ARCHIVED PRESS

XLR8R FEATURE:

Oregon’s rock-scattered Pacific coast is a grand, wordless expanse of aching beauty, which happens to be a good way to describe Eyes at Half Mast, the latest from Portland duo Talkdemonic. Lisa Molinaro and Kevin O’Connor craft a sort of instrumental pop from the unlikely pairing of viola and drums, making music that fits easily into the cinematic Northwest landscape but eludes comparison and classification.

Molinaro came of age in Gainesville, Florida, a tight-knit northern city that was home to a thriving hardcore scene in the late ’90s. “I was totally immersed in punk rock music, anything that was loud and sweaty and made you laugh and cry. But how do you fit playing a viola into that?” she asks rhetorically. “I was still drumming up strength to be a woman who wanted to play just about anything in a male-dominated scene.” After “a period of intense growth” in Gainesville, Molinaro moved to Portland to pursue music full time.

O’Connor, on the other hand, grew up in the conservative political shadow of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeast Washington. The reservation was the main source of nuclear warheads during the Cold War and is currently the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States. “We would periodically find out about explosions and accidents on the reservation that weren’t reported in our local paper,” he recalls.

Since being introduced about six years ago, the two have rightfully earned local-favorite status in Portland. The follow-up to their 2006 album, Beat Romantic, was delayed, though, because Molinaro was offered a touring gig with fellow Portlanders The Decemberists.

While Molinaro was moonlighting with Colin Meloy and company, O’Connor laid the groundwork for Eyes. “There was quite a long period where I wasn’t working very much,” says O’Connor. “My day-to-day was getting up, drinking coffee, and going into the basement to work on music. [When Lisa returned], we hunkered down and moved my basement studio out to this really big house in Oswego. We had five or six different large rooms with natural reverb, so we were able to try a lot of things out with Lisa’s strings.” The result is an album of lush arrangements, captivating percussion, and an uncommonly unique sound that, at least in Portland, feels right at home. See article here

XLR8R Eyes at Half Mast Review 8/10:

Talkdemonic may be one of Portland's best-kept secrets. The local-favorite duo of Kevin O'Connor and Lisa Molinaro uses its unlikely pairing–drums and viola–to craft tight yet reverberating tracks of pastoral melancholy. Molinaro, who recently moonlighted in The Decemberists, lends a dramatic, almost visual touch with her strings. The instrumental tracks on Eyes at Half Mast certainly recall the cinematic beauty of the Pacific Northwest, but that isn't to say they're calm or quiet. In fact, O'Connor beats the shit out of his drums on some of these tracks, drawing urgency from his lush, multi-instrumentalist arrangements. Sorry Portland, don't expect this to stay your secret much longer.
See Article here

DIW MAGAZINE:

"Getting a bit more organic is Beat Romantic (Arena Rock Recording Co.), an instrumental masterpiece by fellow Pacific Northwest drum and viola duo Talkdemonic. Making ample use of samples to weave between their beats and strings, the group members create a laid-back, neo-psychedelic sound akin to Mogwai and Godspeed You Black Emperor." -David C. Obenour, DIW

SIGNAL TO NOISE REVIEW:

"Folktronic Hop is the genre - "indie rock rooted in instrumental hip-hop." The description is enough to pique my interest, but Talkdemonic, the Portland, OR, duo who've pioneered the style, defy even the definition of their own devising. Together, bandmates Kevin O'Connor and Lisa Molinaro play a wide variety of instruments too numerous to list, and this musical versatility shines through all their work. Beat Romantic is a beautiful, complex and compelling collection of instrumental compositions that sounds amazingly organic in spite of the heavy production that went into its creation. Honestly, I'm not really feeling the hip-hop side of things in terms of the band's sound - for the uninitiated, the "Hop" should be taken more as an inspiration than as an influence. Comparison is difficult. Molinaro's gorgeous, sweeping string (mainly viola) arrangements are at times reminiscent of Rachel's, while O'Connor's innovative rhythms, electronic experimentation and driving melodies are occasionally Tortoise-ish, and the combination is breathtaking. This music is incredibly dense, yet flows with the ease and exuberance of spring thaw into a mountain stream. Before you know it, the stream becomes an overflowing river and all of the detritus that's built up in your head and your heart over the long winter months is washed away in tapered waves of musical catharsis - at least that's how it feels until the record comes to an end. Afterwards you will have no choice but to go back and relive the experience." -Sean Molnar, Signal to Noise

TINY MIX TAPES, Beat Romantic review 4.5/5:

"With their album prior, Mutiny Sunshine, we were introduced to a largely one-man affair. Kevin O'Connor supplied the bulk of the instrumentation, beats, samples, and writing of the music. This was his shit extended and expressed in aural fashion. While other artists appeared on some of the tracks, it was still O'Connor's album. Keeping these beginnings in mind and recognizing the inclusion of Lisa Molinaro into the fray, we are introduced to an album with inspired roots and dirty boots.

While things have been dusted off and tightened up for this go around, sonically, Beat Romantic offers much of the same instrumental lineup from before: viola, drums, banjo, keys, and laptop. The banjo and viola play a larger role as beats and swells run throughout the entirety of the album, giving Beat Romantic a more integrated and comprehensive sound. The keys have been manipulated in impressive fashion, hitting every spot they're supposed to hit, while the viola heaves out whatever you have left. Writing three of the album's 16 tracks and collaborating on the entirety, Molinaro has given Talkdemonic an emotive quality and range that weren't present on the album prior. Much more "feminine," surprise, surprise... keep the balls out but respect.

Beat Romantic is a more focused, mature, and accessible affair. Both the collaboration between, and reciprocal influence of, Molinaro and O'Connor shine through in inspiring fashion. It has been a while since an album so succinctly summed up such a varied palette of emotions (it sounds less cheesy in Spanish). While convolution oftentimes takes over when trying to express ourselves, Beat Romantic offers simple, straightforward discourse that makes me wish I spoke banjo so I might be understood a little better. Maybe that's the beauty of it. Talkdemonic have taken these seemingly disparate instruments and stated with music what can't be easily stated with words." -Cockle, Tiny Mix Tapes 4.5/5

PASTE MAGAZINE REVIEW:

"'Post-rock with strings' usually brings to mind a large, hirsute collective given to brooding drama and instrumental bombast. But Talkdemonic brings an intimate chamber-music feel to the sound. The duo combines guitar, banjo and viola atop a bed of subtle electronic and acoustic beats; their tracks tend toward short sketches, averaging just over two minutes and some run together suggesting a longer composition. Completely avoiding their antecedents' noodle-y excesses, Beat Romantic is an album of carefully arranged pop songs that happen to have a viola singing lead. -Mark Richardson, Paste

URB MAGAZINE REVIEW:

"Talkdemonic doesn't speak in tongues; in fact the instrumental duo doesn't speak at all. And yet these wistful vignettes of viola + Powerbook + percussion speak volumes. It's like the collected folklore of when the Dirty Three, the Notwist and M83 huddled under an umbrella, linking samplers." -Tony Ware, Urb

SKYSCRAPER REVIEW:

"Kevin O'Connor and Lisa Molinaro, the duo behind instrumental outfit Talkdemonic, call their music "folktronic hop," a description as cute as it is accurate. Still, it doesn't give away all the secrets behind their complex layered sound. Talkdemonic began as a solo project for the Portland, Oregon based O'Connor, who released the overlooked and undr the radar Mutiny Sunshine in 2004. Beat Romantic is a remarkable step forward in many respects- highlighted by the permanent addition of Molinaro on viola and synth- which builds on an already sonically drenched palette of guitar, drums, keyboards and electronics. The album is certainly folk-based, in many respects: acoustic guitar can be heard weaving throughout "Mountaintops in Caves" and "Sept with Smith," while banjo adorns the jaunty "Dusty Fluorescent/Wooden Shelves." Arguably the most compelling elements of Talkdemonic lie with O'Connor's precise and forceful work on the drum kit and Molinaro on the viola- which seems to sweep each song along, connecting the dots between each electronic and organic element. With post-rock currently at a new fever pitch, it would appear challenging for a band like Talkdemonic to break through the clutter, but with Beat Romantic, they have done just that, breathing some much needed linfe into the often undistinguishable world of instrumental rock." -Andy Hurst, Skyscraper

TALKDEMONIC Beat Romantic PITCHFORK REVIEW 7.8

"On the cover of Beat Romantic, the sophomore release from Portland, Ore.'s Talkdemonic, we see a path strewn with branches and grasses winding toward the horizon through a thick stand of birches. It's a gorgeously idyllic scene: the trees' slender white trunks, the canopy of green. But there's something decidedly unnatural about the image. The hall-of-mirrors symmetry smacks of digital manipulation, of a version of nature enhanced by technology.

The same can be said of Talkdemonic's instrumental post-rock, which lays a bevy of acoustic elements over a foundation of pulsing programmed beats and modulating, soft-focus synthesizers. The duo acquiesces to this tension, cheekily dubbing their music "folktronic hop," a hybrid genre that seems to have its roots in records like Bjork's Homogenic. But, without a doubt, it's the players, not the preset laptop tracks, who lend Talkdemonic's music its emotional heft. Kevin O'Connor plays banjo, guitar, piano, and Wurlitzer on the recording, but it's his highly expressive drumming that is most memorable. When the punctuated rhythm of programmed percussion gives way to cascading cymbal crashes and spacious break beats, it's nothing short of cathartic. And viola-player Lisa Molinaro's performances ooze with feeling, as beautiful swells of strings render the need for vocals understandably dispensable.

The songs on Beat Romantic are dense sonic architectures, adding layer upon layer of melody and counter-melody as they grow. On album opener "Veraison", a truncated viola loop repeats for the song's duration, as Molinaro blankets it in a palimpsest of overdubs, her legato bowing countering the clipped repetition of the sample. "Dusty Flourescent/Wooden Shelves" begins with a misleading sense of restraint, all plucked banjo strings and roomy snare strikes. But 15 seconds in, O'Connor absolutely thrashes his kit as a descending bass line and ascending synth riff expand the background. Beat Romantic's highlight, though, is the one-two punch of "Bering" and "Human Till Born" Teeming with soaring harmonies, "Bering" features Molinaro's most affecting playing. As she abusively rakes the strings of her viola at the end of the song, the track segues into a feast of pummeling drums that would make DJ Shadow proud.

While Talkdemonic's streamlined compositions avoid the trappings of more self-indulgent instrumental acts, at times, they could use a little more room to breathe. Many songs don't make it past two minutes, which results in the album unfolding like a single piece of nearly continuous music. Such unity is a credit to their sense of vision, even if it suppresses some of their best melodies in a kind of sameness. But, also like the cover's birch grove, Beat Romantic's allure isn't in isolated beauty, but the juxtaposition of so much of it."
-John Motley, Pitchfork

OREGONIAN FEATURE:

"For a band whose name implies a certain sinister quality, Talkdemonic, the Portland instrumental duo of drummer/programmer Kevin O'Connor and viola player/keyboardist Lisa Molinaro, couldn't be any less intimidating.

Molinaro laughingly introduces herself by describing her outfit as "goth housewife from the '50s," while O'Connor shambles in for an interview a few minutes late, politely apologizing before removing his omnipresent proletariat cap.

For Talkdemonic, the past year has been the sort most young bands can only dream of. The duo is set to release its sophomore full-length recording, "Beat Romantic," has toured with buzz bands such as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and the National, appeared on the soundtrack to the nationally released film "Thank You for Smoking" (opening this week), and was named Portland's "Best New Band" by Willamette Week.
Having just returned from a well-received showcase at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, O'Connor and Molinaro are feeling more confident about what they're attempting to accomplish.

"It tries to discard any attempt at categorization," O'Connor says of his band's experimentally minded mix of hip-hop drums, laptop sampling and classical influences. "We try to bring in the classical realm, big electronic beats, straight-up drum sets; it's not a standard setup. The instrumentation changes on every song -- guitars, banjos, keyboards. It can be anything we want, like an orchestra."

If O'Connor's lofty description assigns the pair's music a somewhat academic air, this all utterly changes in a live setting. More primal than studied, Talkdemonic transforms its instrumental canvasses into a musical boxing ring in which Four Tet's homespun electronica trades punches with Robert Fripp's modal classicism. Communicating as twins do -- silently, yet in total sync -- O'Connor and Molinaro exchange occasional glances before their music launches into completely unexpected directions.

Featuring a set list in which songs intentionally interleave throughout an evening, a typical Talkdemonic performance finds Molinaro executing what she sarcastically describes as "hip-hop dance moves" on "Skyscraper," before the song's itchy drum track gives way to a mass of sampled Wurlitzer organ sounds, merging breathlessly into "Bering," a track built entirely around her subtle viola playing, its melody weaving between O'Connor's beats toward a bruised, melancholy coda.

O'Connor, a flurry of nervous energy, bounces between his drum kit, iMac and squeezebox, while Molinaro closes her eyes in reverie, seemingly rooted to the spot by the power of her band's sweeping sound.

One of the reasons Talkdemonic seems to gel so perfectly is because its principals represent nearly polar opposites. O'Connor was raised in the Northwest, is a completely self-taught musician and represents the joyous, open side of the band's personality. Molinaro was born and raised in Florida, is classically trained and is altogether more guarded -- nearly Southern gothic in look and demeanor.

"I'll tell Kevin, 'This one's in C-sharp minor, it's really hard,' and he'll be like 'What?," Molinaro laughingly says of the band's peanut butter-in-my-chocolate collaborative process. "We don't really speak in that language."

"I don't know any of that language at all," O'Connor concurs sheepishly.

"I'll complain sometimes -- 'Kevin, this is pentatonic, that means there are only five things I can do here," Molinaro says. "And he'll be like, 'Ha ha, so you mean that's a challenge for you?' "

-Corey duBrowa, The Oregonian

Beat Romantic CMJ MAGAZINE REVIEW:

"Portland's Talkdemonic makes cinematic instrumentals that sound both modern and organic, combining sampled beats and synths with live strings. It's hard to believe, but these elegant songs are made by just two musicians (and an occasional guest Flautist) : drummer/multi-instrumentalist Kevin O'Connor and violist Lisa Molinaro. Don't be put off by the lack of lyrics, Beat Romantic is still a pop album. Any one of these songs would be perfect for Ben Gibbard to sing over or for some backpacker MC to rap on, but Molinaro's sweeping viola lines render vocals superfluous. Melodies abound on folksy banjos, arty keyboards or haunting strings, but it's often O'Connor's drumming that is the star. Layered among computerized loops, his live percussion--so often just played by a laptop in these sorts of bands--is rich and dynamic, bringing harmony and texture to sounds too often relegated to simply keeping time."
-Rebecca Raber, CMJ Magazine

THE STRANGER (Seattle):

"Mesmerizing—that's probably the easiest way to describe Talkdemonic, although plenty of other words have been utilized in an attempt to communicate what this Portland duo create with just a laptop, drums, and viola. Who needs words, though? This vocal-free combo crafts music that's intense, emotional, and utterly engaging—they are infinitely better experienced firsthand than read about. See for yourself why they've become one of the most talked-about groups in Portland's up-and-coming music scene." -Barbara Mitchell, The Stranger

SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN:

"On this Portland, Ore., duo's sophomore album, Beat Romantic (Arena Rock), Kevin O'Connor's precise hip-hop beats contrast with and complement Lisa Molinaro's strong and undulating viola harmonies. The resulting songs traverse a diverse musical landscape, with bits of Deerhoof-like experimentalism added in the form of Molinaro's occasional glissando harmonics and scratchy textures."

SF WEEKLY BLURB:

"There's music that heaves, and then there's music that sighs. Portland's Talkdemonic performs the latter variety. Its quiet releases, however, are not to be confused with the defeated or passive-aggressive variety; rather, Talkdemonic's delicate expulsions are like breathing exercises. An instrumental duo of Lisa Molinaro and Kevin O"Connor, the pair uses viola, percussion, and crisp PowerBook processing to construct wistful vignettes that could easily soundtrack a film fable in the Chinese wu xia style. An undercurrent of stoicism and poise runs throughout Talkdemonic's songs, similar to that found in such films as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and House of Flying Daggers. This is aural calligraphy under the tutelage of Dirty Three, mÚm, and M83."
-Tony Ware

LA WEEKLY BLURB:

"Talkdemonic is the Portland duo of Kevin O’Connor and Lisa Molinaro, who get a lot of newfangled mileage out of a genre-defiant melange of electronic-speckled, folkesque, distantly hip-hop-referential music on their recent Beat Romantic album, some of which is chillingly beautiful, quirky and imaginatively moody."
-John Payne

"Let us welcome the rains to southern california. Let us wash away the road dirt and crusted earth. Let's do this while talkdemonic beats the shit out the drums, and whips out a sweet line on the harmonium. And don't even get me started on that flute. Jesus.

talkdemonic is Kevin O'Connor and Lisa Molinaro. Lisa plays Viola and synthesizers while Kevin plays just about everything else. The music they make is instrumental, with powerful live drumming and crisp instrumentation. I think this song is a great example of them at their strongest. I saw them open up for Menomena and the National last year, making it a pretty amazing bill. Danny from Menomena filled in on drums for a song or two, and really just lifted the place up.

At any rate, this track is on the latter half of the new talkdemonic record -- beat romantic. It's also one of the longer tracks, as most of the 16 songs hover in the 2 minute range. It's quite wonderful though, and fits in perfectly on this dark rainy day. It's such a sunny song -- it'll probably help you kids over on the east coast who are getting your asses chipped off by the mighty north wind. Good luck with that, by the way.

I love this song, and I hope you guys like it too. I think the drums will win you over. They're just right. Maybe next month I'll post the talkdemonic menomena remix that's even more ridiculous. You'll have to wait for that though. It's early yet. This new talkdemonic record comes out March 21st on arena rock recording co. Highly recommended."
-Music For Robots

PORTLAND MERCURY FEATURE:

"Redemption came, though, when I started hearing some of these hypemonsters hype up Talkdemonic-- our Talkdemonic, Portland's Talkdemonic--which is fucking huge and, above all, a testament to Talkdemonic's live show and the heavyweight strength of the band's new CD, Beat Romantic.

When I finally stumbled into Talkdemonic's show, at the Arena Rock/Slowdance showcase, I watched proudly as the band tore it up. As shown live, and on Beat Romantic , Talkdemonic's sound is a fresh thing worthy of hype and talk. Where a lot of SXSW was about clothes and money and trends, Talkdemonic got attention because they sound different. The formula's simple: Lisa Molinaro's viola, Kevin O'Connor's drums, and urgency . The rest is left up to the duo's mood on any given night and how well their low-key samples (banjo, guitar, and bass via laptop) are mixed into the live instruments. The rhythms and peaks and valleys they create keep you watching to see where they're going, whether they'll drop off into an ambient viola buzz or bust ass forward with drums that sound like rock but are really hiphop.

When I first heard about Talkdemonic in an old Mercury , I wrote the band off as another honky laptop rap project, but I think I read wrong. The songs on the record are instrumental, devoid of post-rock clichés, and never afraid to change pace or direction at the slightest impetus. Sometimes O'Connor plays a drum solo until we're locked into a good rhythm, then the rest of the sound catches up and gets warm and pretty. Sometimes it's all chime and pulse and viola drone leading us to hot, murky primordial seas.

This show is a CD release for Beat Romantic, and whether the record blows the band up to the next level remains to be seen. To be perfectly honest, I don't care. One thing I learned from SXSW is that the concept of next levels and blowing up are nothing more than hot air, empty promises, and shoddy reasons for paying attention to art. One night, a head full of whiskey and humidity, walking along downtown Austin's main drag, a good friend lectured me that we need to take a hard look at why we want everything to be "bigger" and make sure we're still on our original track, the path we took back when we picked art over football or business or real estate. Even if Beat Romantic doesn't sell a single copy, it's a success in that it's a great record and a new, unexplored sound. That's pretty fucking huge if you ask me. "
-Adam Gnade, Portland Mercury

ATL CREATIVE LOAFING Beat Romantic REVIEW: 4 stars

The goal of instrumental-only acts is pretty straightforward: Don't make audio wallpaper unless you're Eno. The Portland duo Talkdemonic constructs intriguing multidimensional compositions with the brick and mortar of Kevin O'Connor's drum kit and Lisa Molinaro's cello. Beat Romantic, the pair's sophomore effort, is a suite of 16 vignettes, most clocking in around two minutes. They contrast O'Connor's programmed cut-and-paste hip-hop beats (think Four Tet) and polyrhythmic drum assault with soaring melodies, usually courtesy Molinaro's strings. O'Connor also plays Wurlitzer, bass, concertina and synths, and uses the banjo's percussive nature -- along with Molinaro's pizzicato attack -- to add to the rhythmic thrum. Just when your ears demand melody, Beat Romantic usually delivers, especially on the transcendent "Bering," "Mountain Cats" and "Hillside Monarch." There, melodic lines seem to rise organically from the planned chaos of programmed beats and cymbal crashes, resulting in textured arrangements that command your attention. Instrumental mission accomplished. -Jon Schacht

RWS MAGAZINE Beat Romantic REVIEW:

"The first time I listened to Talkdemonic's Beat Romantic, I was driving to Boston on a dreary, rainy day with a good friend. I thought the album captured the mood of the day perfectly with its comforting, melancholy beats and we both decided it was great rainy day music. The second time I listened to the album, I was laying on the beach in Florida. The temperature was in the 80's and there was a soft breeze off the ocean. Beat Romantic was playing in my headphones and I could hear the ocean waves and birds in the background and thought that life couldn't get any better. I realized then that this album is much more than just great atmospheric beats and harmonies. No matter what the mood, it is truly a divine pleasure to listen to this gem from Portland duo Talkdemonic.

Talkdemonic is an instrumental band comprised of Kevin O'Connor and Lisa Molinaro. O'Connor plays drums, synths and his laptop while Molinaro plays the viola giving Beat Romantic an organically hip sound. O'Connor began performing as a solo act in 2003, playing instrumental hip-hop beats, using Molinaro's viola pre-recorded on his laptop. He convinced Molinaro to join him officially in 2004 and she began performing and recording with him. The result is a delicate mix of hip-hop and classical refinement.

There are so many amazing songs, each very unique in their own right. Some of the most striking are "Manhattan '81," "Hillside Monarch" and "Mountaintops in Caves," but the album is best when listened to as a whole. Beat Romantic is both lulling and engaging. It has a transcendental power that will take you in any direction you want to go with it" - KARA GARRIGAN

PRAISE FOR TALKDEMONIC REMIX ON HOLOCENE COMP:

"I'm pretty sure this is what my dreams sound like. Well, I think my dreams are a little longer because this is way way way too short. I'm not sure why this version is called Twenty Cent Revolt. Menomena's original is called Twenty Cell Revolt. Subtle difference. But at any rate, amazing things are at work here. I mean, this is what happens when two of the best, most creative drummers in indie rock come together. Danny from Menomena, reworked by Kevin from TalkDemonic. I'm telling you, it's ridiculous. I'm not sure how it was done, in the literal terms of remixing, but I'd like to believe that Kevin laid down a fresh drum track. I think that's the one we hear in the right channel, quietly blowing our minds."
-Music for Robots

"Truly a genre on their own, Talkdemonic's cult-creating instrumental sounds stem from the drumwork and emotive hip-hop arrangements of Kevin O'Connor and Lisa Molinaro's hauntingly enchanting viola, forming sounds so textured as to render vocals unnecessary."
-Karla Starr, Willamette Week

WWW.POPMATTERS.COM:

CMJ HONORABLE MENTION
TALKDEMONIC "This duo from Portland has that ever so rare thing: a string player that is actually good. Lisa Molinaro brings thick, rich tones from her viola while Kevin O'Connor switches between drums, keyboards, and a Powerbook. Talkdemonic sounds like a Fishtank session with the Dirty Three and the Notwist. Molinaro can play piercing notes like a sample from Hitchcock's Pyscho or send the sound into an electric hoedown that sounds like the Books."

TOUR SHOW REVIEW:

September 21, 2005
CLEVELAND, OHIO
The National, CYHSY, Talkdemonic
I got there early (~8:35) in concern for a sell-out, but the demand wasn't quite that heavy, thankfully. After waiting around for a while, Portland, OR's Talkdemonic kicked things off at 9:15. I really loved their set. Talkdemonic is a duo consisting of Kevin O'Connor on drumset, occasional keyboard, and a laptop full of beats and samples, and Lisa Molinaro on viola. They kicked out half an hour of short, quirky, instrumental tunes with what were basically hip-hop beats behind them (they actually cranked up the subwoofer (or whatever the hell that monster is) under the LB's stage on a couple songs, which was scary). What separated this music from straight-up instrumental hip-hop were the often off-kilter samples. There were some Chinese-sounding samples, some folk instruments, all sorts of crazy stuff. The crowd took a minute to warmup to them, but gave them much appreciation after their set. Talkdemonic is using this great tour to their advantage very well. - Andrew Patton

"Lisa Molinaro's evocative viola radiates. Kevin O'Connor's drum kit kicks out intricate hip-hop influenced beats. The laptop streams a synthetic symphony. The result is intensely original-nomadic intrumental mood music that never turns tedious. Mutiny Sunshine ebbs and flows with the murmur of mellow acoustics, east asian drones and digital pop. There are no vocals in this eclectic mix and, really, no need for them. The entirety of Talkdemonic is rich and textured enough to stand alone, and when Molinaro's viola is featured, she conveys a tension and emotion few crooners could match. This is a delightful new stew."
-Skylar Browning, Missoula Independent, June'05

DAILY VANGARD:

"Talkdemonic have the most scrumptious sound in Portland music today. With Kevin O'Connor's hip-hop aesthetic and Lisa Molinaro's classic viola, the two create a sound that is dynamic and textured, as if you could run your hands along the melodies and feel the undulating forms beneath. They are equal parts gypsy and technology, playing to audiences who watch with rapt attention, swaying close under O'Connor's powerful rhythm and Molinaro's intoxicating strings." -Patrick Coleman, Daily Vanguard, May '05

WILLAMETTE WEEK'S PDX BEST NEW BAND 2005:

(article excerpts):
"Together O'Connor and Molinaro make up Talkdemonic, an instrumental pop band whose bombastic drums and swooning viola have reverberated through the Portland music scene during the past six months. They've garnered praise from this paper and the Portland Mercury, drawing crowds of several hundred fans into clubs like Holocene, Berbati's Pan and the Doug Fir.
As the local pop scene veers away from the traditional guitar-bass-drums-vocalist formula that ruled the '90s, unconventional arrangements are king. Talkdemonic-with a drummer, a violist and a laptop-is the most addictive musical currency available.
By combining the hard-hitting beats inspired by O'Connor's love of hip-hop with the genteel sensibilities of a single viola, Talkdemonic's songs become tutorials in tension. Each instrument gives and then takes back again, pushing and pulling, while the orchestra O'Connor has created in his iBook holds the songs together."
-Mark Baumgarten, Willamette Week, April '05

TINY MIX TAPES:

"MutinySunshine" honored by TINY MIX TAPES Best of 2004 LIST:
"Coming from Portland label Lucky Madison, Talkdemonic's debut release, Mutiny Sunshine, highlighted the promise and originality which can be found in bedrooms, basements, and smaller, upstart labels. Largely a one man effort, Kevin O'Connor mixed together beats, loops, samples, guitar, viola, flute, synthesizer, and live drumming to create an immediately accessible album for fans of both rock and electronic music. Though Talkdemonic may best be known for the drumming played over the tracks, the programming, beats, and instrumentation brought together a complete sound on Mutiny Sunshine, providing a consistency lacking on many first releases. From the cozy and forlorn title track to the grand optimism of "Andean Twilight," the album proved to be versatile and multifaceted, fitting many moods and environments. With a first-rate debut and an impressive live show, O'Connor has situated himself to be positioned in a flighty echelon of up-and-coming musicmakers. 4.5 out of 5." -Derek Cockle, Tiny Mix Tapes

PORTLAND TRIBUNE:

"O’Connor started Talkdemonic in January 2003 when he got his hands on a sampler and a sequencer. At the time, he was most interested in instrumental hip-hop. A trip to Peru in the summer of 2003 changed both his life and his musical outlook.
“The first record, ‘Mutiny Sunshine,’ was definitely influenced by Santiago musicians and the wandering street bands,” he says. “It’s also a breakup record. My friend Skyler Norwood and I had both been dumped, and we sat in his studio and made the album, which we released on local label Lucky Madison.”
O’Connor was joined on the record by Lisa Molinaro, who plays viola, and she has since joined his live shows. Live, a Talkdemonic show often veers between melancholic and uplifting, and one can’t help marvel at O’Connor’s talent as he juggles multiple instruments on stage.
Talkdemonic seems poised to be the next big Portland breakout, with its new record deal and a spot opening for M83 at Holocene on April 27.
Now that he seems to be on the verge of stardom, has O’Connor quit his day jobs? “Nope,” he laughs, marveling at how he manages to hold down music, substitute teaching and a night job at Berbati’s Pan. “I just drink a lot of Stumptown coffee and get through it.” -Cortney Harding, Portland Tribune, March '05

WILLAMMETTE WEEK:

"On the album O'Connor's musicianship is apparent, but the mix is so subtle and unobtrusive that at times the drums become just another instrument. In live shows, though O'Connor puts his drumming on display. While the prerecorded tracks pulse from his laptop, O'Connor transforms his drum kit from a metronome into an instrument he can manipulate. Pushing and pulling rhythms, O'Connor leads the listener step by step from a steady hip-hop rhythm to a manic musical pitch filled with cymbal crashes and improvised fills. O'Connor's subtle body language and his taste for both the bombastic and the measured help him emote anger as deftly as joy or sadness--all this without opening his mouth." -Mark Baumgarten, Willamette Week

3HIVE.COM:

"Imagine DJ Shadow swearing off turntables and samplers and turning to live instruments. Talkdemonic's Kevin O'Connor doesn't work completely sample free, but he does play live drums over what sounds like proprietary guitar loops and sequencing. I'll be damned if Thom Yorke's vocals wouldn't fit these tracks like a glove." -3Hive.com

DAILY VANGUARD:

"It's nice when a drummer takes the foreground of the stage and even nicer when they take that position in the music itself. This is especially true in the case of Talkdemonic's Kevin O'Connor, whose versatility and precision behind the kit place him amongst the upper ranks of Portland's finest. Projected on the wall behind the violist (Lisa Molinaro), were fascinating scenes of slow-motion waterfalls, city streets and flowing fields shot from car windows, grainy black-and-white imagery and various landscapes that sometimes separated into neatly formed squares and other times merged into indecipherable collages."-Nathan McKee, Daily Vanguard

PORTLAND MERCURY:

"Usually, technology affords single-person bands to replace drummers with drum machines. Talkdemonic's Kevin O'Connor, on the other hand, works the inverse, playing live drums over pre-programmed guitars, synth sequencing, strings, erhu samples, IDMmy loops, and the occasional gianormous throb of sub-bass to get the pelvises jittery. It's emotive, rhythmic music that would be just as comfortable on Temporary Residence as it would backing rhymes by some of the somberer emcees, like maybe Awol ONE." -Julianne Shepherd, Portland Mercury

ARCHIVED PRESS

RECENT PRESS