roman candle

Skip to content

roman candle

POP MATTERS: 9 out of 10

"Masterful work... Do I dare, then, call Oh Tall Tree in the Ear a classic? Grab that vinyl passenger seat and listen close: It is."

I’m dreaming of a round volume knob, a long tree-canopied road, and Roman Candle’s Oh Tall Tree in the Ear crackling loud out of the dashboard of a revved-up classic car of the kind that used to feature in the songs of Chuck Berry.

Tracer Magazine; Feature / Interview

Roman Candle has been slowly but steadily gaining fans throughout the U.S. and building a significant amount of buzz since the release of their first album The Wee Hours Review on V2...

Muzzle Of Bees: Five Albums

I’ve dropped the ball on sharing the greatness of Roman Candle with you earlier. Their 2009 release Oh Tall Tree in the Ear has to be in consideration for most underrated album of the year.

The Chapel Hill group carries the North Carolina torch from Whiskeytown to the present day with their own blend of folk and Americana. Below, we’re happy to present 5 records Roman Candle enjoys via Skip Matheny:

DAYTROTTER SESSIONS

"The music has a way of tearing us out of the present, despite such modern feels and scents.".

The members of Roman Candle were in a hustle at the conclusion of their taping here in Rock Island earlier this spring, needing to get to Indianapolis before bedtime - not their own, but that of some of their children who were staying with family while mom and dad were out on the road touring behind a soon-to-be-released at the time album, "Oh Tall Tree In The Ear." It got me thinking about what kinds of songs lead singer Skip Matheny might sing to his children at night.

Billboard Underground | Interview

"Right now, my kids are thrilled to be on the road with us just because it means they can go to hotels across America and jump on the beds," guitarist and vocalist Skip Matheny says...

PASTE MAGAZINE: 89 out of 100 points

"After three albums, this Chapel Hill, N.C. band has now written a modern-rock Masterpiece."

Oh Tall Tree in the Ear is part the kind of ragged, sprawling travelogue you'd imagine Paul Westerberg would pen if he was a roadie for Oasis at the height of Britpop, and part barrage of hallucinatory Dylanesque visions vomited up after a boozy, blurry night spent careening down dark, moonlit North Carolina backroads.

PREFIX MAGAZINE:

"You can call Roman Candle the Wilco of the South if you want to."

You can call Roman Candle the Wilco of the South if you want to, but that ultimately just means that they're that much closer to the source of the Americana stream that informs their particular indie-rock subset. So when the occasional earthy twang or banjo riff pops up, they've come by it that much more honestly, if that means anything these days. In any case, fans and newcomers alike will soon have a variety of options for experiencing new music from Roman Candle.

PASTE: Best Music of 2009 (so far)

TOP 10 BEST ALBUMS OF 2009 (so far).

"Oh Tall Tree in the Ear"

TOP 20 BEST SINGLES OF 2009 (so far).

"Why Modern Radio is a-ok"

as recently named by Editor in Chief of PASTE MAGAZINE, Josh Jackson

Jason Gross of Perfect Sound Forever:

"One of the best albums I've heard this year." About three years ago, I blogged here about a song I loved by Roman Candle called "Why Modern Radio Is A-OK," where they gracefully explained that they love stations because the music there sucks now and they'll never get broken-hearted from the playlists as a result. Wotta brilliant conceit.
Read more...