Reviews: THE WEE HOURS REVUE

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PITCHFORK: 7.6 out of 10

"In this context, it's worth making the distinction between Southern Rock and rock that happens to be played by Southerners."

In some circles, Roman Candle have been one of the great unsubstantiated rumors of modern pop-rock. The Chapel Hill quintet's whip-smart 2002 LP Says Pop earned them a dedicated cult following, although it did little for their national profile: Hollywood Records furnished promos to critics, but never quite managed to get the record into stores.The Wee Hours Revue gives Says Pop a fresh coat of gloss courtesy of producer Chris Stamey, and new song "I Can't Even Recall", a languorous slow-burner in the vein of Van Morrison.

THE BOSTON GLOBE: THE WEE HOURS REVUE

"Like the Jayhawks' Smile or Summerteeth-era Wilco, RC's arresting debut is a smart-bomb stunner."

Although its North Carolina roots have contributed to Roman Candle's thoroughly inaccurate alt-country tag, it's understandable why the Chapel Hill quintet has drawn comparisons with the Jayhawks and Wilco (both bands that also quickly outgrew that confining description). Like the 'Hawks' ``Smile " or ``Summerteeth"-era Wilco, RC's arresting debut -- originally released in 2002 as ``Says Pop" and since re named and re worked with ex-dB's member Chris Stamey producing -- is a smart-bomb stunner whose material moves with cool ease and crisp authority amid multi layered hooks and moods.

THE BROOKLYN RAIL: BECAUSE WE SAID SO

"Don’t believe me? Find an autumn roof and bring a sixer of your favorite beer and this album. You’ll thank me (and Roman Candle)."

Look, I’m old enough to remember that it was not only acceptable at one time to make an album like this, but actually preferred. And—get this —people enjoyed it. The Wee Hours Revue miraculously maintains a current appeal while channeling faded strains of Oasis, the Jayhawks, the Rolling Stones, and ’90s alt-rock charisma. Does that scare you? It shouldn’t—unless you’re a hipster.

The opening track, “Something Left to Say,” sets a lush, harmonic, and surprisingly urgent tone for the album. Lead singer Skip Matheny delivers the chorus—“The things you’ve done have made me what I am/And that’s catching the bus and half singing the tears of a clown”—with a brattish beauty that Liam Gallagher and Ryan Adams only wish they had.

PASTE MAGAZINE: 4.5 STARS OUT OF 5

"A dozen impeccably crafted songs that are soulful, catchy and literate in equal measure."

Talk about a long time coming: Roman Candle's debut has been through two incarnations and three labels since its initial Indie release as Says Pop back in 2002. The latest version, polished to a bright sheen by indie stalwart Chris Stamey (exhibiting a previously hidden commercial acumen) introduces a young band with an already mature, readily identifiable sound built around Skip Matheny's disarming vocals and his drummer brother Logan's infectious grooves.

TINY MIX TAPES: 4.5 STARS OUT OF 5

"I feel fairly confident that there are bright days ahead for this band."

It’s hard to imagine a more affable sound than that present on Roman Candle’s first official release, The Wee Hours Revue. For a band that’s gone through a worse set of music industry wringers in its infancy than most will experience over an entire career, this is an especially unexpected achievement. Granted, the majority of the material on this album was intended for release four years ago and was actually the pivot point of most of the band’s struggles, but nonetheless, this set of songs exhibits an exuberance and vitality that one rarely finds in the alt-country arena. Even four years behind its time, it feels new and refreshing.

POP MATTERS: 8.5 OUT OF 10

"From the first listen, one gets easily hooked on these hooks. And there’s a lyrical potency throughout that catches your ear and makes rewinding rewarding."

True: In the world of music, the Internet has empowered many a talented little guy, done wrong by the corporate monolith, to build an audience from the grassroots to the global. Also true: Sometimes, the connection times out, the “page is not found”, the circuits of sensibility and meta-criticism don’t connect…and something good, something very good, slips through the cyber safety net. Until now, Exhibit A of this type of circuit misfire was Roman Candle.

THE INDEPENDENT WEEKLY: THE WEE HOURS REVUE

"It's one of the best rock albums this year."

It's possible to separate Roman Candle's second album, The Wee Hours Revue, from its backstory, but metaphors of parables this apt should be ignored only with caution. Wee Hours is a re-worked take on the Chapel Hill quintet's debut, Says Pop, released in 2002 to quiet critical clamor and re-recorded in 2003 at the behest of Hollywood Records. A few hundred large and three years later, the band was dropped, record in hand. At last, it's out, and--two years later than expected--

It's one of the best rock albums this year.

NO DEPRESSION: THE WEE HOURS REVUE

"High gloss, detailed pop music for the senses as well as the mind. Most pop records fall short on groove, but The Wee Hours Revue is as rhythmically smart as it is sharp and catchy."

It's said that first impressions linger. Roman Candle can relate, because the band is in the midst of the most protracted first impression in recent memory. Its excellent debut album, The Wee Hours Revue, was released June 6 on V2 records but has been in circulation for years, since it was first released as Says Pop on the independent label Outlook in 2002. that was two labels and several lineup changes ago for the band's core Skip, Logan, and Timshel Matheny. "Going back to these songs again, yea, it's kinda like moving back to your old hometown after being gone a long time," says Skip Matheny, Roman Candle's singer/guitarist. "Hearing the record again is like riding around your old neighborhood. But having a new lineup to play them live is exciting. We've had to work hard to retain that excitement. If the live versions don't seem like the CD, well, that's intentional." The retooled album, immaculately produced by Chris Stamey, is high gloss, detailed pop music for the senses as well as the mind. Most pop records fall short on groove, but The Wee Hours Revue is as rhythmically smart as it is sharp and catchy.

Rolling Stone

Campus Scenes That Rock:
#4 Chapel Hill, North Carolina"

Why Now? Once primed for becoming a next-Seattle post-grunge mecca -
which never happened - the city's indie-rock program hasn't thrown in the towel.
But it's the ability to weave in a new breed of singer-songwriters without giving
up the goods that actually made it a scene that keeps it thriving.

Band on the Rise: Roman Candle - explosive new darlings.

THE NASHVILLE SCENE: THE WEE HOURS REVUE

"OUR CRITIC'S PICKS"

Plenty of bands that cut their teeth playing beer-slogging toga parties in college never advance very far beyond the feel-good party vibe. Roman Candle is not one of those bands mired in post-adolescent oblivion. The Chapel Hill quintet—which began at University of North Carolina and built around the familial partnership of Skip Matheny, his wife Timshel and younger brother Logan—delivers crisp, intuitive roots-rock, built on keen observation and solid pop craftsmanship. The band has already weathered a significant false start (the first incarnation of their debut never saw the light of day at Hollywood Records), but a newly revamped version, renamed The Wee Hours Revue, has finally appeared after a four-year wait. The twelve-song set is a (belated) triumph, with Skip’s jaunty, pinched, sharp-edged vocals, Logan’s DJ Shadow-influenced approach to the drum kit and the band’s vintage-tinged jangly guitars and Rhodes undertones.

By: Jewly Hight, July 6, 06

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