Strangers Die Every Day

RECENT REVIEWS:
A string trio with a bass and drum tells a powerful story without words. We are traveling to parts unknown simply to explore possibilities and understandings. For me the sound is progressive rock without the hired singer destroying the moment. I can’t count how many times I’ve thought ‘I wish that guy would shut up so I can hear the music’. These players & the composer wisely chose to let us take our own journey through the soul without interference from someone else’s dream. The electric bass and drums accent the music and do not overwhelm. I feel they are an integral part of the mix and enhance the flavors of this delicious meal. EARTASTE.COM
As if there isn’t enough incredible musicianship emerging from Portland, our city is now kidnapping foreign talent as well. Strangers Die Every Day recently relocated here from Colorado, and these kids can play! Their music is rich with haunting cellos and violins, their sound is a mesh between classical and goth along the lines of Black Heart Procession and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The thing that is most amazing about the band’s live performance is how young its members appear to be, and how effortlessly they play. I strongly urge Portlanders to familiarize themselves with these strangers.
DEVAN COOK, WILLAMETTE WEEK
Equal parts Bernard Herrmann, John Zorn and Jim O'Rourke, Strangers Die Every Day makes cinematic, esoteric chamber punk that never forgets to rock. Bassist Stirling Myles and drummer Lawrence Armstrong thunder away like an indie-rock rhythm section that fell into the orchestra pit, while violinist Scott Wilkinson and cellist Jessie Dettwiler shred their instruments of choice with avant abandon. Whereas Louisville sluggers such as Slint, Rodan and especially Rachel's blazed the trail, this intrepid quartet wanders giddily off course, indulging in dissonant, cathartic and downright spooky reveries that would make Stravinsky smile. Still, there's just enough straightforward rock sensibility preserved to make the most classical-phobic scenester nod along.
ERIC EYL, THE WESTWORD
Portland-based instrumental band composed of electric bass, violin, cello and viola. They play haunting melodies with chamberesque mystique.
THE OREGONIAN
With Boulder-based Strangers Die Everyday, Wilco meets Mozart. Composed of classical instruments, the band creates an interesting and innovative mix of classical music and rock 'n' roll. The three founding musicians of the group met while attending Naropa University. Band members include Lawrence Armstrong on drums, Jessie Dettwiler on the cello and Stirling Miles on the bass. Last September the band moved to Portland, Ore. where they've been busy making new music and producing an album. Strangers Die Everyday signed and started recording with the This Generation Tape label. Their album, due by the end of this year, is called "Aperture for Departure." After a year of recording under their belt the band is ready to step into the limelight. The band's fall tour comes to Club 156 at CU in the UMC on Sept. 22. After Boulder, Strangers Die Everyday will play in New Mexico, California and Washington before heading back to Oregon. "This tour is really a milestone for us," Miles said. "We hope to keep making music and expanding." The band members typically identify themselves with the musical genre soundscape. "Soundscape refers to music that creates a scene for you," Dettwiler said. "It is about growth and is very epic." "I think what makes us different is the way we use strings. We use strings as our lead instruments and bass and drums are the rock 'n' roll background," Armstrong said.
EMILY STURGES, CAMPUS PRESS
The band Strangers Die Every Day is no stranger to Boulder. The former Naropa University students have moved their indie-fused, chamber rock outfit to Portland, Ore., but Saturday the band returns to play CU's Club 156.
Located in the UMC, Club 156 may be the most overlooked music venue in town. A few weeks ago national headliner Ben Kweller packed the campus club. The intimate venue may be short on size, but Club 156's sound and lights were perfect and proved that this is one of Boulder's best-kept concert secrets.
Strangers Die Every Day will hit town with its unique blend of indie rock and stringed-instrument sounds. As the band says on its MySpace site, the sound can be dubbed “Wilco meets Mozart.”
“We started the band when we went to school at Naropa,” said bassist Stirling Myles. “We got to open for The Bad Plus and Saul Williams when we were in Boulder. We moved to Portland, because we were looking for a situation where we could progress as a band and we needed a change of scenery.”
Myles says that Portland has been very supportive to Strangers Die Every Day and the group's unusual brand of music.
“Everyone in the band comes from different musical backgrounds - we're into everything from classical music to punk rock,” said Myles. “The group does have a string emphasis, but the music is constantly expanding. We're trying to create a defining relationship with strings and rock ‘n' roll.”
WENDY KALE, COLORADO DAILY
"[Strangers Die Every Day] relies on somber, dynamic conversations between string instruments that often resemble Godspeed You Black Emperor!, but without the creepy voiceovers."
SARA BRICKNER, EUGENE WEEKLY