A. Rex: Press

I have a vague recollection of saying some fairly kindish things about "Moving Backwards", the previous release from A. Rex, so here we go again with their / his new mini album.

It's that whole mellow, soft rock crossed with power pop thing that people have been getting up to ever since someone gave the Beatles a good review as a joke. Tragically, no-one spotted the wind up, so it's been Emperors new clothes ever since.

Fortunately, Andrew Espinola, who is A.Rex does know his way around a good tune, although given the amount of despondancy, I'm kinda glad I don't have his life. Well, that's a lie, cos he's twenty years younger than me. Git.

It's an out an out one man band this time around, with Master Espinola taking care of absolutely everything as he heads down the road marked early Lemonheads to good effect. For people who like That Sort Of Thing. If you do like That Sort Of Thing then I would point you in the direction of 'Not Like We're In Love', a broken hearted tale of people with, um, broken hearts who're too damn young to know what a broken heart is. Give it time, people, it just gets worse.

‘Come On Pilot’ is the other ace in the pack, a song that would benefit from a bigger budget, but even now would get the hacks over at Paste magazine reaching under their desks with unashamed joy.

Since last summer's hiccup, Moving Backwards, A. Rex has dwindled from overwrought trio to sensitive, one-man power-pop machine. Not sure what that says for Andrew Espinola, but third release Who Said I Was Running? muffles the pretension while attaining Velcro stickiness. Bookends "Too Smart for Me" and "Come on Pilot" have slots waiting on VH1. (Okay, maybe Fuse.)

It’s a good sign when the first thing I think to myself upon throwing on a new disc is "Why haven’t I heard of these guys?" A. Rex is the brainchild of Austin's Andrew Espinola and Mark Addison, though Espinola plays almost everything but the drums on this 6-song EP, their third in as many years.

At only 22, Espinola shows amazing restraint with both the songwriting and the arrangements, preferring tasteful guitar and piano flourishes rather than self-indulgent solos. These are quick and dirty power pop songs, and they get in, make their point, and get out – like good radio songs should.

Lyrically, the album is honest and literate, and the lyrics read by themselves have a nice rhythm even without the music. Filtered through Espinola’s confident, effortless vocals (somewhere between Jeff Tweedy and the Old 97’s Rhett Miller), these songs play like a diary of someone who’s been there.

Melodically, Espinola seems to breathe in life and exhale hooks. He lays incredibly catchy music over infectious driving rhythms, most notably on "Come On Pilot," my pick for the single, even though it doesn’t appear until the end of the album.

The production (by Espinola and Addison) is flawless, with a thick analog feel and punchy snare sounds reminiscent of Kenny Aronoff. Espinola manages to capture a great deal of live energy considering he played everything himself. Constant overdubs can tend to drain the energy level, but that’s certainly not the case here.

Back in November last year I wrote about A. Rex, a Texan outfit apparently consisting entirely of people called Andrew. There’s just one Andrew this time and in fact Andrew Espinola is the only musician on this follow-up EP. For the first A. Rex album ‘Moving Backwards’, the end product seemed to be influenced by Eels but Espinola’s solo effort seems to be a step back further in time.

Throughout there’s an air of good time American rock in the vein of Tom Petty; Espinola’s yeaning voice usually being the most interesting element of some fairly undemanding guitar-based rock music. ‘Too Smart For Me’ and ‘Fight For you’ chug along pleasantly whilst ‘Magazine’ embraces New Wave. However, the wistful finale ‘Come On Pilot’ is the pick of the bunch; its light, airy chorus being the most memorable offering. Much like the previous release though, I feel that Espinola should embrace his own youth and ideas a bit more rather than tred over a fairly unremarkable period in music history.

“Who Said I Was Running?” is the new EP from the band A.Rex. This is the bands third release to date. The release is an interesting hybrid of a young Wilco meets The Lemonheads. The record starts off with “Too Smart For Me” and you can hear a young Jeff Tweedy in the vocals and those melodies are right out of the Wilco playbook. “Don't Let Me Get Away” has a great little piano hook and a tight melody. “Not Like We're In Love” is the type of song that could become the bands trademark. It has a great anti-love feel in the lyrics and for the scorned lovers out there this is a nice tough. A.Rex are good guyswho write a lot of enjoyable and sweet songs. They are the type of guys who you wish all the success to and one day it will come for them.

This is A. Rex's third album, albeit a mini one at a mere six tracks long. It starts with 'Too Smart For Me', a gorgeous summery pop tune, understated and warming. 'Magazine' reminds you of Nick Lowe, or one of the seventies Stiff tunesmiths. 'Fight For You' is another cracking pop tune, the band sounding kind of slack and weary as they toss out another great melody, a bit like the Lemonheads.

'Not Like We're In Love' breaks away and soars before 'Come on Pilot' closes the album. 'Come on Pilot' could be Randy Newman MOR gold and I mean that in the nicest way possible. Three albums in and the tunes don't seem like drying up anytime yet.

Centred around a 21 year-old math major named Andrew Espinola, A. Rex is a lush indie pop band whose rotating cast of musicians all share the same first name. A cute gimmick for sure, but not the only notable aspect about these Eels-esque popsters, who carve immediately memorable ditties out of guitar, piano, and Espinola's Perishers-style breathy vocals. Though a tad on the inoffensive side, Moving Backwards' lovely songs are a perfect fit for sensitive music lovers who aren't too stuck up to get down n' dirty with some gentle ballads. This album seems to share a niche with The Perishers' Let There Be Morning, though I sense a more Eels-y flair. This stuff shows up a lot on TV shows and the like these days, so I wouldn't be surprised if wide-eyed "Moving Backwards" or calming and parental "Old Enough" ended up on the closing credits of the latest WB show. Though the middle two are definitely the best songs on here, also enjoyable are "So Hard" and its lulling guitar strums, as well as pick-me-up "Lower Than Low". Some tracks tend to drag a bit, barreling on without a melody worth barreling on for (Sparklehorse-esque "Hold My Hand", "Still Can't Accept That You're Gone"), but for the most part this is enjoyable, marketable pop music suited for post-breakup stabilizing and bedroom self-reflection.

This is for fans of Wilco, the lighter Get Up Kids, and people looking for a softer side to the music buzz. It reminds me of a few soundtracks I’ve bought, because I got all girly about the story line. But really, this is the type of album you might want to put in when hanging around your house on a Sunday afternoon with all the doors and windows letting in that fresh spring air. It would even work for a romantic evening at home, and the one time your boyfriend offers to dance with you. Real vocals, and controlled creative music make for one quality CD.

A. Rex (Andrew Espinola and Andrew Jones) provides the sad romantic music one needs in a breakup, but without the super depressing lyrics that could push you into OD'ing on Hadacol and Lucky Charms. Nothing really jumps out and makes you say "that's another hit we'll never share together!" but these little songs played in a little style are very soothing when you're feeling lost. Occasionally the percussion rises a bit, reminding you to get more Mall-o-mars or Goldfish crackers, and when the disc stops, Getting up to hit play again will help you maintain your motor skills as you battle the short term depression. Some of the songs offer advice like "What's the point of starting if it's just gonna end?" others beg for reunion, and most just mope around. We all need a good mope every now and again, and these two guys are the right dosage of lost love.

The first track of A. Rex’s album Moving Backwards begs the question: “what’s the point of starting if it’s just gonna end?” Well, rather than take this to heart and pull the CD out of my player, I kept on listening. This proved to be a smart move, as the combined talents of Andrew Espinola and Andrew Jones have created one pleasant-sounding collection of folk-pop songs.

From start to finish, Moving Backwards is a very slow and easy album. The listener is presented with themes of love, heartbreak, and self-exploration in a calming, melodic tone that you’d come to expect from this genre. While A. Rex’s sound isn’t exactly new - taking their cues from artists like Snow Patrol, The Eels, and Coldplay - it’s definitely first-rate. The blend of acoustics and harmonious guitars in the opening tracks give the band a very moody feel. There’s also a lot of heart and soul in these songs, whether in the despair of “Moving Backwards” or the emptiness of “Hold my Hand.” That’s not to say the entire album is low-key. While it’s true the lyrics tend to stay in more of a downbeat theme, there are a couple songs, like “So Hard,” that feature a more lively sound to them.

My personal favorite had to be track number seven, “Rock and Roll.” The mood’s a bit lighter in this song, even featuring a sense of humor in certain areas. Interestingly enough, the upbeat feeling displayed here doesn’t feel out of place at all. Rather, A. Rex takes their already established sound and builds upon it to create something with a little more flavor. I just love the concept of a fondness for rock and roll getting in the way of a relationship:

I always fall for those punk rock girls,
But their too much for me.
Well I am just a 90s kid,
And you were more 70s.
You said I don’t know rock n’ roll and I haven’t got your soul
And you really don’t want me now ...

In some ways it just seems so absurd, but in others you think “yeah, I can see that.” Espinola’s writing features an interesting sense of wit here that isn’t as apparent in the other songs. It doesn’t hurt that the rhythm carries quite well either.

There’s a line I can’t help but recall from the first Spider-Man movie that goes: “this story, like any story worth telling, is about a girl.” A. Rex takes this quite literally, considering the nature of literally every song on Moving Backwards. Maybe it’s about love for someone; maybe it’s about losing someone; it could even be about looking for or feeling lost without someone. The point is the narrative consistently sticks to the same themes over and over again. For some people, I can see how this would give the album focus. For me, it just feels like the idea gets a little redundant and treads familiar ground. If this was an EP release with fewer tracks, I could see it working really well.

So what IS the point of starting if it’s just going to end? Well, how about the chance to experience ten tracks of what is possibly aimed to be future mellow, pop-rock success? Not to mention that you can always play the album over again; a chance to relive. If it’s a calming and emotional music experience you’re after, definitely give A. Rex’s Moving Backwards your utmost consideration.

Rather surprisingly, the members of A. Rex are all claimed to be called Andrew although only two of them are credited on the album sleeve. One of the Andrews is Andrew Espinola; the songwriter and vocalist for the band whilst Andrew Jones provides drums and percussion. This first album does a fine job of emulating the scuzzy folk-pop made popular by Eels in recent years.

Needless to say, it’s a very melodic affair, which is primarily aimed at producing aching slowies and mid-paced efforts like the excellent title track and ‘Lower Than Low’. Deviations arrive via the Grandaddy-esque ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and the appropriately titled ‘Rock n Roll’ which has more than a share of Tom Petty about it. Espinola is in fine husky form throughout, essentially sounding like a younger version of Eels’ own Mark ‘E’ Everett. ‘Moving Backwards’ won’t be the most original album heard this year and a few songs on the album are very similar-sounding but it’s the first recording from the young Espinola and his ear for a tune is never in question.

A.Rex is an Austin, Texas-based band which includes frontman and primary songwriter Andrew Espinola, drummer Andrew Jones, and a rotating cast of others. Moving Backwards is their sophomore release, following up Brief As Lightning.

Stylistically the music that A.Rex plays is a pop-accessible indie rock. The band’s songs are melodic and fairly catchy. One thing the band does really well is alternating between piano-led tracks like “Determined” and guitar led tracks like “I’m Not The Only One.”

The vocals on the album are well performed. Espinola has a laid back delivery that is a bit singer-songwriter-y. His voice is melodic and in the middle registry. Lyrically the band’s songs are a bit hit or miss; some lines are a bit on the derivative/cheesy side (“I’m a ship lost out at sea”- “Hold My Hand”), while others are pretty good (“I was so fucked up I forgot your name again”- “Lower Than Low.”)


Overall: Low key pop-accessible indie.

With two groups now named for the most feared dinosaur in history (even though that one in Jurassic Park that spat everywhere gave me nightmares when I was a lad), we’re now able to place them in some kind of arbitrary ferocity scale. If T.Rex were the glam rock gods who sleazed in your ear all night and left a grimy stardust trail all over your shoulder pad, then A.Rex are the ones who invite you in for a cuppa and a quiet game of cribbage.

The Texan twosome (which makes them sound like a wrestling tag-team) have a revolving sideman policy much like The Cure, but while they’re not mould-breaking like Robert Smith’s posse, A.Rex certainly make a sunny, quirky piano-led half an hour and even though they compare themselves to Coldplay, don’t let that put you off and try and get round to listening to a few of their tunes.

They’re derivative and nothing outstanding, certainly, but there’s enough charm, handclapping and sweet ‘n’ low in songs like ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ and ‘I’m Not The Only One’ to afford them a place on a soundtrack to a movie as quirky as they are, and sometimes it’s better to take a chance on someone dependable than assume the worst of them. But Sugar Ray and Granddaddy might want to send a copy of this album to their lawyers. Just kidding. Try it out, why dont’cha?

A.Rex are a band from Austin, Texas populated entirely by Andrews. The band that is, not Austin. This is their second album.

A cracker it is too. While there's the odd MOR moment (the title track and 'Old Enough'), the rest is top drawer. It kicks off with the Grandaddy/eels style weariness and vocals through a broken radio of 'Determined', with it's defeated lyrics of "what's the point in starting, if it's just gonna end".

Following that we get a leaden piano to give us a tale of how he can't live without the girl ('Hold My Hand'), then Mary Chain fuzzy guitar coupled with a maudlin Death Cab quality of 'I'm Not The Only One'. 'Lower Than Low' is a lovely piano ballad, just like Coldplay used to make before they blanded out. 'Rock n Roll' is delightful Pavement style slacker pop and there are great melodies in the warm country-ish 'So Hard'.

Now see, that's just wrong. I only have one rule regarding employment in my places of work, and that is 'Do Not Employ Anyone With The Same First Name As An Existing Member Of Staff'. That's it, nothing racist, sexist, speciesist, just nameist. So how much do you think that a band where everyone is called Andrew offends me. That's right. Thaaaaaaaaaaaaat much.

But so it is with A.Rex, the indie folk-pop outfit which is the brainchild of math major Andrew Espinola. I wasn't aware that maths had military ranks, but then I never even sat my O Grade, so it's understandable. But I'm working on the principle that Major Espinola must be shit hot at sums.

This is album number two for the singing mathematician and his Andrew shaped chums, and it's the kind of thing that students over in the colonies go ever so slightly crazy for. At least the ones that aren't there on sports scholarships. It's that whole Grandaddy, Wilco type sound, whereby everything sounds a little bit miserable despite the presence of chipper melodies, and where a song called 'Rock n Roll' seems to find the whole notion a bit too tiring, in a Tom Petty kind of way.

It's all rather good and should be coming to whatever has replaced The O.C as the televisual programme of choice for the white, middle class American youth of today who aren't pretending to be black.

A band consisting of Andrew Espinola and Andrew Jones and featuring other rotating musicians with the name of Andrew. This could quite easily have gone horribly disastrous. Thank Christ it doesn’t.

There’s fuzzy, crackly vocals all over opener ‘Determined’ that make it sound like some kid in his bedroom finally recording tracks he wrote ten years ago. It’s the best thing on here and its got the same kind of Grandaddy/ Eels sound of just coming so damn easy.

It’s brilliantly lazy, instantly fantastic and like Liam Frost and Sam Isaac it somehow immediately feels like it’s always been on your mp3. While that’s the standout track, the whole album’s consistent. If Cameron Crowe ever made a sequel to Almost Famous set in 2007 (horrible idea, not sure why I’ve even suggested it) he’d be sure to use an A.Rex track.

The title track, ‘Old Enough’, ‘So Hard’ ‘Still Can’t Accept’ and, geez, pretty much any other tune on here are great but it’s still ‘Determined’
that’s gonna bring you back to listen to this again and again.

N: Ok, so the Eels take a holiday and crop up as Andrews Espinola and Jones on this well produced ten track affair. The album just slips down so easily it's hard to believe they're not signed; really there's little to be done here before releasing this on the streets, undoubtedly with a huge advance.

T: I agree, this is an excellent release with quality songwriting shining through and a lovely summer day feel which makes it infinitely playable. Push "Repeat", kick off your shoes and lie back and relax. 9/10

Now after reading the first line of this bands bio i was really intrigued. This Austin, TX Indie Pop 2 piece display great slower rock tunes with a lot of pop glee, but not radio pop, just the pop thats pretty catchy without actually trying to be. The singer reminds me of Tom Petty in a way. Great vocals and production. Great music to just put on and relax and chill out to. "Determined" is a very good slower tune that opens the album that sets the tones for the rest of the disc, so you kinda get the vibe from the first track. You can really notice the influences of The Perishers, Coldplay and Wilco stand out in this record.

Great first offering form this independent artist. Hope to see good things happen with this group in the future.

A.Rex is a folk pop duo from Austin, Texas. One look at these two guys and it seems like a bit of an odd couple. One of them looks like a kid who used to bully me and the other one looks like the kid who was always just a little bit cooler. Things get started with “Determined” a nice little ditty with a terribly sad vocal and a great complementary pit pat drums. “I'm Not The Only One” is another delightful slice of indie pop. The good thing about this track is that the band brought more elements in giving them a nice rich sound. “So Hard” has a country vibe to it with the slide guitar and lyrically it has that type of storytelling to it. A.Rex kept me very glued for the length of the album, there are a few very bright moments on here and a few iffy moments as well. But, for a young band this is a great start and shows a lot of promise.

Folk-pop band A.Rex hails from Austin, Texas where they have apparently built up a strong fan base. Of course, most unsigned bands will tell you they have a 'strong fan-base’ and 75% of the time this will consist of family and friends and the odd drunken punter in the local dive where they play a weekly set. When it comes to A.Rex though I’m inclined to believe them, in fact I’m now a member of that fan base - these boys are good.

Lead singer Andrew Espinola has the kind of voice that makes women go weak at the knees, raspy yet melodic, gentle yet intense. The songs have all the melody of a pop ballad without being cheesy and Espinola has that story-telling skill that few lyricists manage to perfect. With soaring pianos and perfect harmonies, Moving Backwards blends Southern folk with mainstream pop resulting in an album that will have appeal across genres. A.Rex’s 'strong fan-base’ looks set

Despite its faults this release is pretty damn good. The piano-based tunes are catchy and the lyrics are good. The vocals are good as well. My problem is that they don't have much flavor to them. The singing is done in a hushed tone, even on the loud parts it sounds like the vocalist is whisper-singing loud. "Rock n Roll" is one of the exceptions where the singer does try something different with his voice. This also happens to be my favorite tune on this release. The production on the opening tune "Determined" could have been a bit better, it's not too bad on the overall release. And while I would say that the song also had a bit of Ben Folds quality to it, the rest of the release is has more of a folk alternative singer-songwriter groove to it. This is a band I feel is right on the cusp of doing great things, they just that little extra something to get them there.

In this cruel world of immediacy and complacency, the sophomore slump remains prevalent. Local duo A. Rex isn't immune. Andrew Espinola means every word, and second Andrew Jones keeps time like a pro. What's missing on Moving Backwards is the pizzazz. Opening track "Determined" is college radio from the early Nineties: lo-fi vocals set miles atop musical tracks. Skipping forward to "I'm Not the Only One," a small bit of redemption is found in thick sound and a catchy chorus, but the trite "Rock N Roll" ("I always fall for those punk rock girls, but they're too much for me") and even the country-fried two-step of "So Hard" bring a shudder to a GBV/bar-pop shadow. Not dorky enough to be Weezer and not passionate enough to be emo, A. Rex might have to count on a third chance to put out a better album.