The Main Drag

"Powerful and sustained..."
-PASTE Magazine
"The attention to craft and the obvious time spent on production and decision-making is where the Main Drag excels: from the ascent from glitchy electronics to orchestral ballast in the aptly named 'Goodnight Technologist' to 'A Jagged Gorgeous Winter'’s stunning command of its tightly wrapped arrangements, everything happens for a reason. It helps that the songs are great, of course, and as abstract portraits of post-collegiate paranoia with hooks as sharp as diamonds, they’d stand just fine on their own. But rather than pile a few blocks -- or daisy-chain a few guitar pedals -- the band has built a monument."
READ REVIEW
-CokeMachine Glow
“Eschewing the conservative approach of their first album, the Main Drag returns with an album that takes substantial risks for an impressive payoff ... On 'Goodnight Technologist', atop glitch-rock noises and a wall of strings, Arrigo intones: 'These faded lines they’re a perfect fit / by the time it’s goodnight we’ll be over it.' There, he captures the tragedy of our fast-paced technologically-dependent society: that it never has time to stop and admire everything it has created. And yet, listening to Yours As Fast As Mine, one gets the impression that he has in fact managed to do just that. "
-Popmatters.com - READ REVIEW
"With this sophomore release, The Main Drag has risen significantly in the realm of indie pop music. As texturally charismatic as any album this year, Yours As Fast As Mine provides eclectic moments of self reflection, anthemic bursts of valor, and a pleasing ebb and flow of pop melodies woven throughout. From the fervent opener 'How We'd Look On Paper' to the bombastic 'What's Your Favorite Dinosaur?' The Main Drag fuses the lyrical candidness of Arcade Fire and The Postal Service, the instrumental quirkiness of The Magnetic Fields, and the looming mystery of Radiohead while maintaining a unique sound."
-Death + Taxes Magazine
“I've heard little else this year that's so nakedly passionate or as immaculately produced.”
-The Rawking Refuses To Stop
"This is one dense little layer cake that locals The Main Drag have given us. At the base, very simple, direct songwriting that conjures ghostly images of Elliott Smith or Jeff Buckley holds it all down. What comes next, though, is the extremely detailed yet rich slathering of thick, cushy string sections; glitchy, sparkly programming; and scores of extra vocals over the acoustic foundation. And just to remind us they're not just bedroom knob-twiddlers, the loud guitars and robust live rhythm section fires up occasionally to shatter the more delicate proceedings, adding up to an expertly crafted orchestral celebration of pop and melancholy."
-Boston's Weekly Dig
“[The Main Drag’s] charming indie pop covers more territory than a vintage map of the Louisiana Purchase. From swirling folk-pop melodies to glitchy electronica, The Main Drag can do it all. More importantly though, they can do it all very very well. The confluence of different sounds on Yours As Fast As Mine and just how seamless and natural it sounds is pure musical genius, the workings of Pro Tools masters, or (perhaps) both.”
-Can You See The Sunset From The South Side?
"Love the piston-like drums and chorus-singalong vocals, plus the horns! So very good -- makes me want to party!”
-Music For Robots
"It’s a unique blend that might sound something like Annuals, Sparklehorse and the Notwist teaming up with Beulah on horns and Broken Social Scene making some background noise. Like a lot of exciting bands today, the Main Drag knows how to take pop and make it adventurous without losing the enjoyment factor. Keep an eye on these guys."
-The Yellow Stereo
"[mp3 of the week: Love During Wartime] Please don't ask us to explain how the Main Drag are related to Blanks., the band who burst onto the electro-dancepunk scene last fall and promptly ripped Allston's collective face off. Suffice to say that all of Blanks. are in this group, whose new album is as nerdy and reflective and Death Cab-ish as the Blanks. were (are?) bombastic and Rapture-ish. And they're on a roll: they beat out Boston's best cultish literary indie group: Hallelujah the Hills in Salon.com's "Best Unsigned Band" contest; blogs love them; and "Neutral Milk Hotel with a drum machine" hasn't been copyrighted yet, so they're golden. Twinkling, sweet, and headlong, this track - title courtesy of Ben Sisto's DJ night! - is our nominee for this year's back-to-school jam."
-Boston Phoenix
“…elaborately layered songs like the string-induced cries of “Goodnight Technologist” and the impressive guitar-string collaboration on “Montana” sounds like the work of studied, scholarly musicians. But honestly, even if the members of The Main Drag went to school in a dumpster, the music would likely come out just as good as it did on their latest album.”
-Obscure Sound
BIG NEWS: The Main Drag has been named BEST UNSIGNED ARTIST by Salon.com's National Song Search Contest!!! (we don't think we are obv, but at least we can put it on myspace...which automatically makes it true?).
"A Jagged Gorgeous Winter" took first place, winning us a hefty FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!! We'd like to thank all of you who voted for us and continue to dig these songs. We'd also like to congratulate the other bands, HALLELUJAH THE HILLS (awesome!) and Masonic for winning second and third place and for making great music.
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