Jackalope – 2008 No wonder this band is known as Cali’s best-kept alt-rock secret. Each song is just a God-Breath away from a potential mainstream classic hit. Anthemic. Deadly yet disarmingly honest – Review Point …it is certainly going down as one any fan of melodic, soulful and uplifting rock music. They’re still able to do it honest, which is the absolute hardest thing for a band with pop tendencies to pull off. If this band isn’t being talked about all over the internet by the end of the year, I’ll be shocked. This one will most likely end up on more than a few best-of-the-year lists. – Music Emissions, Kevin Sellers These songs have a tight, pulsing bass line, big swirling guitars and very crisp, driving drums. – Brookln Rocks … it should go without saying that each of the four are multi-instrumentalists, with a plethora of soundmakers listed in the credits. Their sound is an amalgam of shoegaze and introspective indie rock, with touches of lyrical genius and revelation. – Play STl Laura Hamlett Throughout the album, Singer Ryan Baggaley manages to tap into everyone’s experiences of love and its ultimate consequence; a messy, soul destroying break up. – Subcity Radio Jackalope is about a relationship gone bad, specifically one of Ryan’s, and is Brown Shoe’s most-focused and heaviest album yet. Though its centerpiece is Ryan’s disintegrated relationship, the band shared the weight creatively – Performer Magazine, Brian Tucker The whole release is thoroughly engaging with that dark emotional vibe you get from “Automatic for the People”. A great unexpected release. — The Chickenfish Speaks, Grog Mutant
The Wheat Patch 2006 ” While this indie pop is sure to stop you in your tracks, each song has something different to offer. – Metro Pop Magazine …a collection of 12 original tunes that blends the ambient sound of new age with some good old fashioned rock’n'roll. – RocknWorld I got through this album pretty quick and thats rare considering the amount of new music I listen to on a daily basis. Ive also heard these guys are a must see live. Have a listen to a young group of guys called Brown Shoe. – Each Note Secure It’s no surprise that Brown Shoe comes from Northern California. Just like the state with its long, winding roads and scenic views, The Wheat Patch is filled with long, winding songs, with picturesque sounds and stories. Carefully dancing the line between genres, this disc will appeal to fans of pop, shoe-gazer rock and the softer side of alt-rock. – Harder Beat The vocals are spacey with huge atmospherics and delicate melodies. Engaging rhythms grab ahold of you at once and stir things up as the terrific songwriting settles in around you. Add to that a bit of introspective lyrics and you have a very cerebral indie pop band that delivers rock ‘n’ roll in the same fashion as some Radiohead tunes have. – Smother Mixing equal parts The Belles and Red House Painters, Brown Shoe has created a CD full of amazing and beautifully infectious pop songs. – Scratch Magazine Intricately simple. Brown Shoe’s The Wheat Patch is a study in simple songs that glide along effortlessly but then are buoyed, bounced, and thrown higher into the air by some intricate touches. – Music Spectrum
Vanity 2007 Vanity is quite an enjoyable record for fans of intricate instrumentation and soaring vocals. –Obscure Sound …ethereal and breezy and heavily dependant gentle rhythms and melodies. – Music Emissions, Kevin Sellers …Brown Shoe provide for some interesting sounds and choral progressions to enthrall anyone who studies musical theory and composition. – Antimusic Brown Shoe’s sound is complex but pretty laid back, soothing and multi-layered… and we find it so refreshing! Beautiul sounds flow continually on Vanity – Babble and Beat …it has that perfect blend of simple melody and an almost rolling wave of repetition, which if you’ve been reading Indie Launchpad for a while, is something I absolutely love when done right. And this is done to perfection. – Indie Launchpad Brown Shoe walk the line between the ambient spacey rock and quirky, smart indie rock…Brown Shoe continue to be one of the more promising talents floating under the music surface. – Exoduster It takes a certain degree of simultaneous confidence and self-effacement to name a self-released album Vanity. Brown Shoe have managed to pull it off though – their music may be fairly self-indulgent, but it lacks little in competence and quality. – Subba Cultcha The felling given is that the band is tentatively trying out subtle and apparent new ideas, a sign that they are moving forward and refining themselves. It will be certainly worthwhile to see where they continue on next. – The Phantom Tollbooth