Music:
Member Since: 8/27/2004
Band Website: lapush.net
Band Members: Thom Donovan
Kevin Bachmann
Neil Bardon
LAPUSH MAILING LIST:
JOIN MAILING LIST
LAPUSH have toured the U.S. and shared the stage with Nikka Costa, Hot Hot Heat, The Sounds, Morningwood, Action Action, Kill Hannah, Joe Firstman, The Cloud Room, Whitey, Sondre Lerche, White Rabbits, Murder By Death, Matt Nathanson, Ari Hest, Rock N Roll Soldier's, Margot & The Nuclear So And So's, Gin Blossoms, etc...DJ sets with Andy Rourke (The Smiths), Kasabian, Alex English, Queens of Noize and DJ Clockwork.
Influences:
Sounds Like:
// MODERN BLUES [EP] (2007 Lapush Recordings : LMB-0003)
Buy Online
Available on iTunes Produced by Thom Donovan + Brad Booker. Mixed by Brad Booker
*Featuring the single "Closer", currently nominated for Best Altervative Rock Song - Los Angeles Music Awards. Also featured in The Hill's on MTV.For LAPUSH, it seems like Modern Blues sounds a lot like modern rock. Of course, the title of the trio's latest EP doesn't refer to the musical genre, but to the feeling of loss, heartbreak and bereavement. This can lead bands to write dreary, sad-sack mopers — or, in the case of LAPUSH, turn the hurt into something grand and uplifting. Singer and guitarist Thom Donovan wrote the album-opening "Closer" after the death of his father, and it's as good of a send-off as anyone could want: The spacey guitar atmospherics and the alternately sad and hopeful lyrics are enough to bring a tear to the eye of a hard-hearted cynic.
Most band-produced albums don't sound this good; the EP is slick without being overproduced, and the studio flourishes are used in tasteful moderation (though the high-pitched, power-drill guitar solo in the plodding "I'll Leave the Light On" should have been axed). The pace picks up with "Brazil," a fuzzy, stomping slice of glam-rock that gives the band a chance to unload a little bit. LAPUSH's penchant for the grandiose is in full bloom on the last track, the existential, weighty "All the Lost Souls." Scattered rhythms leave room in the verses, and the gaps are plugged by plinking Fender Rhodes, compliments of guest Adam Maness (the song also features some earthy cello work from St. Louis native Richard Fortus, currently of Guns N' Roses). It's a proper closing track for a band caught between the vagaries of adult life and the eternal youth of rock & roll.
--Christian Schaeffer Riverfront Times
// SOMEPLACE CLOSER TO HERE (2005 456/Fontana : 45612102)
Buy Online
Available on iTunesProduced and Mixed by Thom Donovan
*Featuring the Top 15 Alternative/Specialty Single, "Aurora" and "Quit You Now" (featured on MTV's Laguna Beach).There's something eternally attractive about the rock trio format -- some of rock & roll's finest and most powerful bands have consisted of nothing more than a guy singing and playing guitar with a bass player and drummer alongside him. That's the format used by the St. Louis-based trio Lapush, but if you're expecting something like either the Jam's taut mod-pop attack or Cream's elephantine, bluesy swagger, think again: these guys specialize in a medium-tempo, sometimes rather mopey version of the rock trio approach that puts mood over hooks and doesn't hesitate to add a few quirky electronic keyboards to the mix. Singer Thom Donovan comes across as something kind of like an enervated Bono, letting his voice fall into a croak at times but rarely pushing himself to emotional extremes. As a guitarist he's more interesting than flashy -- "Tout le Monde" features what is probably the best six-note guitar solo ever recorded. Throughout the album there are hints of an extensive 1980's record collection; apart from the Bono influence, there's "Quit You Now," which sounds suspiciously like an Echo & the Bunnymen outtake circa 1984. You’ll find yourself being quietly enchanted over and over again. Recommended.
--Rick Anderson All Music Guide MTV.comEven though they hail from Middle America (St. Louis, MO to be exact), indie rock trio LAPUSH sound like they originate from the U.K. Bred on artists like U2, Oasis, The Verve and The Smiths, LAPUSH - comprised of singer/guitarist Thom Donovan, bassist Kevin Bachmann and drummer Brett Voelker - combine electronic sounds, acoustic instrumentation, sinuous synthesizers and flowing pianos to create interweaving layers and lulling soundscapes.
--MTVIf LAPUSH hailed from England, no one would be the least bit suprised at the band's debut, "Someplace Closer To Here", which recalls the romanticism of Coldplay, the insistent groove of Oasis, the drama of Radiohead, or the expansive bombast of The Verve. Savvy listeners would nod and smile at the lush production, the eclectic arrangements, and the gauzy vocals and tip their bowlers once more at the cleverness of another handful of talented Brits. The trouble is that LAPUSH, who sound every bit as good as the bands noted above, did not burst from a posh London studio, but from a basement in St. Louis, MO. The trio, which consists of vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Thom Donovan, bassist Kevin Bachmann, and drummer Brett Voelker, are masters of absorbing the emotion and intent of their influences and then creating a similar yet unique vision of those concepts. In the course of a LAPUSH song, you may find yourself being reminded of any number of like-minded UK bands (Kula Shaker pops up on "Tout Le Monde"), and often more than one in a single song. In the meantime, take pride in the fact that LAPUSH is part of a brand new generation of good old American heartfelt rock and roll.
--Amplifier Magazine
// AN E.P. BY LAPUSH [EP] (2004 RescueMe : RMDISC002)
- Currently Out Of Print
Produced and Mixed by Thom DonovanUsually a five-piece, but after the recent, abrupt departure of a couple of members, the combo took a crash course in programming the unmanned parts in order to keep on keepin’ on. Result: Frontman Thom Donovan looks like Perry Farrell and sounds like Richard Ashcroft while fronting the lighter, less congested side of Muse.
--By Danica Johnson MMS
Record Label: Produced & Mixed In My Apartment - Thom
Type of Label: None
