strength lies, resulting in deep, heartfelt numbers. While their sound develops, this is what will distinguish them from other groups. There is a true originality in their songs, in every note, you can tell it is born out of a story or experience, good or bad, that has affected the course of their lives. To have that instant connection and relation is something that few bands can achieve. Each track is different from the others, without trying to be different, a genesis born from care and respect in all the pieces coming together, and returns to the basic fact, it’s all about the music. The record is aptly titled, because simply put, this is youth. Despair, joy, love, confusion, heartache, and many more emotions all float through, and they haven’t ignored any of them. Youth is about growing and discovering, and there is a lot of growing the band will do, across waves of up and downs, yet, if this is how they start, I surely wish to come along for the ride.
-Ethan Machemer
[The Boys of Calpurnia] are "delicious man pieces."
-Amanda Hilborn
GET THE NEW CD...
Glitz, Garters & a Dribble of Youth