Velvet Rope

new album from super-prolific buffalo/rochester, ny, indie rockers the gifted children...

from tinhornplanet.com:

This is the 5th full-length by the gifted children (Buffalo and Rochester, NY), and their 20th release to date. Everything from shoegazer indie rock to short stabs of pop brilliance to noisy electronic instrumentals... A true winter album, this is the perfect friend for those dark January nights spent drinking alone.

from mymixtapes.org:

"In less than half an hour this disc veers from bold, gusto
grabbing rock anthems ('ah, Pan –,' 'infection swath flyover') to turbulent electronic swells ('tinhorn planets') to something like a classic Atari game soundtrack ('…and then fold, homeward') to sweetly melodic acoustic-based pop ('the best of the surface tourists', 'grace') that wouldn’t sound out of place alongside Matt Pond PA or (forgive me, but…) Toad The Wet Sprocket.

And that doesn’t even cover it. Not acknowledging the frequent offerings made to the altar of Bob Pollard here would be ignoring the obvious. Ghosts of Guided by Vocies manifest themselves in cryptic lyrical refrains, ambient noise, and vocals sometimes drenched with effects, but Gifted Children songwriter Jeff Suszczynski has enough confidence and command of his talent to keep it from becoming an exercise in mimicry."

from artvoice.com:

"For more than 10 years, Jeff Suszczynski has been making music under the moniker the Gifted Children, putting out what seems like an endless stream of songs. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Gifted Children’s model has been the Guided By Voices/Robert Pollard gristmill approach to rock and roll: Grind it down and make as much of it as you can. Throw in the psychedelic pocket symphonies of Neutral Milk Hotel for inspiration. While their penchant for snippet songs hasn’t been completely cast away, the shaggy and unpolished, unfinished nature of the songs largely has—at least on the band’s latest, Whitespace Differences (Tinhorn Planet)— and been replaced by loops, electronic sputtering and lush, synthetic arrangements. Suszczynski characterizes the Children’s lyrics as “slightly obtuse and vivid” and that’s apt because there is emotional depth and even strong storytelling to be found in these songs as you listen. - donny kutzbach"