The Criticals - Front Door Confrontations [EP]

“With a sound and look straight out of 1970’s New York City, The Criticals take us back to a time when music was driven entirely by guitar solos and danceable bass lines. While always adding their own unique flair and eclectic vocals, The Criticals’ latest Front Door Confrontations paints the picture of a dark venue rich with captivating culture and electric live performances.” – Square One (4/5) 

Nashville-based indie rock band The Criticals (Parker Forbes and Cole Shugart), have released their new EP, Front Door Confrontations today. The EP is the first for their new label home Fantasy Records. Front Door Confrontations features two of their recently released singles, “Clever Girl” and “Belmont,” along with the epic opener “All The Way”.  Listen and purchase HERE.

The Criticals on Front Door Confrontations: “We recorded this EP in the dead of winter, where it was so cold we stuffed hand warmers in our socks. Choosing to be off grid, just the two of us, with no cellphone service, in a shed in rural West Tennessee where we’ve recorded most of our music. It is the finale of our EPs, before we start working on our full-length debut. ‘Front Door Confrontations’ is a tribute to our youth. It is meant to be played loud and to embody what is the new Nashville Rock and Roll.”

Friends for more than a decade, Forbes and Shugart forged a unique musical bond logging time together in Nashville’s wild DIY rock scene. Building on the foundation laid by Bowie, The Stones, and The Kinks, their taut, revved up tunes also evoke post-modern heroes like The Strokes, The 1975, and Fontaines DC as well. The two musicians quite simply feed off one another’s energy and not only has it made for a close friendship, but an incomparable musical partnership that fuses tuneful classicism and indie-rock thrash into a seductive, unforgettable mix. Now, following a pair of highly-regarded EPs — 2019’s Mimosa Hygiene and the following year’s Sour Grapes — not to mention a steady diet of raucous live shows, the band is set to release their most accomplished work yet with Front Door Confrontations.