PureVolume

Members: brandon, zach, adam, mike

SOME REVIEWS TO LOOK AT WHILE YOU LISTEN TO THE NEW SONG...

Reviewed: 7th January 2006

What makes Punktastic so rewarding is the fact that amongst the sea of drivel we get sent on a daily basis, there's always the odd gem that makes it through. Architects are one of those bands that make sitting through the dross all the more worthwhile. Described on their press release as "powerful midwestern rock n soul", Architects have a gruff vocalist in Brandon Phillips, who adds passion and fire to a band that wear their hearts on their sleeves. 'Revenge' is bluesy and boozy - there are references to alcoholism and is generally confrontational throughout - although this is a style which suits them well.

Featuring ex members of The Gadjits, Architects are an excellent band. 'Revenge' is as it says on the tin - a record that takes an in-depth look at the jilted and bitter, featuring songs soaked in blood, sweat and tears. Opener 'Reciprocity' is one of the strongest on the record with a catchy, yet powerful, chorus, while 'The Badge' and 'Grace' stand up as strong as any tracks on the record. The former bites at the police in a raucous rock and roll way, a theme the band manage to keep up throughout. Without being overly political, Architects are always socially aware and their thoughts and opinions always come across strongly. While this may be a far cry from their former guises, this is a blistering album and well worth checking out.

www.myspace.com/architectskcmo
Anodyne Records

PunkAS.com REVIEW

Kansas City's Architects are one of those bands that just seemed to appear already fully-formed. And there's a good reason for that: the founding members' previous band was The Gadjits. But if you're looking for more of the same skank-ridden grooves here, then you'll realise exactly why there was a name change.


without an upstroke in sight. The guitar-driven tunes fall somewhere in sound between The Bronx and Hot Water Music, riding on the hoarse vocals of frontman Brandon Phillips. Muscular and relentless, the songs show the experience of a decade's worth of songwriting with a nice line in dynamics that utilise the two guitars in a complementary fashion whilst leaving the catchy melodies to the vocals.

The album is consistent, if lacking perhaps in truly great songs. "Stand" and "Don't Call It A Ghetto" are the best tunes, in the centre of the tracklist with the latter featuring the classic couplet "If dreams were like bombs, I'd be hezbollah/And no, I'm not afraid of that metaphor", with the roaring "Live Forever" as the other key stand-out.

A modern rock album with real muscle, Revenge is both the signpost of a new sound, and possibly greater things to come.

Review: Matt

The Architects raucous new record, Revenge, reveals the souldful bands sinister side.
--Andrew Miller, THE PITCH, February 2, 2006

Recorded in a scant four days, Revenge is a bakers-dozen kicks square in the ass by the baddest cowboy boots youve ever seen.
--Scott Heisel, ALTERNATIVE PRESS, March 2006

The Architects sound is a dynamic, explosive combination of traditional punk, maximum R&B, Midwestern alternative rock, blues-based metal and pop melodies all delivered at top speed. Echoes can be heard of The Clash, The Who, Social Distortion, Soul Asylum, The Replacements, AC/DC, The Jam and The Kinks. Among the subjects the band tackles on Revenge are brutal cops (Badge), urban strife (Body Armor). Corrupt politicians (Dont Call It A Ghetto) and a variety of jilted, disenfranchised and just plain fucked-over characters.
--Gene Armstrong, TUCSON WEEKLY, January 12-18, 2006

[Revenge is a] well-designed and scorching vitriolic new rock & roll album.
--Lauren Michele, METRO LA, January 17-30, 2006

Architects are a raw, rowdy, rock band that uses its straightforward lyrics to take to task police, politicians, ex-lovers and plenty of others.
--Hector Saldana, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS, January 19, 2006

Steeped heavily in punk, mod and Motown, their technically flawless live shows are a rousing assault of whiskey-soaked raw power. Lead singer Brandon Phillips makes like a preacher, sermonizing the evils of bad cops and wicked women to a boisterous, beer-drinking congregation. Hes accompanied by his brothers in both blood and rock and roll: guitarist Mike Alexander is a calculated catastrophe onstage, bassist Zach Phillips is all sweat and no nonsense, and drummer Adam Phillips pounds his guts out.
--Megan Metzger, THE PITCH (Kansas City, MO), December 29-January 4, 2006

The album will have no problem appealing to the Warped Tour crowd--with singer/guitarists Brandon Phillips Bad Religion-esque vocals, and Jam-worthy riff-driven ditties (although admittedly, most Warped Tour attendees wouldnt know who the heck the Jam are). And this isnt meant as a dig on the bandfew modern day punk-like bands play with as much conviction as the Architects do here. In other words, you definitely get the feeling that the lads arent faking it (something the majority of modern day pop-punk bands couldnt claim themselves). Besides, which band from that genre would have the cajones to insert a harmonica-driven, AC/DC boogie interlude in the middle of their record (Time to Flip the Record)? Very few and far between, indeed. And like the aforementioned Bad Religion and the Jam, the Architects have the chops to pen catchy songs with substance, as evidenced by Reciprocity, Badge, the title track, and The March Out. Revenge is proof that not all up-and-coming punk bands of the early 21st century sound like Josie & the Pussycats with a distortion pedal.
--Greg Prato, ALL MUSIC GUIDE, January 2006

Architects brim with energy, melody and grit. Revenge is the bands follow up to 2004s solid Keys to the Building and is marked improvement in every aspect. Simply, this album rocksThe fact the Architects embraces its own worn punk roots so easily on Revenge is what makes this thirteen song disc so damn likable. These guys supplement the rawness of the music with an appropriately brash attitudeLive Forever is drenched with live today swagger while Dont Call it a Ghetto is a white-hot venting of the policing issues that plague tough neighborhoods. Body Armor, however, is far and away Revenges best song, supercharged with frenetic guitar playing and walloping drums.
--Jordan A. Baker, PASTEPUNK.COM, January 2006

The Architects - "Revenge"
Posted 04.06.06 @ 11:54 AM | Permalink | Email Article Link


Alright, listen up all you big label A&R guys: piss off. Youre neither wanted nor needed here. Anyone can tell from their latest album Revenge that the Architects are doing just fine without you. And given the fact that frontman Brandon Phillips has his own label anyway, youre about as welcome as the knock from housekeeping on the door to Bobby Brown and Whitney Houstons motel room.
If anything, Revenge is an affirmation of the sort of do-it-yourself mentality thats required to not only make music in Kansas City, but also to break free from the crumbling confines of an outdated music industry model as a whole. The evolution from the ska-inspired upstrokes of the Gadjits to the balls out, driving rock of the Architects has included everything from personnel changes to the loss of major label backing. Yet Brandon, along with his brothers Zach and Adam and lone non-sibling Mike Alexander, have pushed on.
Though recorded in only four days, Revenge reflects a sense of focused intensity rather than anything resembles slipshod production. The discs opening track Reciprocity cuts to both the quick and to the bone with razor sharp guitars and a crushing backbeat. Likewise, with Bury My Heart In Lebanon, MO, the transitions are crisply orchestrated and executed, a signature of the bands abilities as live performers.
There are moments where the Architects ska and punk sides bleed through a little more noticeably, especially in the Clash/Joe Strummer-inspired vocal delivery on cuts like Widows Walk and Dont Call It A Ghetto. Its a welcome nod to the bands roots and influences without being overly reliant on the association. Rather, its more of a natural gesture from a band that obviously knows where its going. And for all you major label bigwigs, Im sure the Architects have another kind of gesture for you guys as well.
John Kreicbergs