Looks like Slingshot Genius got a holiday present early, woo hoo!

Check out this review by Jim Pasinski at the Record-Journal Newspaper Publishing Company in Connecticut!  Jim likens our sounds to that of Sonic Youth and Guided By Voices and says many glowing things such as:

“The album begins with the up-tempo attack of “Bullet,” with the blazing guitars of Canavan and Brian Ciarimboli.”

“The highlight of the album is the grunge sounds of “Leash” that really show off the band’s talent for songwriting.  The band shows us some variety in their songs between the deep, slow burn of “Cancer” and the dance-pop of “Hey Manhattan.”"

CLICK HERE TO READ THE WHOLE REVIEW!

Hello ladies and gents!

FIRST of all, we had an amazingly fun release party for our new album, The Operative Condition, and we have a list of Thank You’s!

Thank you Thunderbird Cafe and Shane the Sound Engineer for having us and letting our sound shine through!
Thank you Grey Area Productions for putting this on and promoting us!
Thank you Vince Rizzo and SG Studios for making our recording stellar and for being so damn fun the whole time!
Thank you family and friends who came out and paid to see us, paid for merch, danced, and sang along!
Thank you new people who listened to us and became new fans!!

NOW, in FURTHER NEWS!!!  We have our first official review of our new album, thanks to Jim Dunn and the fine folk over at The Pittsburgh Scene!  They are on a mission to support the local music scene in Pittsburgh, and we are thrilled that they noticed us.  Here are some of the things Jim had to say in his review:

“A band that came together from a Craigslist ad isn’t supposed to be able to bend your mind like this.”

“The theme of the record seems to be leaving it all behind or just plain running away. During what is arguably the most beautiful moment throughout the record, the stunning “Small Silver Frame,” Canavan laments to the listener of packing his suitcase on a rainy night before deciding he wants to come back to his lover.  He pours his heart out after going, “miles and miles without you,” followed by a gorgeous, soaring melody supplied by Laing over the subsequent verses.”

“Other album highlights include Chris Bell pounding in the song “Leash,” where an 80s indie feel makes way to a sneaky rocking outro. The sprawling “Cancer” calls faith into question. “Stupid” almost certainly would’ve had a home on Matador Records in the early 90s.”

“As Laing trumpets in the song “Last Call” (yes, she plays brass too), Canavan exclaims, “I wrote this song in 20 minutes, but you can have it for the rest of your life.” A beautiful way to summarize what it is to be a musician and artist. Something he and Slingshot Genius clearly don’t take lightly.”
 

And that is just a teaser — There’s a whole lot more good stuff!!  Make sure to check out the whole review by clicking here!  Thanks again, Jim, for such kind words!

 
You can buy The Operative Condition on iTunes!

Hey-yo!!

Pittsburgh Music Blogger Extraordinaire, Brain Nac, has written a preview about us in the lead up to Ribs On The River!  It is a super nice review, here is an excerpt:

“Slingshot Genius have a multiple personality disorder in a beautifully interesting way. I was able to catch them a few weeks back at the BBT in Bloomfield and I found them to be quite entertaining and very hard to pin down musically.  Onstage, vocalist Scott Canavan comes off as a college English professor who’s been possessed by the ghost of Joe Strummer. The solid band behind (or next to) him, consists of bassist Chris Bell, Brian Ciarimboli on lead guitar, Rob Marsilli on drums, and multi-instrumentalist Erika Laing who in one evening rocked both the trombone and the saw (in addition to singing and helming the synth).

The band, who have been playing since 2009 around the area, have an unusual sound to be sure. On the rainy evening in May I saw them I heard shades of the Pixies, Social Distortion, Sonic Youth, and Guided By Voices, to name a few. But they don’t wear their influences on their sleeves, which is refreshing.”

See?!  Super nice!

BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE!!!

BNac, as he is known in the bloguniverse, will be giving away tickets to Ribs On The River as well!!  If you want free tix, make sure to go to his site and see what it is all about!

Click HERE to read BNac’s full review of us and for a chance to win free tix!!

Pittsburgh Music Report has decided to feature us as a local spotlight!

Slingshot Genius  spotlight on Pittsburgh Music Report!

In this interview with Scott, watch some of our videos and read about how we write our songs!  Thanks much to the fellow at Pittsburgh Music Report for featuring us!