PRESS
ALBUM ARTWORK
PRESS PHOTOS
BIO
CONTACT
PRESS TOP ↑
NME – February 2009
“The Whispertown 2000 are the product of [...] musical matchmaking. The liberal country resistance starts here.” READ FULL ARTICLE
UNCUT – February 2009
“Swim is the kind of record you wish people made more often: rural music played by suburban kids with an intuitive feel for the unruly punk heart of old-time country.” READ FULL ARTICLE
Q – February 2009
“Her childlike vocals create a nursery-rhyme world equal parts wide-eyed wonder and darkness, rendered timeless by ragtime reels and skeletal acoustic accompaniment.” READ FULL ARTICLE
MOJO – February 2009
“Nagler sings of love, dope, and life/death’s positive/negative balance with Appalachian front-porch lonesomeness while garagey drums crash along and assorted guitars veer from bluegrasss breakdown to psychedelic echo and distortion.” READ FULL ARTICLE
WORD – February 2009
“Word’s Now Hear This! CDs bring you the most intriguing, most promising and plain best new music each and every month. Here’s a brief introduction to the acts you’ll be hearing.” READ FULL ARTICLE
ROLLING STONE – December 2008
“‘We call Jenny’s house a Xanax,’ says Whispertown 2000 singer Morgan Nagler. ‘All you wanna do is go outside and play guitar.’” READ FULL ARTICLE
SPIN – December 2008
“The first signing to Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ new label, the Whispertown 2000 seperate themselves from L.A.’s soft-rock heap by virtue of Morgan Nagler’s acute lyrics and heartsick vocals.” READ FULL ARTICLE
PASTE – December 2008
“Nagler formed the band – which inflects her lo-fi folksongs with grubby country soul – at the encouragement of Rilo Kiley’s Blake Sennett and Jenny Lewis. Jimmy Taborello of Dntel produced an early track.” READ FULL ARTICLE
FILTER – Issue 33
“Once I wrote a song, I thought, ‘Now I understand life. Now I understand what it’s like to care about something.’ Acting was fun, but I didn’t choose it. I did choose music.” READ FULL ARTICLE
RELIX – November 2008
“Stepping outside the indie folk-rock crowd by writing flashpoint lyrics with a melodically obtuse bent, The Whispertown 2000 delivers an enjoyable splash with Swim.” READ FULL ARTICLE
PERFORMING SONGWRITER – November 2008
“I’m not sure what’s in the smog they’ve been inhaling, but this band’s a dead ringer for a spooky folk-rock act that would be right at home on the back of a flat-bed truck in Appalachia.” READ FULL ARTICLE
ZINK – November 2008
“Having opened for Rilo Kiley, She & Him and Bright Eyes, Los Angeles-based folk-rockers The Whispertown 2000 are on their way to the big leagues with the release of their new album Swim.” READ FULL ARTICLE
ALBUM ARTWORK (300 DPI) TOP ↑
PRESS PHOTOS (300 DPI) by Autumn de Wilde TOP ↑
BIO TOP ↑
The Whispertown 2000 is such a fitting name for a whole bunch of reasons. Morgan Nagler, (lead vocals, guitar) has been whispering for years before making this record. For the longest time, her songs were only heard in the most casual settings; passing the guitar in a circle in someone’s living room, barely singing above the crackle of firewood or clinking bottles.
That all changed when she met guitarist Tod Adrian Wisenbaker. Tod and his brother, Casey, grew up playing in punk, folk, and hardcore bands in California. Morgan and Tod soon began playing shows in and around Los Angeles. Eventually they added singer Vanesa Corbala, who was born in Tijuana and grew up singing traditional Mexican music, and Casey to the lineup. The addition of Casey and Vanesa allowed the band to experiment with the instrumentation. Tod, Vanesa, and Casey trade off on drums, bass, guitar, harp, and vocals. The Whispertown 2000’s vibrant live shows have scored them opening slots with Jenny Lewis, Rilo Kiley, Maria Taylor, She & Him, and Bright Eyes.
The band soon caught the eyes and ears of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, inspiring the first signing to their own Acony Records. Likewise, Swim is the first real-deal album release for The Whispertown 2000. Recorded by Thom Monahan (Devendra Banhart, Vetiver) and mixed by Shawn Everett and Rawlings (Old Crow Medicine Show, Robyn Hitchcock), Swim is The Whispertown 2000’s contribution to that nostalgic, weird, assortment of American music.
Morgan’s classic songwriting is put in a more fractured and modern context by Tod’s avant-blues guitar, Casey’s robust bass playing (and uncanny moustache) and Vanesa’s new-traditional harmonies and creative magic. The songs on the record range from quirky folk -pop on “103” to the sweet/ sad hypnotic harmonies of “Pushing Oars” to California –country style “Lock and Key” to ballads like “Atlantis”, which features a choir made up of Nagler, Corbala, Welch, Rawlings and Jenny Lewis.
When Lewis, a longtime friend and supporter of The Whispertown 2000 was asked for a quote about the band she simply said: “Morgan Nagler is my favorite songwriter. Period.” The band seems to inspire that kind of praise among their peers. Some whispers are meant to be heard.
CONTACT TOP ↑
RECORD LABEL CONTACT:
Acony Records
P.O. Box 60007, Nashville, TN 37206
p: 615.228.7708 f: 615.228.7709 e: brandi@aconyrecords.com
MANAGEMENT CONTACT:
Kelly Hughes
e: kelly@childbridemgmt.com
PUBLICITY CONTACT:
ADA Global – UK
e: Neil.Blanket@ada-global.com
Big Hassle Media – US
44 Wall Street, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10005
p: 212.619.1360 f: 212.619.1669 e: weinstein@bighassle.com
INT’L BOOKING:
Steve Strange and Josh Javor
X-ray Touring
Suite A, Nena House, 77 – 79 Great Eastern Street, London, EC2A 3HU
p: +44 (0)20 7749 3500 f: 212.619.1669
