Strangers by Accident

Strangers by Accident‘s five-song EP establishes the male/female duo as somewhere between the wistful, major key acoustic pop of the Weepies and the spartan acoustic delicacy of Joshua Radin’s early work. They can get a little bit noisier than either outfit (“Straight to Space,” “Borderline”), but their sweet spot is a bright, clear, open sound garnished with a twist of sadness (or two).

“Steal” is the opener and the tone-setter, with a single acoustic guitar, a tambourine, two vocalists, and ambient guitar marking out the sonic space that the duo explore for the rest of the EP. Standout “Borderline” opens as the quietest track: the lyrics are poignant and unafraid to take on the darkness in the world, like a Rocky Volotato song. It grows to one of their noisiest, with a raucous electric guitar line crashing in intermittently. “Busted Heart” and “Hold Me Down” are both just great acoustic pop songs; sometimes you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to make a really great car. If you’re into the Civil Wars, The Local Strangers, or other classy male/female duos I’m not familiar with, you’ll love Strangers by Accident.

— - Independent Clauses

Cambridge based indie folk duo Strangers By Accident are touching emotional nerves everywhere with their brand new self-titled album. The duo of Brian Sousa and Amy Wynne was formed last year, and have elements of The Civil Wars and Ryan Adams thrown into the mix for good measure, and to balance out the harmonic bliss that is afoot at every which way you turn throughout. I was enthralled from the first moment I heard them, and really felt the emotional magnitude billow throughout their music that really thrust me full on into the environment of the situation at hand. It's pretty powerful when you feel like you're the subject of the song currently being played, that's how emotionally potent their music is and really speaks to mind about the volume of creative ingenue and talent that is omnipresent throughout their tunes. A tremendously gifted and talented group that is most certainly worthy of your listening time.

To check out their self-titled effort, it's available on their Bandcamp page over here, and for more on Strangers By Accident, please 'Like' them on Facebook over here to stay in touch with everything that they've going on in their world. - Music Box Pete

1. “Half a Second” – Hemmingbirds. I love power-pop tracks that don’t pulverize the vocalist in a crush of guitars, and this tight, snappy tune accomplishes that mixing feat. The melodies are chipper–even giddy–and the whole track calls for me to roll down the windows and turn it up.

2. “Found Towns” – Dave Miller. This instrumental rock track has subtle elements of Fang Island enthusiasm, occasional jazzy asides, and a rollicking sense of sonic adventure.

3. “Pick Up the Robot” – Booher (feat Will Sheff). If Dawes got a lot more rowdy, they might put out ragged, enthusiastic, overdriven work like this. Booher’s and Sheff’s passionate vocal performances are electric here.

4. “Someone Told Me” – Bitterheart. This duo found the midpoint between traditional country and 1950s pop, then updated it with contemporary attitude. It’s an impressive feat.

5. “Busted Heart” – Strangers by Accident. This is a rare tune that’s tender and gentle in both the acoustic-heavy arrangement and the lyrics. The male/female vocal duet is lovely, as well.

6. “Our Love Is a Garden” – Wilder Adkins. A slight, small tune that floats through my ears (in the best of ways). It’s romantic and warm, like Gregory Alan Isakov’s arrangements crossed with Ray LaMontagne’s passion.

7. “Nowhere to Be Found” – Frances Luke Accord. A beautiful, appealing song that seems like it has always existed: it’s the sort of comfortable, easy tune that seems way too perfect and pristine to have been just written now. A remarkable song that shows Accord as one to watch. - Independent Clauses

A Convo With Strangers By Accident

Q. Who is Strangers By Accident?
A. Brian Sousa: vocals, acoustic and electric guitar
Amy Wynne: vocals, bass guitar, ukulele, tambourine, suitcase

We've also started playing some shows adding Justin Bartlett on vocals and electric guitar and Heidi Crampton on vocals and drums.

Q. How do you classify your music?
A. We fall somewhere between indie-folk and alt-country, with a little rock and blues thrown in.

Q. What got you into music? How did you all come together to form the band?
A. Brian had played in other bands, in Boston and elsewhere, and Amy was trained as a classical singer from a young age, but Strangers is her first band experience. When Brian's last band broke up, he spent a year in Colorado. When he moved back to Boston, he posted a craigslist ad with a song he'd written, Busted Heart, asking for a woman to sing harmonies. When Amy answered the ad, they played a few songs together and never looked back, and the finished version of Busted Heart is now on their first album.

Q. Where does your band name come from?
A. The band name came from a long list of possibilities, but seemed to fit: when they met, Brian and Amy were two 'Strangers,' and the first song they sang together was called "Accident." They both like the play on words, and also craigslist seems to be a weird source of these accidental meetings.

Q. What did you like most about playing at the Block Island Music Fest?
A. Aside from the fact that Brian is from RI and loves Block Island, there's a great vibe of community between musicians at the festival. We met an awesome folk/ roots artist, J. Allen, and are planning to play a show with him soon. Both times we've played the festival, we've gotten to practice on the beach, and we're always amazed by what an awesome environment Marc Scortino and everyone else creates for the bands and the audience.

Q What city do you claim?
A. Cambridge, MA

Q. Where are you guys from originally?
A. Brian's from RI, Amy's from the Chicago area.

Q. Do you have an album coming out? Where can your fans purchase it?
A. Yes! We just finished our first record, an EP, at Beartone Studio. It's produced by Devon Dawson, and it can be found on Bandcamp, iTunes, and Spotify -- or you can buy an actual compact disc at one of our shows, or from CD Baby, for $5!

A Shout Out To The Fans

We're headed out on a little New England tour in early August, after our biggest show yet at the Midde East in Cambridge MA on July 30th, so stay tuned to our Facebook page and come out and see us!

Show Strangers By Accident Some Social Love

http://www.strangersbyaccident.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @strangersbyaccident
Instagram: @strangersbyaccident - Campus Film Studios, NY

Most unsigned bands and artists strive to one day play on big stages. Today, thousands of musicians are hoping for a shot at one of the smallest.

Now in its second year, NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest aims to discover the best new unsigned band, and its premise is simple: Set up at a desk (anywhere, any type), and perform a stripped-down version of one of your original songs. The idea is an offshoot of NPR’s very popular Tiny Desk Concerts, a series of intimate performances at the desk of All Songs Considered’s host Bob Boilen. The series has featured performances from Adele, Sylvan Esso, Leon Bridges, and countless others.

Last year’s inaugural Tiny Desk Contest was won by Oakland roots performer Fantastic Negrito, who beat out more than 7,000 submissions and earned the approval of a panel of NPR judges. This year’s top band or artist will win the right to play an official Tiny Desk Concert at NPR’s Washington, D.C., offices; be invited to appear at a taping of NPR’s Ask Me Another, and go on tour across the country with NPR and Lagunitas Brewing Company.

With the call out and tomorrow’s deadline (February 2) fast approaching, there is no shortage of applicants from Massachusetts. For many Boston bands, like American Echoes, Aloud, Strangers By Accident, and Nemes, deciding to enter the contest was easy: What was a means of discovering new artists can now be used for others to discover them.

“The hope for us is to become a part of their roster, and perhaps gain an audience that spans their listening demographic,” says American Echoes’ Nina-Alyssa Ganci. “We started as listeners ourselves, so the potential for like-minded listeners is higher.” Nemes’ Alex Gover agrees: “We are all fans of NPR, and have discovered some of our favorite new bands through their Tiny Desk series… it would be an absolute blast to win but quite honestly, we’re just excited to create.”

And having a vehicle for that creation is enticing.

“We’ve been writing a lot of new songs lately, and the question for songs like ‘Borderline’ is always – how do we get this out there?” says Brian Sousa of Strangers By Accident. “Even if we don’t win and get to tour and drink free Lagunitas, we figured people would check out the song, and when we release our record in a couple of months, people will check it out.”

For Aloud, the series is appealing because it strips away the static around a performer and brings the focus back to the music. Aloud shot their video inside a loft in South Boston, while American Echoes Band filmed theirs inside a 1960’s-style bungalow house in North Haven, Connecticut. Drawing on their submission’s song title (“Say A Prayer”), Nemes held court inside Emmanuel College Chapel in the Fenway, while Strangers By Accident utilized Sousa’s office at Boston College.

“Tiny Desk Concerts show you how musical a group is by making them adapt their songs to a different environment,” says Jen de la Osa. “No way to hide behind loud guitars and drums. You have to find new ways to bring out those elements of the song that are important to it without the arrangement you’ve become accustomed to. If a song is great it holds up in various fashions and that’s what I love about Tiny Desk.

And the goal here is similar across the board: to get on the radar of NPR, which has become a leader of new music discovery in the digital age.

“I respect what they do and I truly believe they love the music they promote,” says de la Osa. “We were lucky enough to meet Bob Boilen briefly last year and you can tell he’s genuinely enthused about music. He’s not going through the motions. These are people I want to be involved with. These people get it, whatever that may be.”

Aloud’s Henry Beguiristain says that the competition aspect is perhaps the least vital part of the whole process. “I’m not too concerned with the contest aspect, to be perfectly honest,” he tells Vanyaland. “If we win, that’d be great, and if the folks at NPR Music give us a pat on the back and a high five, I’d be absolutely thrilled. But I’m just as happy having made this thing and putting new Aloud music out there.”

Check out a selection of NPR Tiny Desk Contest submissions below, including American Echoes Band, Aloud, Strangers By Accident, and Nemes, as well as takes from Ruby Rose Fox, Low Key, Grey Season, The Whiskey Barrel Band, The New Limits, Matt York, and Honeysuckle, who are pictured up top.

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Boston based indie folk collective Strangers By Accident have just released their mesmerizing new single "Seattle". The song is a stunning, beautiful track that is unrelenting in its mission to bring unheralded emotion to the forefront with melodic guitar blasts, incredible vocals, and a sonic mission like no other that will leave you with your mouth open the whole time. You may remember the group from the feature I did on them last year, and I was blown away at their new music that shows an evolution that is far beyond than even what the band would have expected. Evolving into a four piece has made the group even more potent and emotionally charging than ever before, and with that change comes a deviation in their sound that has made the group as a whole all the more better as a result. These types of indirect changes can have a long lasting effect that goes well beyond the spectrum, and has possibly changed the course of the band's career as a result. An amazing track that gets you into the feel of fall right away.

Check out Strangers By Accident playing their release show tonight at Lizard Lounge in Cambridge alongside the likes of The Solars and Atlas Lab. More info on the release show and RSVP via the FB Event listing here and to check out "Seattle" for yourself, it's available on Soundcloud right over here and for more on Strangers By Accident, 'Like' them on Facebook at this tent here, and check out their official website over here for more in depth info surrounding them. Keep an eye out for their forthcoming EP that should be out next month, right before Christmas. - Music Box Pete

Boston based indie rock meets Americana band Strangers by Accident celebrate the release of their new EP this week at ONCE in Somerville (December 2nd). The band picks and chooses influences ranging from the rock inspirations of Aerosmith and The Pixies to up and coming artists they frequent the shows of and share bills with like Honeysuckle and The Ballroom Thieves. Creating a tapestry that sits somewhere between the canyons of rock n’ roll and American folk/roots.

The first single of that new EP is defined by a slap-back electric guitar, driving harmonies and subtly sweet vocals…the rest of the record delves into some pretty rocking places as well, but you all need to get to the release show, pick up a copy and hear that for yourselves.

We caught up with Amy and Brian of the band to talk a bit about the new project, the show and how they see the community around them as they sit somewhere between the rock and roots realm. - Red Line Roots