LAUGHING OUTLAW RECORDS & MANAGEMENT


		MARRIED ALIVE Mood Elevator $19.95 AUD Customers outside Australia don't pay GST You can also buy online from iTunes

FEATURING CHRIS PLUM AND BRENDAN BENSON

Christopher Plum and Brendan Benson have formed another sensational band - "Mood Elevator". Although rearranged and with a different sound and dynamic, it’s nevertheless impossible to tell Mood Elevator’s story without mentioning Brendan Benson and the Well-Fed Boys - they are essentially exactly the same band.

Chris and Brendan have an intertwining musical history dating back to their high school days in the Royal Oak suburb of Detroit, Michigan. They had become fast friends based on their mutual love for recording on cassette and listening to DC straight-edge hardcore.

But high school ended and the pair moved on to pursue their individual musical paths. After several years away, the prospect of life back home eventually seemed more appealing and they both returned to the Royal Oaks suburb of Detroit. And it wasn't long before they picked up where they’d left off - Chris had been writing tunes and Brendan wanted to produce them with his new studio gear.

Their debut album ‘Listen Up!’ was released in 1999 and Mood Elevator toured throughout 2000, developing a fairly large following in the northern mid-west region. Then in 2001, following a brief hiatus, the directors of Detroit’s "Mid By Midwest" festival asked if Mood Elevator would reform to play the event. Such was the success of their festival appearance that they continued gigging, going on to play further shows around Detroit as well as in New York and Los Angeles.

Consequently, Brendan's creativity became revitalized through his experience playing live with the band and he felt the urge to complete writing his second record, ‘Lapalco’, which was released on V2 Records to great acclaim in 2002. His obvious choice for a backing band was Mood Elevator (a.k.a The Well-Fed Boys). During the past two years, the group has toured the world performing both Mood Elevator and Brendan Benson tunes, playing with acts like The White Stripes, Flaming Lips and Beth Orton as well as gracing festival stages of the calibre of Glastonbury and Reading. In between tours, the boys returned to Brendan's studio to record their new album ‘Married Alive’.

The Mood Elevator sips tea with Elvis Costello, discusses the longevity of pop music with XTC, chases chicks with the Kinks, trades guitar licks with George Harrison and windmills with Pete Townsend… In their wildest dreams perhaps, although once you’ve listened to ‘Married Alive’ there’s every chance you’ll agree!

REVIEWS:

“Modern power pop wouldn't have the somewhat deserved reputation of being a pretty lame impersonation of the past if all the records were as good as this one. Fans of Benson should get Married Alive ASAP, while fans of pop full of power, brains, and hooks shouldn't be too far behind.” - **** – All Music Guide (US)

“The heavenly harmonies of The Beach Boys, chord-progressions straight from Abbey Road, the crushing distortion of Weezer, married to the quirk of SFA and the kitsch of early Supergrass.” - **** – RockFeedBack.com

“Power pop is essentially loud guitars and great harmonies and Mood Elevator tick both of those boxes with a big thick pen… Worth a long hard listen.” – Americana-UK Website (UK)

“Equal parts The Hollies, The Sonics and Fountains of Wayne, take a long hard look and you’ll see a band having a good time. The party’s so inviting it’s impossible not to join in.” - **** – Logo Magazine (UK)

“The only thing frustrating about the album is that it might be too catchy.” – The Philler Website (US)

Track listing:
1. Boycott
2. Watch your girl
3. Anglophile
4. Guilty
5. Long hard look
6. Life line
7. Beginner's luck
8. Something I need
9. Best kept secret
10. Everything's in place
11. At the wedding