“I
just don’t see what’s so fucking daring about having
nothing to lose,” says singer and guitarist Rick Bolander.
He’s never understood the media’s love affair with
rock’s favorite archetype. “Wearing despair like
some badge of validation is a clichéd gimmick. Where‘s
the danger in pursuing something because you have no other options?
You don’t have to be starving or suicidal to make great
music and there’s far more drama in risking everything
for something that might not pan out.”
Cerulean are well versed in the acumen of risk. Before joining
the band, guitarist Noel Kelly was a signature away from fighter
pilot training. Drummer Dave Cerwonka was about to become
a mountaineering guide, but moved to Los Angeles instead.
Rick was doing some kind of work with classified satellites,
the details of which he notably won’t go into. Touring
in a rock band could seem tame by comparison. “There’s
always going to be that fear of failure no matter what you’re
doing, and the chance of success [in music] is slim. With
a lot of confidence, a good plan, and of course good music,
your chances get a lot better.”
Cerulean’s drive certainly flies in the face of hipster
apathy that many bands champion, or worse, imitate these days.
Nevertheless, as the rock world continues its ongoing cycle
of exhuming heroes from 20 years past, Cerulean find themselves
shadowed by the latest Anglophile love fest. "We’re
not surprised by it,” Dave points out, “but we’re
not expecting a front seat on the bandwagon either. Listeners
make those determinations for themselves.” Could Cerulean’s
lack of desire to be part of a scene be yet another twist
of the punk rock ethos?
“Our music will always speak louder
than anything we are or aren’t involved with scene-wise,”
says Noel. “The music press seems to care more about
scenes than most music fans do. About the only thing we have
in common with punk ideology is that we’re deciding
our own future. We’ve never understood what was so cool
and hip about not giving a shit, and if people hear and feel
that, then we’ve succeeded."
Their penchant for crashing, uptempo arena-tremblers and
haunting, atmospheric mood pieces has yielded licenses on
some of television’s most critically acclaimed programming
(including HBO’s Six Feet Under) and contributes to
more national radio airplay by the week. Constant touring
and an incendiary live set that stunned the crowd fortunate
enough to catch them at last fall’s CMJ Music Marathon
has Cerulean continuing to earn a steadily growing and loyal
fan base.
Garnering praise for their self-released Fractions EP last
year, Cerulean has been compared to the Catherine Wheel, Ride,
Echo & The Bunnymen, and post-punk pioneers The Chameleons
and the Comsat Angels. Their affinity for chiming guitar leads
and angular drumming has also raised the occasional nod to
early U2. Dave appreciates the comparisons, but feels they
limit a band whose sound is equally rooted on both sides of
the Atlantic, “I see us simply as a great rock band.
I guess the British element of what we do is more evident
from an outside perspective.”
This fall,
Cerulean embarks on a nationwide tour to promote their new
album, No Sense in Waiting. Recorded with ex-Mighty Lemon
Drops guitarist and songwriter David Newton (whose production
credits include Aberdeen, Fonda, Kissing Tigers, and The Blood
Arm), No Sense in Waiting doesn't reveal a band struggling
to avoid association with the latest Brit-rock movement. It
shows a band thriving in Newton’s straightforward, hands-off
recording philosophy and finding a blistering sonic focus
that is both timeless and prescient
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The
Wig Fits All Heads
"Cerulean are as addicted to guitar atmospherics as
their English super-heroes; Noel Kelly’s riffs are
just as ethereal as Jeremy Kelly’s in the Wild Swans
only with more fuzz. On “Here Is Hoping,” Cerulean
reaches the supersonic mph of the Wedding Present, guitars
chiming at a dizzying velocity. The drums pound with precision
and drama, and Rick Bolander has one of the most attractive
rock & roll voices in the tuneless post-grunge alternative-music
scene. In terms of originality, sure, there’s not
much here that Cerulean can completely call their own; one
can see the fingerprints of the aforementioned Catherine
Wheel, the Ocean Blue, Echo & the Bunnymen, Swervedriver,
and Radiohead. But rock died years ago, didn’t you
know? All that is left are ghosts, and No Sense In Waiting
will haunt you."
read
more...
Whisperin & Hollerin
"Vocalist Rick Bolander recalls
both Rob Dickinson of Catherine Wheel and Swervedriver's
Adam Franklin. However, Cerulean manages to avoid the excesses
of the two and really shoegazer acts in general. There aren't
any tracks here that meander into a cloud of psychedelic
smoke; the songs are compact and radio-friendly, given a
pop sheen by co-producer David Newton, former guitarist
of the Mighty Lemon Drops.
Too often groups of this sort would get lost in their own
dreaminess, lose focus as effects pedals are exploited and
bled dry. Thankfully, Cerulean's tracks move forward without
taking long glances at the scenery. Songs such as "Stop
Running" and "Hi Riser" propel themselves
briskly. And there really isn't a boring moment on the LP.
It's a blast and not just a blast from the past. "
read more...
Culture Bunker
"Cerulean
combines the ringing guitar leads of Doves with the lush
Britpop of Ride. You should know at this point if this is
your bag. If you are a fan of shimmering guitars and moody
anthems that start at shoegazing moodiness and rise with
the vocal braggadoccio of Ian McCulloch, you've got to find
this EP. This new batch of songs charge from the first notes
of the Bunnymen-esque "Here Is Hoping." Singer
Rick Bolander can take on the sweet pop introspection of
Coldplay in one song and then switch to a more direct, clean
sound reminiscent of Ride. It's amazing Cerulean are not
from England." -- Paul Leeds, Culture
Bunker
NeuFutur
"Cerulean
is a band that absolutely breaks all conceptions I might
have had about them - I was waiting to hate them, but they
play their music with such a conviction that the style of
what they play really doesn’t matter. The Fractions
EP shows that musically, they are already where they need
to be, but they deserve more than simple musical praise!"
-- NeuFutur
The
Fevered Brain of Radio Mike
"How
often can you say that one of the Best British Indie Bands
is from LA? Well now would be a Great time. It’s Unbelievable
how great this band is. And they don’t sound like
they’re from California. And That’s a high complement
from Us. Their Music is a totally unexpected pleasant surprise."
--Mike Perazzetti,
The Fevered Brain of Radio
Mike
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