Biography
Eli Simon's Bottom of the Hudson is mid-fi bedroom pop of a caliber that's sorely missed these days. Unpretentious but ambitious, BOTH expertly layers thick hooks, guitar fuzz, and great vocal melodies, reminding us why quality indie rock is timeless. RIYD: GBV, Galaxie 500, Bowie, Sebadoh. Transforming from a one-man recording project, Simon has recently recruited local Philly and NY brethren to complete a 5 piece line up making sure to include keyboards, air organs, clarinets, or whatever instruments may be lying around at the time.
Birthed in Charlottesville, VA, migrating to Brooklyn, NY and now conquering Philadelphia, PA, Bottom of the Hudson are back in all of their seductive glory with a six song EP that delivers on the unmistakable promise of their 2003 debut, The Omaha Record. Everyone who hears these new songs falls in love at first listen. Brief as it may be, this is the trumpeted arrival of a new pop genius. Dude. Really.
The eclectic vision of the bands debut (and its sequel, Songs From the Barrel Commando, an in-betweener released earlier this year by Phillys Happy Home Records) is sharpened and honed and welded into a solid collection of songs which dazzle and intrigue, a teaser to 2006s long-awaited proper sophomore album. Main Bottom-dweller Eli Simon shows himself to be a man in command of his gifts, a talent whose lyrics glow with a bitter romanticism, simultaneously hopeful and regretful, and whose songs explode with inspiration. From the giant guitar washes of the opening title track to the gently hooky and wistful Riot Act to the pebbles-to-mountains build of One of Us, you can watch Bottom of the Hudson float to the top.
Bottom of the Hudson has shared the stage with such bands as Los Straitjackets, Smog, Dead Meadow, The Wrens, The Constantines, American Analog Set, Essex Green, +/-, and Camera Obscura.
Press
Bottom of the Hudson is mostly the work of one man, Eli Simon, with assistance from regular collaborators. Previous BOTH albums were collections of bedroom demos and older material; their first EP for Absolutely Kosher, Holiday Machine stays loyal to the 8-track. The album opens with its title track-- deep, detached vocals floating above swaying rhythms and chugging guitars, It's a pleasant stroll down "120 Minutes" lane, but things pick up with the second track, "Riot Act". Jangly guitars hold court over strummed power chords, pulled along by the double-tracked vocals of Simon on a simple, reaching melody.
. Tracing over the lines of classic slacker bands is an easy way to sound unaffected, yet I don't hear any ulterior motives in their nostalgia, just simple, self-assured songs from a band that never grew out of the 90s. Put it this way: Talent isn't flashing how much better you do something, it's making what you do better look easy. Simon easily earns the title, Bedroom Bowie.
--Jason Crock, August 26, 2005 Pitchfork Media
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On 2003's The Omaha Record, Eli Simon took a back-to-indie-rock-basics approach, and he continues in that vein here. Simon recorded .Commando's songs on his own, and plays the majority of the album's instrumentation. The result is an impressive collection with a uniquely timeless quality -- they'll probably never sound dated or stale.
Tongue-in-cheek love song "Kind Of Trouble" showcases Simon's secret weapon -- his lyrical wit ("You're the kind of trouble that I don't need / I think you're beautiful / keep your hands to yourself / laughing at the rain and the hair in my mouth / I think I've been before"). A better than average sense of humor and lively songwriting style give Songs From The Barrel Commando the extra flair it needs to truly stand out. This is lo-fi indie rock at its finest: accessible, memorable, and eminently replayable.
-- David A. Cobb, September 2004 Splendid Magazine
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Wailing guitars drunk on feedback slash through ''Holiday Machine,'' a sprawling triumph from BOTTOM OF THE HUDSON. Just don't expect this song to remember your name in the morning.
-- Ryan Dombal, September 2005 Entertainment Weekly Magazine
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