Until There Was You (Big Stir Digital Single No. 61)
Librarians With Hickeys
The 61st Big Stir Digital Single of the Week is the second “Single of the Week” from Akron Ohio’s LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS! “Until There Was You” b/w “And Then She’s Gone” will be available for download Friday, February 21st and this duo of wonderful songs is available for pre order now! Just head on over to
The 61st Big Stir Digital Single of the Week is the second “Single of the Week” from Akron Ohio’s LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS! “Until There Was You” b/w “And Then She’s Gone” will be available for download Friday, February 21st and this duo of wonderful songs is available for pre order now! Just head on over to www.bigstirrecords.com/big-stir-digital-singles
LIBRARIANS WITH HICKEYS crawled from the wreckage of a post-industrial Akron, Ohio, and decided to stick around and form a band because… WHAT ELSE ARE YOU GOING TO DO???
Digging deep into the wellspring of power pop for inspiration Librarians With Hickeys added a 150-proof shot of indie rock, and have released two singles in their narrative arc. According to those in the know, there is much more music waiting in the wings. Last Summer the group brought you “Black Velvet Dress” b/w “Alex,” (Big Stir Digital Single #34. Both songs have received world-wide airplay and rave reviews, with both sides widely hailed as highlights of the Big Stir Singles: The Third Wave CD. On top of it all, they're a hell of a live band, working their local scene and beyond in a style that's all too rare in the days of isolated home recording – in short the Librarians are all-arounders in a way that makes them a band after our own hearts, and, we feel confident, yours as well.
The band started off 2019 with their self-released debut double “A” side single “Until There Was You” and “And Then She's Gone” which showcased the twin guitar jangle and chime of Ray Carmen (vocals, guitar) and Mike Crooker (guitar, vocals), the propulsive groove of Andrew Wilco (bass) and the rhythmic backbone of Rob Crossley (drums). On Big Stir Records’ side of the ledger, credit goes to label founder Christina Bulbenko's keen midwestern ears for catching those tunes early on and recognizing the Librarians as kindred spirits, in both musical aesthetics and the community ethos. Their banner year, and the tunes they are busily crafting for their debut album (due in 2020 on Big Stir) more than bear her instincts out.
“For anyone out there who may still, for some unfathomable reason, question the power and the glory of the three-minute four-chord p-o-p song done right, “Black Velvet Dress” will in no way fail to raise you off your settee and shove things direct towards the nearest Volume UP knob,” opines Gary Pig Gold of “The Rock and Roll Report.” “Nostalgic? No. The correct word would be timeless!” We at Big Stir Records couldn't agree more. For Librarians With Hickeys, the time is clearly now!
Because the band finds it difficult to continue writing about itself in the third person, here are other people – who are not us, – saying nice things about the band.
Gary Pig Gold / The Rock and Roll Report For anyone out there who may still, for some unfathomable reason, question the power and the glory of the three-minute four-chord p-o-p song done right, “Black Velvet Dress” will in no way fail to raise you off your settee and shove things direct towards the nearest Volume UP knob. “I heard you were giving a funeral today” may indeed be the first words voiced here, but what follows instead is a deceptively cheery deep breeze through all the brightest and the best of a circa-’78 playlist from your most trusted music geek’s audio closet. Nostalgic? No. The word would be “timeless.” N.B.: stay tuned for the coda too. Meanwhile, “Alex” sports the exceptionally ethereal sheen of, say, The Springfield or even The Who at their most subtle and nuanced …and the concluding 30 seconds are just about the most gorgeous I’ve spent all year. Oh! and Hunt down then repeatedly hear these Librarians’ “And Then She’s Gone” b/w “Until There Was You” as well. And let’s all hope their long-promised full-length album isn’t much longer overdue.
Mike DeAngelis / There Once Was A Note Librarians With Hickeys, “Black Velvet Dress”…Haven’t met the band personally, but I’d bet the farm that they’ve spent some quality time listening to Bob Mould. It has that propulsive, high octane feel of Sugar, and even some of the more melodic Husker Du tracks. Explosive, yet tight power pop. “Alex”…Haight Ashbury, The Ed Sullivan Show on a black and white TV, and those cool Roger McGuinn shades while David Crosby sings harmony vocals. This one will take you back to all of that. Fantastic track.
Kim Hatten / Bliss/Aquamarine Ray Carmen... leads Librarians with Hickeys, who appear here with “Black Velvet Dress” which combines atmospheric indiepop with powerpop oomph, and “Alex,” a very lovely dreamy jangly indiepop song. Definitely a band I'm keen to hear more from.
Malcolm X Abram / Akron Beacon Journal Librarians with Hickeys, a group of power poppers... who make melodic rock ‘n’ roll without, as the name implies, taking themselves too seriously. “Black Velvet Dress,” ...groove on the peppy, snappy, guitar-driven tune that kind of reminds of early 1990s “college rock. The B-side “Alex” has a breezy, jangle-pop groove and Carmen’s high tenor voice is soothing. Big Stir Digital Single #61 “Until There Was You” b/w “And Then She’s Gone” by Librarians with Hickeys to be released Friday, February 21st, 2020, available for pre-order RIGHT NOW!! -- www.bigstirrecords.com/big-stir-digital-singles