reviews - Society, Secret

*Bring Me Up
Love in an elevator? Not quite.

In 1983 there was an arcade game named Elevator Action. It involved being a spy in a building with a lot of elevators. And the enemies come out from behind closed doors. You get the drift. The game was popular, it was even given a sequel.

(Just a factoid or two for you.)

Today, and for the last several years, Elevator Action is not just a game, it's also a band.

You can listen at their website (linked above) or on MySpace.

In accordance to their name, the last album they put out is called "Society, Secret." So clever. I decided to check them out because their label is MoRisen Records which is the same as "The Sammies" and I love "The Sammies."

The band consists of Eric Gilstrap, Laurie Ruroden and James Donley used to be their drummer BUT they are currently looking for a new one. They have a forceful rock and roll edge to most of their songs. It is a little bit more punk than I lean towards. But with that said, I really like what I have heard when Eric is joined by Laurie in songs. Their voices blend perfectly or on the other hand, compliment each other perfectly. And I think that makes the sound more like a funky pop song, which sits well with me and adds more of a meaningful depth. ;o)

*Knoxville Times

Persuasive charm gives Elevator Action a lift

Rating: *** 1/2 (three and a half stars)

Listening to Elevator Action plow through "Society, Secret," you might find yourself feeling like you're rooting for an underdog at a marathon: You want the North Carolina trio to do well, which at first seems a titillating possibility, but by the end you just want them to cross the finish line intact.
The likable band falls under the label of garage pop, a genre not known for producing releases that thoroughly satisfy. But the threesome gamely gives it a go, and "Society, Secret" is fitfully better than it has any right to be.

Led by mercurial singer/guitarist Eric Gilstrap, Elevator Action hitches into a punchy rhythm at the start with "Surely You Know," and the band eschews formula the rest of the way, twisting around unexpected curves and crude experiments.

Ragged and prone to wrong turns, Elevator Action nevertheless generates interest with "Society, Secret's" quirky hooks and a sound that's like a poor man's hybrid of David Bowie and The Cars. There's also something of a collision between old-school rock and old-school punk going on, though ultimately it's more of a fender bender than a crash, and the results just sound like feisty New Wave.
Gilstrap is eccentric, though not off-puttingly bizarre, as he commandeers the fractured chunks that compose "Society, Secret's" tracks. Whether he's singing, "I shouldn't kiss you, but I wanna" on the buoyant opener, or "What you don't know makes you want to know more" on the "transvestite tragedy"/faux-rock-opera closer "Breaking Glass Plans," Gilstrap barely contains his nervous energy. And the band rubs the sound with discordant blurs and buzzing disharmony as often as it smoothes the groove with mellow rhythms and coherent beats.

Yet somehow the group succeeds with its chameleonic drive, best exemplified on the tracks "Surely You Know," "Start a War," "The Pleasure's All Mine" and "Miss Congeniality." And even when the group doesn't pull it all together, listeners will be pulling for them all the way.

*MySpace Blogger - Performer Magazine

Damn the Bowery Ballroom for not letting me in to see CSS and The Elected! Two of my most favoritist bands! Apparently the venues with the bigger names put a cap on how many badges they allow in, and I could have bought a ticket to get in but I figured I've seen both bands before and I'm here to report on bands from our regions, which don't include Brazil (CSS). So I happened over to Ace of Clubs a little earlier than planned to catch the MoRisen Records showcase featuring a bunch of bands from the Southeast. Dudes, The Alternative Champs rule! I loved them like I love The Product... Meaning, I want to make out with them. If those two bands toured together (which they should!), I'd make out with all 7 members at the same time. It would be that good. Next up was Elevator Action, the band I was there to see .. they were on the cover of Southeast Performer a few months ago. I chatted with Lauralei the bassist for a few and she was a doll. Their set rocked my pants off (because as you know from an earlier post, my socks were already rocked off last night) and they played this one song, I think they said it was new, where Lauralei and Eric sang together so beautifully it gave me goosebumps. Their punk-ish rock was deep and intricate and I really enjoyed them. Ok, enough for now, for more you'll have to read the review in the December SEP! On last were The Sammies, who everybody seemed to be crazy about. Three of the guys from Birdmonster came out to see them (they toured together earlier this year). I chatted with the Birdmonster guys, who remembered me from when I saw them at Great Scott this summer. What a great group of guys; they were wicked wicked friendly (that's New England talk for "very very" if you don't come from my parts). I told them they kicked ass the other night. They play again on Saturday but I think I'm already fully booked that night .. but if any of y'all are in Brooklyn go see them. Anyway The Sammies played their southern fried rock to a very delighted crowd and people were dancing up a storm. Their drummer was remarkable, the bassist reminded me of someone from a movie or something .. I'll come up with it in time for the review .. and the guitarist was so completely engulfed in the music that he played with his eyes closed most of the time, while the singer/guitarist just fired up the stage. All in all it was a great night for rock and roll.

*Urban Pollution
By: Tim Woo

Rating
7.0
The survival rate for small town three-piece garage bands is startlingly low. Now, granted, any three people with the majority of their fingers intact can form one of these bands, but it really takes something to convince listeners that lo-fi garage rock is an intentional stylistic choice rather than simply an unfortunate reality. Elevator Action has at least made it past the hurdle of the debut album, and their sophomore effort Society, Secret shows no signs of their slowing down.

The North Carolina threesome seem the most comfortable when they're playing fast, dirty, and loud. The album opens with a beefy guitar line on "Surely You Know". Right away they establish a strong sense of musical style. With very little touch up production work, the individual pieces of the song are easily distinguishable; the snarl of the guitar, rapid baseline, the clashing percussion and edgy vocals. The songs are aggressive and thickly layered, and this attitude makes them seem bigger, stronger, faster. Nuvo is this aesthetic at its very best. It's one of the simplest songs on the album, but also the nastiest and one of the most memorable. One moment the song is small and unassuming, the guitars plucked meekly, and frontman Eric Gilstrap barely above a whisper. Then without warning, the guitars pounce in over yowled vocals.

The loud and the fast are the most gratifying on Society, Secret, but the band manages to cover a lot more than just garage rock over the albums eleven tracks. Dont Believe takes a more straightforward pop approach. The melodies are as catchy as ever, but the lyrics wander into some questionable territory. Theres just something out of place or out of character about Apple pie and shoestrings / broken wings, dirty jeans... oooh yeah, and, of course, making love in the rain. One would like to believe this is all meant to be ironic, but it's really just not apparent enough... or not at all. Its almost as if Elevator Action recognizes this, as they immediately attempt to redeem themselves with the next track, Call Me Transistor. This second of the slower songs is quite a bit more successful. On Transistor. they go for a hazy, shoe-gazer vibe, and dith the lyrical earnestness of Don't Believe, opting instead for the waiting for love / thats never gonna come your way. In the end, its still a bit of cynicism that satisfies.

*Modern Fix Magazine

"Elevator Action drenches blues and glam-rock....they're gonna give you Ziggy Stardust drunk on bubble-gum schnapps"

*Cable and Tweed Blog

"If I had a thousand records released this year this one would be at the top with no question. Finely executed male/female vocals, they have perfected modern trashy, glammy, bubble-gum rock. I dare you to listen to Society, Secret and not make your glam faces/poses - if you can stop singing along at all."

*PerformerMAG.com (PICK OF THE MONTH!)

"Elevator Action have created a rocking CD that plows through 11 garage rock stompers in just over half an hour. These 30 minutes may not change your life, but you're going to have a big grin on your face the whole time, sometimes in spite of yourself. Elevator Action approached this record with every intention of knocking one out of the park, and they've come very close with Society, Secret. The songs grab hold of you so forcefully."

*Durham Herald Sun

MoRisen pumps out two new, punchy indie records

Charlotte's MoRisen Records has made quite the name for itself since industry journeyman Chuck Morrison set up shop in 20001.

Over 5 short years, the label has caddied some of the state's most promising young talent (including The Talk, whose songs have found their way onto Fox-teen drama "The OC"), released the music of at least on time-tested juggernaut (Snatches of PInk, whose alcohol-rock bowled over critics at Rolling Stone some 10 years ago), and put the city of Charlotte back on the musical map.

Today, MoRisen's wheels are spinning fast as ever, promoting the release of two new North Carolina records: en eclectic self-titled debut from Charlotte's The Sammies and the sophomore effort from punchy Queen City three-piece Elevator Action. Unlike The Talk and Snatches, neither The Sammies nor Elevator Action has ventured beyond the Eastern Seaboard indie rock circuit. But, at risk of sounding corny, this scrappy material promises good things for both bands and bodes well for the future of the healthy MoRisen roster.

Youthful Charlotte four-piece The Sammies get by on surprisingly tight song writing and the occasional curve ball. Like the work of musicians twice their age, each bit of the band's eponymous debut feels realized and meticulous. If there's a "right place" for the guitar in the mix, it sits there. If there's a melody the verse begs for, you're going to hear it.

As a result, The Sammies makes some brassy stylistic leaps from track to track presumably in the name of song servicing. The aptly titled album opener, "Coming Out Wild," starts things off with rock swagger and jangly guitar bounce - a boiled-blood tailoring of 20 year-old Athens mystique. But only two tracks later the band has moved on to pure indie pop, resembling a mannered Nada Surf, creaming up guitar leads on "Falling Out." Later, The Sammies morph into a smoky Wolf Parade approximation with the drunken duo of "Caretaker" and "She Died," only to return to the blaze of "Wild" for the record's home stretch.

It's a bit erratic, but somehow the journey works, each song's mini-aesthetic fitting into the overall feel of the record. "The Sammies" isn't so much brave as it is self-assured, a solid cycle of good songs. But, really, what more could you ask from a debut rock record?

"Society, Secret," on the other hand, is anything but a genre-hopper. Elevator Action's MoRisen release starts in a dust cloud of sassy riffing, and ends just the same. It's a dingy, garage-y slab of rock 'n' roll - owing as much debt to '70's glam rock as '80's punk. It isn't ground breaking. The Makers, The Dirtbombs, The White Stripes - you've heard it all before. But that doesn't detract from guitarist/vocalist Eric Gilstrap's hollering six-string and over-it attitude. Whether it's the sneering "Surely You Know," the Miracles-knicking "Start A War" or the beer bottle ballad "Breaking Glass Plans," these are 11 tracks of truly spirited stuff.

And while neither of these releases is capable of catapulting MoRisen to Merge status, it's inspiring to watch this small operation do such a fantastic job of supporting its handful of North Carolina's best bands. If anything, "The Sammies" and "Society, Secret" surely portend more great things to come.

- Robbie Mackey / The Herald-Sun

*acousticshock(german source)

....three young, talentierte Americans from North hide themselves Carolina, which quite captivate with their mixture from skirt(rock), Glam and easy Punk influences and cause inspiring storms.

*Outlawtorn( German source)

....Surely You Know is fine garage a Rocker with Pop Appeal, which quotes within certain ranges post office Punk. A trace better is however Nuvo, which can switch between calm Verschnaufpausen and punkiger rage attacks very fast.

*Crazywire(German source)

....Surely You Know makes a connection between T - Rex, the Sex Pistols and The Kinks. With high Mitsingfaktor, a quantity Sha well well and full guitars, the Song emerges as in former times high point of the plate.

*Elbows Blog

I'm entirely exhausted from the continued circus that is my job this week (hence no post yesterday). I'm still pretty much devoid of anything remotely intelligent to say, but I did want to share this North Carolina band with you because I'm really digging their stuff. According to their website, the best way to describe them is,,"Just take 1oz. 70's punk, 1 1/4 oz. Ziggy Stardust and a dash of bubble-gum pop. Shake feverishly, serve in a dirty ashtray with a garnish of agro-rock star attitude.

*Daily Tar heel

"Elevator Action came to rock....leave you wanting more....really exciting stuff in here..
'Nuvo' hits with its insistent beat and unexpected dynamics.."

*Poisonfreee.com

"I can imagine this being played at the local alternative disco next to The Clash, Franz Ferdinand, The Hives, and Placebo...a strong rocking edge to it...and can get you going in a minimum amount of time...quite diverse....what rounds this record up is the good production by John Agnello (Dinosaur, Jr., Screaming Trees)."

*DIYROCKSTAR blog

When you think of a hotbed for indie culture, you probably tend to think of New York, and LA, but there is really a lot of great stuff going on in North Carolina. The home to Merge and Yep Roc records, there is quite a scene in that area. One of the lesser known components of this scene is Morisen Records. Recently, they sent me a couple of CD's and I really like them both. One of them is called Society, Secret by Elevator Action. It is a great CD of great guitar rock, and is another fun and easy listen. It is one of the better CD's in that sub-genre that I have heard lately.

*ZINK MAGAZINE

Manic Epsisode of Shopping/Cleaning/Making Out:
Elevator Action's "Society, Secret" (MoRisen) has enough dance-worthy energy to keep up with your joyful episodes spent racing around the mall, cleaning out your disaster of a closet, or fooling around with your new Mr./Ms. Right Now.

*MYFACE blog

When I was growing up, there was only one music for me, and that was punk rock. I lived according to the principles of The Clash and Minor Threat.

As my tastes slowly began expanding, I looked into the roots of punk. I found Bowie and The New York Dolls, and Iggy Pop. All that classy glam stuff.

In a similar vein as my glam-punk favorites is Elevator Action, a band with whom I share a hometown of Charlotte, NC.

Apparently the corporate oppression of the banks, yuppies, suburbs and soccer moms affected these folks too, because the music is raw, and aggressive yet somehow liberating and honest - exactly what punk should be.

Elevator Action has created the sound of asphalt: rough, ragged, dirty and gritty, but with a glittery sparkle that's damn pretty when the sun goes down.

Male-femal vocals create a sonic point-counterpoint that fills out the songs, adding extra layers to the already beautiful chaos of the mix.

Granted, Society, Secret has a bit more studio polish than Black Flag ever did, but it's OK. The album's bubblegum melodies are the better for it.

Elevator Action - fortunately for us - knows that, at heart, all punks ever wanted was to be pop.

The Ramones wanted to be The Beatles on speed, and Elevator Action picks up with that legacy offering delicate harmonies and catchy hooks, without sacrificing unflinching honesty or those lovely chainsaw guitar riffs punk fans have come to love and expect.

Never pandering or falling into stereotype, Elevator Action is destined for the indie scene, and even then as underdogs. And they're all the more punk for it.

Johnny Rotten was wrong. There is a future, and its name is Elevator Action.

*Celebritycafe.com

The sophomore album by Elevator Action Society, Secret is like a combination of an amusement park thrill ride and fun house. The music consists of pure samples of rock, punk, pop and glam sounds. Combine that, with the gruff and edgy vocals, its like a dropped bottle of soda, that when opened, explodes into a wild scene of chaos. Now thats fun!

With 11 tracks of deserving awesomeness, each song delivered something exciting, unusual, stylish and energetic to the mix. Here are my most played. Surely You Know, Start AWar, The Pleasures All Mine, Common Days, and Vicious Hands spun me around faster than a freshly oiled seat on the "Tilt-A-Whirl especially with my humdinger favorites ranking in respectable at #1 and #2 Nuvo and Secret Society.

Elevator Actions Society, Secret becomes available on Tuesday, June 6th. Hey, thats just around the corner, so the wait isnt long at all, not like those thrill rides you have to wait for.

Reviewer: Lynda Dale MacLean new pop
Reviewer's Rating: 9 (out of 10)

*BullzEYE

Elevator Actions second album, Society, Secret on indie MoRisen Records is the follow-up to their acclaimed debut, Its Just Addiction. With screaming guitars, ballsy vocals and a thundering rhythm section, Elevator Action is a garage band that is heavily influenced by punk and glam elements, and with a few exceptions, Society, Secret hits the gas pedal and doesnt let up. Songs like Surely You Know nd Nuvo are potent rockers, and Start a War is endearing in a Plimsouls-meets-Duran Duran sort of way. But some of the exceptions (Call Me Transistor and Vicious Hands) miss the mark in a big way, and that will temper some of this bands hype. This is probably one of those bands that puts on a better live show than what translates to record, but if youre looking for some cool music to put on at a party to get the chicks to shake their asses, this is one you should pick up. - Mike Farley

*Creative Loafing

Elevator Action's previous release on Charlotte-based MoRisen Records, It's Just Addiction, was a solid debut outing, to be sure. Produced by John Agnello, a man with a knack for recording guitar-heavy, meat-and-potatoes rock records, there were riffs-a-plenty, lots of trebly screamed choruses and enough atmosphere to populate a small planet. It was volatile, and sometimes seemed to exist in a vacuum. Society, Secret suggests that vacuum might have been the oft-incestuous QC music scene. The new disc examines the pleasures and pains of nightlife and relationships, both lasting and liquored-up. Songs like "Miss Congeniality" and the title track take advantage of an admirable male/female, he said/she said dynamic (courtesy guitarist Eric Gilstrap and bassist Laurie Ruroden) to give the album a lyrical and emotional thread that never fails to hold strong. Quite possibly MoRisen's best release to date. (Davis)

*The Daily Texan, Austin, TX:

Society, Secret is the second album from another Morisen find, Elevator Action. The album isn't bad, but it's not great, either. It definitely captures the indie-rock sound that has become all too familiar (soft rock meets punk lyrics with elements of '80s techno and '70s style), but that's as far as it goes. For the most part, it sounds just like the next underground group. But to their credit, Elevator Action's high-voltage sound probably makes for an electrifying live performance.

- Robert Brown