SEEJI Music Recommends 
LOQUAT
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| (From left to right) Loquat Bandmembers are Christopher Lautz (drums, backing vocals),Christopher Cooper (keyboards) Kylee Swenson (vocals/guitar), Earl Otsuka (guitar), Anthony Gordon (bass) |
After more than seven years of playing music together, the members of Loquat, San Francisco's answer to Swedish pop music, have plenty of memories to work from.
Between the weddings and funerals, Loquat have committed to gorgeous, sincere songs filled with nostalgia and emotion. The introspective lyrics of Kylee Swenson are matched by her haunting vocals floating over the minimal moods of her band mates.
Loquat has made a name for itself throughout the Bay Area and beyond for its addictive brand of guitar pop. With a few EPs and a couple LPs under its collective belt, Loquat explores life's mysteries with deft grace and eloquent composure.
The band's latest full-length album, Secrets of the Sea, finds the group in transition from Smith's-esque melancholy to a more comfortable, yet no less sublime, space and time. Meanwhile, remixes by Junior Sanchez ("Harder Hit") and Zion-I's AmpLive ("Sit Sideways") take things straight to the party.
Alternately Cardigans, Stereolab and hints of ABBA and Cat Power, Swenson and company relieve the stress of overproduced, overhyped acts with a steady hand and endearing voice.
 | Kylee Swenson (vocals/guitar), |
PRESS Don't look now, but Secrets of the Sea just might bridge the gap between generational record collections. A.V. Club Rating: A-"
- The Onion
"Sugary, sultry vocals from Kylee Swenson were wrapped around bouncy basslines and shimmering guitars, a bit like Rilo Kiley at the more melodic, singalong points or Cat Power in a few soaring, emotion-soaked moments. The overall effect was mellow and easy to swallow — smooth, radio friendly hooks and warm grooves."
- SPIN
"Sometimes it's nice to just press play and daydream while the world crashes around you. Loquat is very helpful that way."
- Wired
"In a genre marred by overproduction and, sometimes, a lack of imagination, Loquat is not only wonderfully organic but refreshingly inventive."
- Nylon
"Swenson's voice soars like Sarah McLachlan, but her lyrics cut like Cat Power."
- URB
"Lots of bands mix electronic and acoustic instruments, but few pull it off with the grace—or even the shimmering melodies—exhibited by this San Francisco group fronted by Kylee Swenson."
- San Francisco Chronicle
"Moving electro-pop [that] slides and seduces from the first note throug
 | Earl Otsuka (guitar) |
h the hushed and haunting vocals that drive each song." - Big Takeover
"Loquat's sophomore release, Secrets of the Sea, is proof to ADD-afflicted music lovers that good things do sometimes come to those who wait."
- SF Weekly
"Considering all the blood, sweat and tears that went into it, it's no surprise that Secrets of the Sea magnificently transcends both its lyrics and instrumentation to make for one powerful listening experience."
- West Coast Performer
"The debut full-length from this San Francisco five-piece is a masterful work of female-fronted electronic pop that seems utterly unconcerned with trend. It's Yours to Keep is the kind of album that makes the world around you slow down."
- Under the Radar
"It's Yours to Keep is a carefully pasted together creation, an audio collage that is not to be missed." - Venus
"Loquat's debut full-length album, It's Yours to Keep, may just be the most beautiful thing you've ever heard."
- The Examiner
"Secrets of the Sea is a secret worth telling; one that is sure to spread the name Loquat across the national landscape."
- Honest Tune
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| No other planet carries such perfectly shifting bodies of water: Not too far from the Sun to freeze, nor too close to evaporate, Earth is in exactly the right position to sustain life. Almost four billion years since forming, Earth’s deep, dark oceans hold many mysteries: danger, peace, energy, transformation….  Growing up on a lake in Minnesota, living near one in southern Germany and finally meeting her bandmates on a little peninsula called San Francisco, water has surrounded Loquat singer/guitarist Kylee Swenson her whole life. And during the two years of writing and recording Loquat’s second full-length album, Secrets of the Sea, the organ No other planet carries such perfectly shifting bodies of water: Not too far from the Sun to freeze, nor too close to evaporate, Earth is in exactly the right position to sustain life. Almost four billion years since forming, Earth’s deep, dark oceans hold many mysteries: danger, peace, energy, transformation…. ic-meetselectronic guitar pop quintet weathered many crests and troughs. Swenson and bass player Anthony Gordon got married. Family members passed on. The turmoil of creating music prevailed. Produced by the Rondo Brothers (Dan the Automator, Prince Paul, Bernie Worrell), the process of making Secrets of the Sea was a gravitational push and pull of emotion, from pain and frustration to happiness and solace. Recently finishing up with mixes by Josh Gabriel (Gabriel & Dresden) and Jeff Chestek (The Roots, Justin Timberlake) and a remix by Zion I’s Amp Live, Loquat can finally put its studio aggravations to rest and will soon bring Secrets of the Sea’s emotional swells to live audiences everywhere in 2008. |
Loquat Band Bio 
• The Penny Drop, (self-released, 2002); Fall (Dreams By Degrees, 2002); Before the Momentum (Devil in the Woods, 2003); It’s Yours to Keep (Jackpine Social Club, 2005; Dearstereofan, 2004 [Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Sweden]); Secrets of the Sea (TBA, 2008). • Voted “Best Pop Group” at SF Weekly Music Awards • Loquat’ “Swingset Chain” featured on CW’s One Tree Hill • Two million SanDisk Sansa MP3 players shipped with “Swingset Chain” • Secrets of the Sea track “Harder Hit” given away on D-Link compilation to 50,000 Bonnaroo attendees • “Harder Hit” to be pre-loaded on two million new Philips MP3 players in March 2008 • Loquat has played Noise Pop, SXSW and Mission Creekfestivals; toured from Seattle to Texas; and has shared the stage with TheCardigans, Evan Dando, Mates of State, Jolie Holland and more.
 |  | IT'S YOURS TO KEEP
CHARTED # 85 ON CMJ TOP 200
JUNE 13, 2005
| SECRETS OF THE SEA | SECRETS OF THE SEA
1. Sit Sideways **
2. Who Can Even Remember?
3. Harder Hit **
4. Big Key, Little Door
5. Comedown's Worse
6. These Kinds of Friends
7. Go Hibernate **
8. Clearly Now...
9. In My Sleep
10. Shaky Like the Flu
11. Spiral Stairs of Escalators
**SUGGESTED TRACKS
Recorded by Rondo Brothers. Mixed Rondo Brothers, Josh Gabriel (Gabriel & Dresden), Jeff Chestek (The Roots, Justin Timberlake) and Gannon Kashiwa (Digidesign, Bonnaroo Music Festival)
Kylee Swenson: vocals, guitars
Christopher Lautz: vocals, drums
Earl Otsuka: guitars
Ryan Manley: keyboards
Anthony Gordon: bass
Anthony Gordon
650-291-7492
loquatmusic.com myspace.com/loquat
Watch the video for "Swingset Chain" HERE
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