Belly, Juliana Hatfield, PJ Harvey, Nirvana Meld for Deli CD of the Month - Mass Hysteria! Go Naked Hearts

The Deli has chosen Naked Hearts' Mass Hysteria as CD of the Month! That's a fabulous treat on top of a delicious album of '90s alt-rock we know will soon start grabbing more and more critic's ears. Just talking/writing about the album makes me want to put the CD on, turn it up loud and sing and jump around to release my angst (you can still have angst in your 30s) and sway to the idea of true and gritty romance. Is that weird?

The Deli blog had only great things to say about the champion record and its "soul mates!"

"This is one of those bands that make boys and girls fall in love (with each other and with their music, of course). The Naked Hearts are a not-entirely-bass-less rock duo (live, the bass exists as if by magic even if nobody is playing it, as we have personally witnessed!) which offer some extremely well crafted, melancholic, guitar indie-pop. Amy Cooper (guitar and vocals) and Noah Wheeler (drums and vocals) are obvious musical soul mates - their voices perfectly complement each other, their songwriting is well integrated, and their performances are flawlessly tight. The simplicity of their guitar pop formula and the clean rock production may be reminiscent of The Strokes, but the main ingredients of their music (songwriting and overall mood in particular) make this debut a completely different beast."

"Mass Hysteria exists in a musical limbo floating between Belly's hyper-melancholic psych pop ("Way I See You", "Dark Shade"), the more straightforward and up-beat guitar pop of Juliana Hatfield and PJ Harvey circa 1992 ("Boyfriend"), and the obvious Nirvana influences ("Call Me", "Mass Hysteria"). Of course, the Naked Hearts don't have the angst that characterized all grunge bands - but it's their generation that seems to lack that trait. Almost surprisingly, instead, the band uses that genre's musical signature and fills it with some sort of innocence that instills a refreshing quality.

Maybe this is the way the unavoidable, almost due by now grunge revival will sneak back to our ears? The record has at least two singles with noteworthy potential: "Like I Do" and "Mass Hysteria" - true pop gems that build up and open up with harmonized choruses exactly the way we like it - this is stuff that could also work on the dance floor. Is there anything better than dancing intensely to an emotional rocking song, after all?"

Naked Hearts Tour Dates

Saturday, May 22, 3rd Ward, Brooklyn, NY
Wednesday, May 26, The Glasslands, Brooklyn, NY
Wednesday, June 23, Cake Shop, New York, NY
Thursday, June 24, Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia PA

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The Nirvana of Naked Hearts

DOA's Bryan Sanchez once again delves deep into a new Green Light Go release. Sanchez reveals some interesting comparisons for the Naked Hearts' Mass Hysteria. We've heard the alternative and '90s rock labels of Mass Hysteria, which we love, but Sanchez really dug deep into each individual song on the album, discovering something new in each tale.

"In between the sound of slashing guitars – the kind that sound as if they are being shred and are shredding at the same time – is a sweetly decorated chorus that finds singer Noah Wheeler singing, “No one, no one, likes you, like I do.” It’s a rather stunning opening, almost re-calling The xx’s debut from last year, before it turns into a bass-driven groove that then finds singer Amy Cooper echoing, “Like I do…” into a soothing ending. Equally gripping and influentially focused, its ability to latch on is substantially deep. And all of this happens on the proper opening song of Naked Hearts’ debut, Hysteria; it perfectly positions the album and the listener, as an album that will reveal many more shapes and colors to come."

"On the album’s title track, Wheeler’s roots as a jazz bassist shine on what sounds like a unique combination of Radiohead and Nirvana. Here, Wheeler is singing to the support of a looping bass part that conveys the harder side of the latter but the former band shows up all over the guitar’s melody with a terrific 90s angular riff. This all makes a lot of sense with each member nodding to their 90s influence in stride; it especially comes through on “Way I See You,” with its surf-ready bass and nostalgic guitar line."
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Brooklyn's New Scene

In an engaging and inventive manner, this past April, Samantha Tilipman started a blog about Brooklyn's contemporary music scene. She wanted to dig deeper into the artists, their music and why Brooklyn is such a hub for creativity. She does so interviewing musicians and publicists (like our own Janelle Rogers of Green Light Go) to get to the heart of what continues to make Brooklyn a boiling pot for great music, almost a decade after the initial hype of the "hipster Brooklyn rock" was constantly being toted around.Tilipman states exactly what she intends to do with her blog Brooklyn Beats City Sounds.

"I write with a purpose."

Together we will travel the road to stardom through the eyes of a bubbling music group. We will see what it takes to make–what are the drives, desires, and dreams necessary to become known. Does making it in the New York music industry require talent or connections, a passion for fame or a passion for the art? Who’s involved in the success and who takes credit for it? These are just a few questions I hope to answer."

So far in her travels Tilipman has come across Brooklyn-based Green Light Go artists Naked Hearts and Fan-Tan, who both have new albums out this week. Tilipman interviewed both bands for the blog as well got some insight straight GLG head honcho Janelle Rogers.

Tilipman interviewed Naked Hearts' lead singer Amy Cooper about how the duo got their start and how they landed a high profile piece in Interview Magazine last year, and the band's future as an independent band.

"I hope that we’re able to still continue to make records. The main hope that I have is to be able to tour Europe; we would love to do that. We would just like to live being able to tour four to five times a year, and to plan our lives around tours. We’d record when we’re not touring. I think it’s totally possible. You just really have to keep doing what you want to be doing. There are a lot of ups and downs, and if you really love something, you just continue doing it and things will happen the way they’ll happen. I have faith that you’ll end up doing what you want to do for sure," Cooper told Tilipman.

Like many bands have done in the past decade, Fan-Tan, originally from North Carolina, moved to Brooklyn, in hopes of more support and they seemed to have found in according to their interview on Brooklyn Beats City Sounds. Among other things, Tilipman interviewed singer/guitarist Ryan Lee Dunlap about their transition from North Carolina to Brooklyn.

"It was pretty easy for us. We just moved and started playing shows. We emailed everyone as soon as we got here; it was a lot of calls and stuff. Our first show at the Cake Shop, and it was good. We had a good draw because we knew a lot of people in NYC at the time, so that sort of helped. And once you play one show at a venue you can book another show there later. We just kept doing that and then we went to bigger and bigger venues and started getting established as being able to play wherever we wanted to around the city."

The features on Fan-Tan and Naked Hearts were the direct result of a music industry insider who has seen bands come and go from the Brooklyn "scene," and as Green Light Go's publicist and owner, Janelle Rogers told Tilipman she didn't go out seeking "new: bands from Brooklyn.

"They actually chose me. A lot of my business is through word of mouth. It starts with one community and builds from there. Naked Hearts was the first Brooklyn band that I started working with and I met them from another Portland band that was called Star Fucker at the time [now called Pyramid]. And then the others were just word of mouth from other musicians."

Janelle also gave some great insight into why band's benefit from having a publicist. "From start to finish, we’re public relations because from the beginning we’re trying to help them find their identity. We don’t dictate that, we let them and we work with who they are and find their story within that. It’s targeting the people that we think would like their music. For Naked Hearts, they have their niche; an indie rock fan base that will eat them up and love them. For Fan Tan, because they’re synth-pop, the people that go out dancing on Saturday nights and listen to great retro-Brit-pop, that’s like their lifestyle. We’re playing into those things–how people would already consume the music and find the right writers for them."

Keep an eye on Brooklyn Beats City Sounds as Tilipman is adding new interviews and insights every week.
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The Shins, Rogue Wave Have Competition

The Naked Hearts and No Second Troy album reviews are still rolling in, making us glow with pride!

Medleyville had really seems to get what No Second Troy are creating with Colors; how their indie sensibilities can be related to radio-ready lush modern rock, but the album's hues are up for different interpretation by each listener.
"In his band's bio, No Second Troy keyboardist Mike Beach talks about trying to navigate the middle ground between today’s pop and indie music, and in doing so makes a reference to pre- and post-"Clocks"-era Coldplay. Beach's Washington, D.C.-based band really has a lot more in common with The Shins and Rogue Wave in terms of pop sensibilities, attention to detail and good indie instincts – in other words, having the nerve and the smarts to throw in just the right amount of twists and turns to keep things interesting and a little different. Colors (out now) has plenty of crafty gems, with "The Black and White Movie" and "This Is the End of Me" far and away the best of the album's 12 tracks."



It may be obscure, but website Aiding and Abetting are into the '90s swing of Naked Hearts' Mass Hysteria. Read on....

"Oh, goodness. It's been a while since I've heard some honest-to-God indie rock. The Naked Hearts are Amy Cooper and Noah Wheeler (Cooper handles the guitar, Wheeler the bass and drums; both sing). Grungy, bouncy, lo-fi, sparkly, you name it. The Naked Hearts do it all in a minor key, and they make it snarl. Pop songs for the truly disaffected, I suppose. These are brittle pieces of brilliance pasted to the ceiling of a disillusioned teenager. I think we've all been there. The Naked Hearts have moved on a bit, but not so much that they cannot tap that primal pit of pain."

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Spinner Free Album Preview of Fan-Tan and Naked Hearts

This is a great week at GLG. We have two bands (oddly both are from Brooklyn) releasing albums this Tuesday, May 11. We can't wait to see what will happen when everyone finally gets to hear them!! Alt-rock darlings Naked Hearts will set Mass Hysteria out to the world and synth-popsters Fan-Tan will wow you with Age of Discovery.

The fine folks over at Spinner.com have chosen both albums to stream in their entirety on their site today for their Full CD Listening Party. Last week they had up albums by Broken Social Scene, The Hold Steady, and The New Pornographers. Spinner picks the best of the best for their Listening Parties. So head on over and hear why Spinner deemed Fan-Tan and The Naked Hearts as part of the mix.

Go revel in the ebb and flow alternative rock that duo Naked Hearts play with fire. We know this album is gonna get you. The New Yorker is on board: "The stripped down duo Naked Hearts is gaining momentum on the downtown scene."

Set your hips swaying with the moody synth-pop of Brooklyn's Fan-Tan by finally hearing all the tracks from Age of Discovery. "[Fan-Tan's] newest EP, The Age of Discovery ... is so good that the Killers will be flattered to be compared to Fan-Tan! It's time for some Fan-Tan worship." -- The Devil Has The Best Tuna. We agree!

Some lucky Philadelphia Fan-Tan fans (say that five times fast) are fortunate enough to catch the band tomorrow night, Tuesday, May 11 at the M Room in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Weekly chose to highlight this show with a gracious preview. "Fan-Tan may have formed in North Carolina, but they’ve got nothing to do with that angular, distortion-crusted guitar rock you know from Polvo or Archers of Loaf. Two of their four members—Kuki and Sandee Kooks—may be Indonesian, ethnically, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be whipping out the gamelan any time soon either. Instead, this fledgling band, now living in Brooklyn, makes the kind of sweeping, soaring, synth-glorious post punk you might remember from Echo & the Bunnymen, or even the Cure. They’ll be celebrating the release of their first EP, Age of Discovery, released via iTunes on the very day of this show."
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"Scuzzy-pop" of Naked Hearts lures in Under the Radar

Good old Under the Radar had the nicest things to say about Amy Cooper and Noah Wheeler, aka the Naked Hearts. With a link to listen to the band's title track "Mass Hysteria," the mag had some kind words to say about the band who is picking up some fantastic press.

Under the Radar may have chosen to highlight our Brooklyn pair, but the way things are going, the Naked Hearts should and will be on your radar. Pun intended. The duo's familiar and visceral rock songs are sticking with listeners, and continue to make ears happy with each new listen.

"Former Rubies singer/guitarist and photographer Amy Cooper is now in the '90s-esque rock duo Naked Hearts. She's joined by singer/drummer, and jazz bassist Noah Wheeler, and the pair shares a home in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. They also share an obvious appreciation for bands such as Sonic Youth, The Breeders, and Blake Babies on their full-length debut, Mass Hysteria.

The scuzzy-pop LP drops May 11 and recording took place at Vacation Island Recordings in Brooklyn, NY. Owner and engineer Matt Boynton (Bat For Lashes, Gang Gang Dance) is set to record their next LP. Check out the bass-heavy rock of Mass Hysteria's title track above and tour dates can be find at the twosome's MySpace."

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Largehearted Boy Offers "Mass Hysteria"

Music blog Largehearted Boy has picked the Naked Heart's to feature in their Daily Downloads. They offer the title track "Mass Hysteria," from the Hearts' forthcoming album, as a free mp3 for all to enjoy.

The Deli wrote a flattering feature for Naked Hearts CD NYC release party at the Mercury Lounge, May 1st.

"Naked Hearts are one of the best kept indie rock secrets of the NYC scene. We accidentally caught this duo at CMJ 2008 while they were playing a day show at Cake Shop upstairs and after witnessing their tightly performed, memorable tunes we felt obliged to blog about them. As it often happens in the rock'n'roll world, things haven't exactly been moving at the speed of light for Naked Hearts since then, but it looks like they are now ready to conquer this city. Considering their obvious talent, their quality songwriting (think about a more melancholic version of The Strokes or a less dreamy version of Belly), their extremely tight live show and strong stage presence (as we witnessed when they played our Deli party last month), and their undeniably good looks, we don't see how fans won't start piling up in the near future. Their CD release party will be at Mercury Lounge on May 1st - buy the tickets now!" Click Here to Read More..

Naked Hearts Inject Mass Hysteria on May 11th

Brooklyn-based duo Naked Hearts are ready to set hearts and ears on fire with their first full-length album Mass Hysteria. Edging on fuzzed out ‘90s alt-rock and hypnotic girl/boy vocals, duo Amy Cooper and Noah Wheeler have filled Mass Hysteria with a perfectly delicate balance of stripped-down raw energy and moody lush vocals. For release on May 11th, with its pop sway, grungy guitars, and naturally cool vibe Mass Hysteria is what you make of it.

 Recorded by Matt Boynton (Gang Gang Dance, Bat For Lashes), Mass Hysteria is filled with buzzing songs that hit you quick and stay with you long after the record ends. Playing shows with the likes of The Raveonettes, The Black Angels, and Evan Dando, Naked Hearts deliver the vibrant, pulsating synergy of their live show to Mass Hysteria. “Our goal is to lose our sense of self and come together to convey a temporary, hopefully beautiful space for people,” Amy Cooper says of the album.


After an abundance of shows in NYC, east and west coast tours and the release of their EP These Knees, Naked Hearts received a full-page picture and feature in Interview magazine. “Then there are the enthusiastic newbies, Naked Hearts, who explore the various ways in which a boy/girl duo can make you dance, fall in love, and cry all at the same time." – T.Cole Rachel for Interview Magazine www.interviewmagazine.com/music/the-new-new-york-noise

In 2007 singer/guitarist Cooper and singer/drummer Wheeler met in NYC, both playing the same night at the same club. Soon after Wheeler joined Cooper on tour promoting her second solo release. While on the road they wrote their first song together titled Naked Hearts. The sentiment stuck with them and became the name they stand by. “Love, loneliness, the unknown. Moments of joy, moments of realization,” says Cooper, is what fuels their work. It turns Naked Hearts’ music into an emotional substance worth craving.

Mass Hysteria Track Listing
 1.Prelude
2. Like I Do
3. Call Me
4. Mass Hysteria
5. Kill My Name
6. Boyfriend
7. Way I See You
8. Alpha Beta
9. Grow
10. One False Move
11. Dark Shade

Get a sneak peak of Mass Hysteria by downloading free mp3s of the title track and "Call Me". Click Here to Read More..