PRESS:
"It's an experience as cinematic as it is sonorous.But most striking is that The Photographic seem to have accomplished, in the most subtle of ways, what contemporaries like Explosions in the Sky and Do Make Say Think have not -- they've bridged the rift between old form and new. -
PAPER magazine
"If two young men from the Midwest are capable of making such music of heroic, earth shattering proportions then what does that mean for the rest of the instrumental scene?.There is so much hope and power in this album" - IndieRockReviews
"The Photographic is a duo that makes epic, complex and entirely instrumental rock songs." -
NPR (Second Stage)
"It is hard to keep individuals interested in a vocal-less album, but that is exactly what The Photographic do here. The disc’s hour length lends itself well to continued listening." -
neufutur magazine
"When listening to Pictures of a Changing World, it's hard to believe that this instrumental band only consists of 2 members.The Photographic's sound has an instant visual sound, like it could be a soundtrack to a movie." - Swimmer's Ear Magazine
"The duo use their own instrumentation, some synth effects and looping to create a sonic presence that rivals that of hugely talented instrumentalists Explosions in the Sky.It's really hard to imagine a listener not enjoying these songs. The Photographic gently assault your senses; knocking down walls that close your mind." -
Ryan's Smashing Life
"The Photographic make instrumental rock, and as a listener that has slowly grown in my appreciation of instrumental music in general, these guys got me hooked pretty fast." -
Each Note Secure
"I'm not a huge instrumental rock freak, but 'Pictures of a Changing World' is my favorite release of this type so far this year! Hopefully I'll get to see these guys live soon." -
5 Acts
"If you fancy the melodic instrumental groups, need I mention the overly referenced Explosions in the Sky, you will throroughly enjoy The Photographic. However, these Louisvillians do not simply sound like EITS, but resound only more like their later albums, particularly their work on the Friday Night Lights Soundtrack. Their delicate guitar work and moving rhythms separate themselves from the rest of the field"."What I'm getting at is they're just plain great." -
Music Under Fire
(translated) "They've woven post-rock environments with some approach to Mogawai or even GY!BE, perfect for the melancholy ends to a gray afternoon.Intoxicating!" -
My Mother's Sleeping Pills
".atmospheric, fiery and evocative. A consistent mood somehow emerges from what these two talented musicians conjure here, while the well-conceived sense of dynamics keeps you interested." -
PLAYBACK:stl
"The Photographic turns sound into pictures, evoking a deep range of emotion while never going near a lyric. Instrumental music has rarely been so fraught with meaning." -
The Courier Journal
BIO:
the Photographic - an instrumental rock duo out of Louisville, Ky - began
creating music in February of 2003. Guitarist, Jamey See Tai, and drummer, Chad
Blevins, originally met two years earlier at Chad's school through a mutual
friend in study hall. They hit it off immediately. Jamey and Chad regularly got
together with a few other friends to play music throughout the summer of 2002.
In the fall of that same year, Chad spent three months at a school in Mexico.
Upon return, Chad and Jamey formed the Photographic, which at that time included
one melodic guitar and drums, and today has evolved into several looped guitar
sounds, synth and drums. They wrote, played and practiced in Chad's parents'
basement for seven months before playing their first show with friends Unwed
Sailor. Unwed Sailor came to Louisville in August of 2003 with indie-rock trio,
The Naysayer, and asked the Photographic to play a short opener. After four
years, the Photographic has shared the stage with Louisville compatriots VHS or
Beta and The Shipping News, as well as The Apples in Stereo, The Gossip,
Snowden, Dead Meadow, Jennifer Gentle, Hawthorne Heights, Early Day Miners,
Comets on Fire, Ungdomskulen and Viva Voce. the Photographic's live show is less
like your typical indie-rock concert and more like a visual performance. The
music acts as a sort of soundtrack to a series of random video images that are
projected in between the duo by Jamey's brother, Jesse See Tai. The setting is
absolutely beautiful as the grainy, black and white images begin to scroll in
front of your eyes, and Jamey begins to pluck out an enchanting, chimey
introduction that seems to warm your inner being. The music begins to build as
Jamey loops the different guitar parts, and Chad gently taps the ends of his
sticks on the cymbals. It grows into a melodic driving melody with booming beats
and driving guitar melodies, and Jesse's beautifully edited images seem to
directly correlate and sync up to the Photographic's mind altering sound. The
show continues to escalate on in this manner with no breaks between songs,
giving the audience no time to escape the captivating, sensory rich environment
the Photographic create. Their music and images build into a dynamic crescendo,
exploding into the ears and eyes of listeners and onlookers. Once their
performance peaks to its highest point, the Photographic's music thunders out as
Jesse's video fades, leaving the audience with an alluring satisfaction. the
Photographic's debut album, Pictures of a Changing World, is set for release on March 11th, 2008 on Galaxia Records. Artist and filmmaker, Thomas Campbell, features the
Photographic's song, "Night Noise," in his most recent movie trailer for "The Present."
View the complete The Photographic tour schedule
