Press:
"More than once, With Friends Like These have been compared to both Jawbox and Jawbreaker. And those aren't names you just throw around—those are two of my favorite bands of all time. While singer Matthew Shaw does not have the same deep, memorable voice as the unrivaled J. Robbins, musically, the comparisons to the long-defunct trios are not far off. Some songs on their new album, Dead and Gone, are huge blasts of purposefully rough-around-the-edges rock; others are toned down and focused on effected guitar and melodies reminiscent of the early years of emo, when the tag didn't come with eyeliner and suicide pacts." Megan Seling @ the Stranger
"With Friends Like These is Matt Shaw, Tyler Coffey, Brian Pake from Spook the Horse, and drummer Justin Cronk from Vendetta Red. They make real deal, volume enhanced rock. Cronk is super tight, and the three-tiered vocals of Shaw, Coffey, and Pake spread the stage and the room with an intensely toned caterwaul. Veiled in their strain, the words search then find, “We made it home to our beds / We’re dead and gone for good.†The band holes up in their Fremont bunker studio called Toy Box to record. They’re constantly laying down new material and building their sound. Two guitars bound, Fugazi born, and carving out land mass. With Friends Like These making music like this, you hear no space wasted." Trent Moorman @ the Stranger
"melodic-yet-intense post-punk that’s reminiscent of Jawbreaker, Jawbox, and Braid (i.e., the good emo). I caught one of the trio’s first gigs, an opening set at the Crocodile several months back; they were exceptionally tight, powerful, and anthemic, heavy with angular chord work and bulging neck veins." Michael Alan Goldberg @ Seattle Weekly
