About Me
New CD 'O My Stars' is available now!...
Reviews
Reviews of the second Weightlifters EP, 'O My Stars'....
Pennyblackmusic says about 'O My Stars' "...this EP is lovely. Purely lovely. That might not make you compelled to listen, but seriously, how many lovely CDs do you own? Try this one out. Lovely."
Here's what Toxic Pete had to say... "'O My Stars' by The Weightlifters is pop music for the more discerning ear, a beautifully created and superbly performed modern 'operetta' of great depth and feeling - really cool, really, really enjoyable and really, really, really worth a listen (or two!)."
The Beat Surrender calls 'O My Stars'... "another corking mini album that has seven tantalisingly brilliant tracks which serve to wet your appetite for the full length debut that must follow shortly you would hope."
Absolute Powerpop says... "Had you put these two EPs together ['Last of the Sunday Drivers' and 'O My Stars'], you'd have a year-end top 10 contender."
Powerpopaholic gives 'O My Stars' a 9 out of 10 and says... "Fans of both Big Star and Teenage Fanclub will enjoy these melodic masterworks by a powerful tune smith in the zone."
Bill's Music Forum says... "don't let The Weightlifters' name fool you...what Adam aims to lift is your soul"
'O My Stars' made Italian blog, Under the Tangerine Tree's "Top 10 EPs of 2008" list (No. 8).
Not Lame Recordings says... "This 7 song mini-CD is awash with high-brow Posies sensibilities, Pugwash-like competence and Elliot Smithy emotional resonance... not a bad track here, this one is hard to not lift both thumbs skyward and say "RIGHT ON, More, please!"
'O My Stars' made Kool Kat Musik's "The Best of 2008" list.
Here's what people wrote about the first Weightlifters EP, 'Last of the Sunday Drivers'...
CDReviews.com calls 'Last of the Sunday Drivers' "a small debut collection of exquisite indie pop songs that stand easily with the best that The Pernice Brothers or New Pornographers have offered to date."
IndiePages calls 'Last of the Sunday Drivers' "a masterpiece of grand yet understated pop".
Indie-Music.com Magazine says: "With beautiful imagery, inspired melodies, and clever lyrics, this EP should not be passed up by any music lover."
Openingbands.com says about 'Last of the Sunday Drivers': "This truly is an excellent EP and will leave you desiring more and more music from a soon-to-be famous artist."
The SMU Daily Campus calls 'Last of the Sunday Drivers': "the best, most 'indie' music I've come across in some time."
Whisperin & Hollerin gave 'Last of the Sunday Drivers' 8 of 10 stars and says that it "serves notice that McLaughlin and his compadres are folk of taste and refinement who know more than a trick or three where the great US power-pop lineage is concerned."
Absolute Powerpop says: "There is a bit of a Big Star sound here, but more like Big Star by way of Teenage Fanclub. It's really quite good stuff..."
New-Noise.Net says: "This is a great example of American pop at its sunsoaked, laidback best. Think of a smiling Elliot Smith jamming with The Shins."
Kool Kat Musik says: "Can't wait for a full-length! EXCELLENT!!!"
Biography:
The truth is that there are no Weightlifters to speak of. The Weightlifters is the solo project of Adam McLaughlin, a Philadelphia-area transplant living in the city of Chicago. Adam plays most of the instruments on the first couple Weightlifters discs, getting help from a few exceptional musicians found scattered around the country. Drums are flown in from Texas and California. Strings come by way of Oregon. His wife, Carol, also makes a few appearances on the records.
A bit of history... Adam is the former guitarist for the Philly power pop band, Idle Wilds, which was signed to the Ardent record label by Big Star drummer Jody Stephens in the mid 90s. In addition to releasing a couple full-length records, Idle Wilds notably appeared on the well-received Poptopia!: Power Pop Classics Of The '90's compilation with bands like Jellyfish, The Posies, and Matthew Sweet, as well as on the recently-released Big Star tribute album, Small World, with Wilco, Teenage Fanclub and others.
Since then?... After about a decade hiatus from any public displays of music-making, Adam built a small studio to record songs he’d been working on. That led to the 2007 release of the first Weightlifters record, Last of the Sunday Drivers. Encouraged by the success of this self-produced, self-released EP, Adam took to his studio once again to invent something even better.
Weightlifters music is available at the following featured retailers: CD Baby , iTunes , Kool Kat Musik , Not Lame Recording Company ... as well as other online music outlets.
