Seit 2006 sind Devin Booze und Sarah Reynolds als Ear Pwr unterwegs. Ein Projekt, das von Boozes Instrumentierung, Reynolds Lyrik und dem kreativen Zusammenspiel der beiden lebt. Boozes Ausbildung an dem von Bob Moog gegründeten Music Technology Program an der Universität von Nordkarolina liefert das Klangfundament, auf dem Ear Pwr errichtet wurde. Mittels einiger alter Synthesizer und reichlich Perkussion schaffen die zwei dicht gewobene Klangstrukturen. Das bescherte der Band nicht nur eine Einladung zu dem von Animal Collective kuratierten ATP Festival in England im Mai 2011, sondern auch eine US- und Europatour mit ihren Labelmates Toro Y Moi. Ear Pwr , das zweite Album des Duos, wickelt die Soundgespinste des 2009er-Debüts weiter und offenbart dabei ein reichhaltiges Set von Klangkonturen. Entstanden im heimischen Nordkarolina ist Ear Pwr so freudvoll wie beruhigend, so sentimental wie neugierig. Inklusive Code für freien Download des Albums als MP3.
Devin Booze and Sarah Reynolds found each other in the spring of 2005 after Sarah became of loyal fan of Devin's party-punk band, Hide and Seek. That summer, the two began meeting up nearly every afternoon for 2-person dance parties. Not long into their courtship, they started improvising new words to their favorite songs, feeding off of each other and mesmerizing their buddies. It soon became evident that they "had the same brain."
One evening, while admiring their ancient tape player and wondering just how old it was, they noticed the word "EAR" above the headphone jack and "PWR" above the power input. They decided that they were EAR PWR, even though they weren't quite sure what that meant. At the close of the summer, Sarah departed Winston-Salem for a one-year stay in Italy and Devin began college in Asheville, NC, but their commitment to the idea of "EAR PWR" never wavered.
In Sarah's absence, Devin (also a concert tubaist and drummer) wrote a multitude of danceable electronic jams using analog devices. When Sarah returned, she wrote the lyrics. Their immediate goals were simple: Make people dance. Make people happy. Soon after, they took their project live, playing shows all over North Carolina and steadily brought the dance party to the entire east coast. During this time, they also recorded a full-length album and an EP. In the summer of 2008, the pair kicked off their first U.S. tour with good friends, Future Islands, at Whartscape and were introduced to the wonderful world of Baltimore where they will soon reside.
As much fun as their recordings are, it's during their live shows that EAR PWR truly shines. Armed with only a suitcase of synths and a megaphone, their enthusiasm and mutual admiration sparks into a fun-loving barrage of body-moving electro and infectious silliness that's hard to ignore. Sarah lays down rap-style vocals and simple melodies that glide easily over the beats to become unshakably ingrained in your psyche for days on end. Devin, the seemingly innocent hype man, bobs and weaves in-and-out of the crowd like a man possessed, while frantically spewing his dance floor sales pitch, punctuating Sarah's vocals and generally rousing the rabble like a an Afro-ed pied piper.
EAR PWR's sonic aesthetic has never sounded more enticing than on their new record Super Animal Brothers III. They have blended together bits of Italo Disco, Baltimore Club, and twee indie pop to create a nuclear party grenade that is sure to blow your mind.
