Pop Noir

Profile

“In 2006, Joe and Luke McGarry played Manchester’s In the City Festival, amongst other dates across the U.K., hung out with members of A Certain Ratio, gigged in Paris and played almost weekly throughout Greater Los Angeles. The band is still flying under the Southern California radar, but we doubt that this will be the case for much longer. Now performing as a three-piece with drummer Nico, we have a feeling this group will be getting signed soon.”
-Bands To Watch in 2007, The Rockit

“Pop Noir, an LA-based band, had some really interesting songs we’d heard beforehand, but their gig at One Central was overflowing. Definitely worth checking out on their London gigs next week at The Windmill and The Dublin Castle.”
-RecordoftheDay.com

“Pop Noir, like a welcome ray of Californian sunshine, take to the stage. Nineteen year-old twins Joe and Luke… tall and wiry, both with a shock of unkempt black hair and dressed in the skinniest of skinny jeans, the brothers look like something straight out of a Tim Burton movie… very Noir I suppose you could say. But it’s not just their look that’s striking, their tunes are just as stylish.
Luke sings lead vocals and plays bass and keys, Joe sings and plays lead guitar, add a drum machine and you have Pop Noir; infectious bass-led indie pop that harks back to the post punk sounds of the late 70s and 80s… think Joy Division with a hint of Orange Juice for the modern indie generation. Strutting around the stage and dance floor in all their mod cool the McGarry brothers certainly leave an unforgettable impression. Sleek, stylish pop to sashay in your vintage snake-skins to, Pop Noir are far too catchy to go un-noticed. Watch this space.
Log on to their MySpace www.myspace/popnoir.com and listen to single ‘Don’t Fool Yourself’ – you’ll be hooked.”
-Victoria Addinall, www.hitsheet.co.uk

“The McGarry Brothers (Joe and Luke) look not dissimilar to Marc Bolan or the one in Sparks who doesnt look like Hitler, their dad used to design record sleeeves for Joy Division and Jilted John amongst others and the rich musical history is apparent. For a duo their sound is remarkably full mixing up early synth sounds, drum machines and post-punk guitars.”
-Designer Magazine

“As everybody gets up close and personal in the dense audience, the duo take to the stage and rip into a set louder than their limited personnel suggests. Initial opinions form as to how great they look onstage together with leather jackets and huge hair, then the music slowly starts to take hold.
Shades of Depeche Mode (but nowhere near as moody) and The Rapture (but nowhere near as manic) come through in their thumping beats coated in chirpy guitar lines. Worth keeping an eye on…”
-Rob Allen, The Manchester Evening News

“Sometime during a recent club gig, I flipped for Pop Noir, eighteen-year-old twin brothers who are natives of Manchester, but have lived in Huntington Beach long enough to adopt Southern California accents. In April, I had another chance to spin records on the same bill as Pop Noir and, once again, I thought I lost my mind…
Whereas Joe and Luke McGarry’s set at Diskoteka in March revolved around a few choice cover tunes mixed in with the twins’ original material, this time around, the duo focused predominantly on original work. The brothers included several selections from their second demo, including “D.I.Y.,” “How the West Was Won,” and “The Seaside,” all available through the band’s website www.popnoir.org. The highlights of Pop Noir’s set included several new and unrecorded tracks. Of these, “Don’t Fool Yourself” is the song that has to be a hit, with its combination of gritty, garage-rock guitars and minimal electronic embellishments.”
-Liz O, www.musictruth.co.uk

“Franz Ferdinand carbonisé, The Arctic Monkeys purifiés de leur acné, les Dandy Wahrols pas plus dandies que Wahrol….
“Pop noir. Des californiens. Un groupe à califourchon entre la Californie et le doux calice à écrin pop. Sorte de cigüe mélodique qui tue sur le champ, dès la première écoute. Le genre de refrain vicieux qui prenne par derrière, des heures durant. Look glam, écharpe fine au tour du cou soyeux, et mélodie parfaite de Don’t fool yourself qui n’en finit pas de rappeler la new-wave noir. Les synthés en moins. Car il s’agit de pop, paradoxalement pas lugubre pour deux dollars, évoquant les fantômes de Ian Curtis, Buzzcocks. Du rock bravache mais drapé de satin, car les frères Mc Garry, des jumeaux, aiment la dualité. Et se prennent pour Syd Barrett dans l’attitude, crinière au vent, comme sur ce In like a lion qui a déjà enflammé la Flèche d’or.
“Un rock pas souffreteux qui rappelle l’essentiel : On peut baiser des groupies en produisant une musique noble. A découvrir sans aucun doute dans les prochains mois dans le pays de Benabar.
-Bester Langs, Gonzai Magazine

“Hailing from Manchester but with more Californian drawl than we’re used to round these parts, twin duo Pop Noir are something a little different amongst a weekend of bands showcasing material. Playing One Central Street, a sexy basement venue, they are suited to the surroundings. Donning hair bouncier than David Hasslehoff striding down a Malibu beach and clad head to toe in black: black slip-on shoes, black painted-on-jeans, black tight shirts and yes, black leather jackets, the boys look every inch vintage rock stars. Imagine an American synth garage band in 1986 and then add in their English punk roots and you’ve got songs like “don’t fool yourself”. Pop Noir make quite an impression with their electro Indie that quite frankly makes you want to dance like a groupie. I refrain, instead leaving it to singer Luke. These boys have got moves that would make the smoothest boys in school weep. Can hips be wise beyond their years?”
-Kelly Murray, www.upmagazine.co.uk

“I basically had two burning questions about Pop Noir. One being why did it take me so long to become aware of this band and two—what label head is making the biggest mistake of their life by not signing them? Add them. Love them. Spread the word.”
-Melissa Madore, The Rockit – L.A.’s Only Rock & Roll Newspaper

“Teenage Reid baby brothers Pop Noir have that transatlantic lag that comes from too much astral travel between Manchester and New York City in the year 1979 (on Trans World Astral, probably) but from afar I have watched them hustle and learn to not rip off Joy Division so much. Now they are in the dance-punk DMZ—we’ve all lost friends there—but if they nudge in any direction except cool/fool/school haircut pop this is gonna work out admirably….”
-Chris Ziegler, OC Weekly