The New Up - Broken Machine EP

After releasing their eponymous debut in 2004, San Francisco indie rock quintet The New Up began refining that very sound, which now incorporates the rocking channel surfing feel of Ween with the pointed female roar of P.J. Harvey and Garbage, and the odd but irresistible pop sensibility of The Pixies.

Led by singer-songwriter ES Pitcher, The New Up began in Chicago with original members guitarist Noah Reid and flautist/electronics guru Hawk West. After relocating to San Francisco in 2003, Jack McFadden and Dain Dizazzo were recruited on drums and bass respectively, and that's when the magic began. The addition of this powerhouse rhythm section infused new life to the signature guitar sounds of the past, giving a fresh and electrifying canvas for Pitcher, Reid and West's haunting melodies.

The full culmination of their sound is revealed on the band's second album Palace of Industrial Hope, which reinvigorates funk the way the Talking Heads once did, swirling it with the psychedelic songcraft of Secret Machines, the open-hearted soar of My Morning Jacket and the hand-clapping shuffle of Brazilian Girls and Queens of The Stone Age. Front and center is ES Pitcher's intoxicatingly liquid voice, which recalls The Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde and vintage Siouxsie and The Banshees.


The New Up released a new EP entitled Broken Machine, in August. The first of three EP's to be released in the next 18 months, Broken Machine is destined to attract new fans, critical acclaim and national attention.

Feel free to check out The New Up live at their shows.

| Broken Machine | Top Of The Stairs |