Antennas Up are pleased to announce that three tracks from their self-titled debut are included in ITunes’ Tap Tap Revenge 3 video game; they share company with likes like AFI, The Killers, Fall Out Boy, Ben Harper, No Doubt and Dave Matthews Band! Tap Tap Revenge is the most popular iPhone videogame, with over 6 million downloads. Essentially, the game is a portable Guitar Hero, in which players tap their fingers as scrolling blobs speed down in time to the music. It is an ideal placement for a band who are obsessed with such pastimes.When learning of a band who wears their fascination with spaceships, videogames and assorted results of hyper-accentuated technology on their sleeve as Antennas Up does, one might make the assumption that their obsession is a reflection of a rather cold persona. Thank God, their debut album is now available and any pre-conceived notions of frigid, scientific vibes are swept away by dance floor-worthy grooves that share loyalties to funk, neo-soul and electro-robot rock. The songs on this self-titled debut are incredibly inclusive, with hypnotic rhythms weaving in and out of infectious melodies, drawing listeners closer. Innovative studio techniques bring a modern edge to tunes that are guaranteed to fill the dance floor, generating collective joy between the audience and band. This kind of accessibility is not contrived but a direct reflection of three extremely extroverted guys who bonded together to make intelligent music that is also a lot of fun.
The songs on the album address a broad range of subjects, from the down-to-earth issues of relationships (“Don’t Wait Up”), to otherworldly accounts of time travel and spaceship romance (“5P4C35H1P”). Taking wildly disparate subjects and elaborate recording techniques and weaving a unified album is where the band’s talent shines – their allegiance to all that is dance-friendly provides the glue.
Unlike most indie bands, Antennas Up tour with an entire multimedia production that includes an interactive light and music show. Their tech-centered show started with a slight obsession with guitar effects pedals and morphed into a mini-mountain of effects and lights connected by over 1000 feet of cable. The band controls audio backing tracks, lights and video through one central box. Akers explains, “Of course the live show's cornerstone is the music. But to us, the show is about more than just what songs we perform. We want to set our show apart from what you would typically expect to see going to a club on a random Friday night. When people walk in and see a band with full stage production, it makes an impact. And what's great is, we bring our entire setup with us, and are able to duplicate it in every room across the country."
Antennas Up carved out their own musical realm, a domain in which the chillier aspects of technology are offset by the warmth and good humor emanating from this trio of musicians.
Listen to Antennas Up here: http://www.myspace.com/antennasup
