“The Corner Laughers craft a brand of pop that’s sophisticated, clever, erudite and memorable — one that follows in the proud tradition of great songwriting artists like Carole King and Paul McCartney.” – Bill Kopp, SF Weekly
SAN FRANCISCO (April 6, 2020) – California indie-pop band The Corner Laughers are back in action — exploring themes from climate change and pastoral ponderings to childhood to the nature of time itself. Temescal Telegraph, the new album out June 5 via Big Stir Records, stands as a lively testament to the longtime band being back in full bloom.
After 2015’s critically acclaimed Matilda Effect and leader Karla Kane’s 2017 solo debut, the future of The Corner Laughers was unclear. Circumstances of geography, health and other life complications conspired to push the tight-knit quartet temporarily apart.
But music is healing, and the call of friendship and inspiration proved too strong to resist, so the band found themselves drawn back together in Oakland to create something that truly reflects The Corner Laughers of the now: a little older, a little wiser and ever more tuned in to each other and the world around them.
For their 2020 return, Kane (vocals, ukulele and most songwriting), Charlie Crabtree (drums), KC Bowman and Khoi Huynh (sharing guitar, bass and piano duties) recorded their new LP quickly and entirely in the intimate setting of Bowman’s Timber Trout studio. Set in the Temescal neighborhood of Oakland, the result is fostered in an organic, cohesive and present sound.
Temescal Telegraph plays with micro and macro lenses, connecting detailed personal experiences with the cosmic scale. Expect to encounter bees in harmony, environmental apocalypse, ghosts, trains, witches, fallen leaves and omniscient vultures. Current issues meet ancient echoes. Moods meander between wistful melancholy and exhilaration. A simple walk home becomes an entire universe encapsulated in a moment. To quote one of its songs, “It’s alright to care.”
Temescal Telegraph Track Listing
- The Calculating Boy
- Changeling
- The Accepted Time
- The Lilac Line
- Loma Alta
- Sisters of the Pollen
- Wren in the Rain
- Goodguy Sun
- Skylarks of Britain
- Lord Richard
About The Corner Laughers
Karla Kane’s literate lyrics and “ridiculously catchy” melodies (Word Magazine) are backed up by the powerhouse combination of KC Bowman, Khoi Huynh and Charlie Crabtree (guitars, bass, keyboards and drums). An intriguing mixture of bookish and badass, together they create “rousing, visionary adult pop” (Tom Robinson’s Fresh on the Net). The Corner Laughers music has been featured in Old Navy, Victoria’s Secret and American Eagle, been played on the BBC and CBC, and featured in The Guardian and Bitch Magazine. They’ve performed with Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), Mike Viola (Candy Butchers), and Wesley Stace (John Wesley Harding).
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Praise for Temescal Telegraph
“The Corner Laughers craft a brand of pop that’s sophisticated, clever, erudite and memorable — one that follows in the proud tradition of great songwriting artists like Carole King and Paul McCartney.” – SF Weekly
“one of the most innovative bands of this century” – Hear a Single
“Sometimes you play an album, and other times you enter a realm … gentle folk rock, with an undercurrent of psychedelia, but there’s a depth and complexity that stretches past what initially greets you on the surface. This one is unique, it’s singular, it’s special.” – There Once Was a Note
