The Alice Rose was formed by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter JoDee Purkeypile, bassist and vocalist Sean Crooks, and drummer Chris Sensat in Austin, Texas in 2001.
Brendan Rogers (keys/ backing vocals), joined the band in the fall of 2005.
The group released their debut album, Phonographic Memory, on November 10th, 2006. "West", a track off the new album, was featured as NPR's Song of the Day on November 27th, 2006.
In March of 2007 the band was invited to perform at the annual South by Southwest music festival held in Austin. They followed their festival appearance with a tour of the Midwest and have recently completed recording their new single, "Body Offering". They will begin recording their second full-length album, All Haunt's Sound, in the spring of 2008.
PRESS REVIEWS
"The masters understand that the key to a great pop song lies in the ability to mine that place in the hippocampus where beloved melodies and the bittersweet moments they memorialize commingle. In this regard, The Alice Rose's Phonographic Memory
is one of the most apt titles for a pop album in ages. Think about hearing a classic tune by Squeeze for the first time, and it's easy to understand how special this Austin-based band is: Every song on its debut sounds both strangely familiar and utterly new." - National Public Radio
"Easily one of Austin's best pop records in recent memory, The Alice Rose's Phonographic Memory, with goose-bump songs by singer/writer JoDee Purkeypile, explores all the possibilities of lush harmonies, strong songwriting, and classic Beatlesque pop moves, though the latter tag may end up to be a bit misleading. This band's sonic palette is far more eclectic for mere Fab Four comparisons." - Pop Culture Press
"Austin psychedelic band The Alice Rose are fortified with fiery grit, evidenced by the thick bass intro and pummeling drums of This Night or gentle onslaught of All Over Your Body, two songs from the band's early 2007 debut
Phonographic Memory. Elsewhere, singer JoDee Purkeypiles literate poetry, crafted into song nuggets with a vague British sensibility propels the group light years above the Texas hills." - David Pyndus, Austin360.com
"For music fanatics, there are few greater joys than having a band seemingly burst out of nowhere armed with an album's worth of captivating new music, brimming with enthusiasm and vitality, giving the scene a huge jolt of excitement. The Alice Rose, a quintet out of Austin, TX, is just such a band capturing lightning in a bottle, channeling influences like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Big Star into a tasty new set of melodic rockers that are catchy without sounding derivative." - Amplifier Magazine
"From out of the blue comes a band with the intelligent melodic sensibilities of Squeeze, and a subtle Texas accent. Songs of yearning that transcend the saccharine." - David Brown's Top 10
Picks for 2006 (KUT 90.5 FM)
"This is the kind of dream pop Im into - melancholy vibes, intelligent lyrics with great imagery, and a swirling rock approach. The Alice Rose blends their sounds in a Beatles way, but they can also have some fun and kick out a jumping rock number. (For an example of the latter, check out the live-sounding All Over Your Body, with its fun tempo and delivery that just sounds like the band is having a great time.) This is an album of beautiful compositions with an intriguing lead vocal thats rough-edged on the low notes and heavenly on the high ones. Overall, these songs are radio-ready without sounding like anything else thats already on the radio. Each track has something that makes it stand out, from the piano work on Save Me to the playful and expansive melody on Lamplight. We also get great lines that jump out and capture the imagination, like mid-quip in tongues. Or no use the muse my memory descends.
The songs go from mysteriously romantic and sad to more aggressive experimentation. This is a complex and mesmerizing album worth losing yourself in." - Indie-Music.com
"Purveyors of fine Pop should be quite overwhelmed with The Alice Rose, an exciting quintet out of Austin, Texas. They have managed to assemble a collection of fresh and bright music with not a trace of filler to be found anywhere. When we say fresh we mean it, The Alice Rose has certainly taken cues from bands like The Beatles, Jellyfish and Squeeze, but they have used these influences to create something original. Phonographic Memory sets the melodic mood from the very start with "Light Up", a guitar-based mid-tempo rocker that mixes Gish-era Smashing Pumpkins with Ed Kowalczyk (Live) sounding vocals. "Ocean" is a smooth Gin Blossoms-meets-Squeeze tune, that's jacked up by a grungy guitar solo backed by ever so tastefully slight harmonies. The album wraps up with the
full-on chugging "This Night", a song that could have led off the album much less closed it. It's proof positive that Phonographic Memory is loaded." - Whitsbrain.com
"...the band bury the "yeah, yeah, yeahs" on "Stop," the album's best shot at airplay, and roll out complex pop tunes such as "Wisteria" and "Ocean" that challenge listeners to follow the sound wherever it takes them...this is what Squeeze would sound like if a young Syd Barrett were a collaborator." - The Austin American Statesman
"Behind the upbeat harmonies and high-pitching, bittersweet vocals of JoDee Purkeypile bubbles a Beatles lilt and traces of Big Star, impressive arrangements couched in accessible and catchy tunes." - Austin Sound
"Among the highlights: "Light Up" is an atmospheric rocker with a graceful melody; "Save Me" has a Lennonesque feel, almost as if "Hey Bulldog" was slowed down a notch or two; "Lamplight" is
oustanding power pop; "Ocean" has an anthemic Coldplay-like sound; "All Over Your Body" is absolutely Beatlesque; and "West" falls into the Jon Brion/Michael Penn camp." - Absolute Powerpop
"Fantastic CD! Great songs with a marvelous voice that reminds me very much of Scott Sax in his Wanderlust period; at other times the sound leans towards what might have been the evolution of Cotton Mather had they not separated...extremely good CD, one of the best of the year." - Pop Madrid
"Great new discovery out of Austin, Texas! The plate is set from Song #1, "Light Up", a song that forced the hitting of the repeat button three straight times before moving on out of necessity to get the rest of the album. Thankfully, it continued to deliver the same helping of pop goods. Check out "Save Me`, check them all out. There`s not a duff track here...Extremely Highly Recommended" - Not Lame
"In concert, lead
vocalist JoDee Purkeypile croons like a young Elvis Costello (albeit without the snarl or chip on his shoulder), while whimsical piano melodies add blissful psych-pop touches to the band's tunes. And while early Costello albums are an influence, better touchstones for the Alice Rose's lush power-pop are the Shins, the Beach Boys and especially the beloved cult act Jellyfish." - Riverfront Times
"I love the vocals and arrangements; Phonographic Memory is a very professional disc, all the way." - David Bash, International Pop Overthrow
"Vocalist JoDee Purkeypile has a bit of the John Lennon vibe in his vocal style..."Light Up" does an excellent job capturing real emotion - JoDee's voice blends well with the suitably jangly elecric guitars...The first moments of "Save Me" are reminiscent of late-period Beatles, but the song will also be enjoyed by fans of jangle-pop artists The Posies or Canadian rockers Sloan. -
Hit Session
"Delicious melodic guitar pop out of Austin, Texas. Led by a talented singer/songwriter by the name of JoDee Purkeypile, the Central Texan quintet eschews any overt stylistic alliance (outside of an obvious fondness for 80s British pop) and simply fills up a cookie sheets worth of wonderful songs on Phonographic Memory. Save Me, Light Up and Saints fulfill the daily requirement for near-perfect pop, while All Over Your Body and This Night stretch out with hip-wiggling rhythms and textural feedback. Good songwriting, good performances, strong productionnothing but good stuff here." - High Bias
"The power-pop ballads produced by the Alice Rose represent the dripping beads of wax from forgotten flames and moonlit candles, the romanticized effects of time and distance on one's Phonographic Memory. Led by the sincere and seductive cull of singer and guitarist JoDee Purkeypile's sweet falsetto,
"Light Up" rekindles the carpe diem conceit of John Donne's "The Sun Rising" as he begs his mistress to "elude daybreak and wait to take fist to fate." - The Austin Chronicle
"Phonographic Memory is a Whitman's Sampler of breezy power-pop with a lush undercurrent of experimentation, both musically and lyrically." - The Buzz
"If you like '60s-era pop rock with lush melodies, cool chord changes and vocal harmonies, you'll love The Alice Rose. The Austin quintet fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist JoDee Purkeypile claims influences ranging from the Beatles to 13th Floor Elevators, and that's a good range, judging by songs "All Over Your Body" and "Slumberella."" - The San Antonio Express-News
"The Alice Rose takes the melodies of modern rock's shoe gazing movement and resets them in a more infectious up-tempo structure. At times the group's sound recalls the sincerity of the classic
1970s rock, rather than the emo-angst of modern pop." - Relix - The Magazine for Music
Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
Howdy-
My name is Barrett Brown, and I've been asked by the editor of Austin Monthly to do a profile on The Alice Rose for the magazine's March issue, in which they'll be profiling about eight different up-and-coming Austin bands. Would you be available for a brief interview, either by e-mail, phone, or IM, sometime in the next two or three days? I'd also like to talk to a third party that's familiar with your band, such as a producer, promoter, or someone associated with a local venue at which you've played a few times.
Please get back to me when you have a moment. The due date for this piece is the 10th of this month, so if you'd have time
to do this pretty soon, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks,
Barrett Brown 512-560-2302
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