who starts a conversation with their dong?

The music of An Overnight Low is based on a journey, one that  has  inspired a series of travel-themed  albums. The first release of the trilogy,  Euston, was released in 2014 to favorable reviews.   Ben  Meiklejohn  of  Mainley  Media  observed that  Euston  “sounds like R.E.M. would sound like if they were downgraded from being a spectacle arena-rock band to being a small folk-rock band performing in a café.”   Mark  Curdo, DJ for WCYY and  a  contributing writer for Maine Magazine,  says  Euston  “delivers vintage, old-school college rock- from back when college radio was at its finest.”   Rick Johnson of the Portland Press Herald added, “The resulting song cycle that makes up the album plays like a great road movie, and hits all the essential road movie bullet points along the way, including lost loves, and fading friendships.” 

Piccadilly  debuted at #1 on  Bull Moose’s “Top 10 Local Releases”  when it arrived in November of 2015,  and also received positive reviews.    Mike Dow of The Maine Edge called Piccadilly “one of the most rewarding Maine-made listens  of 2015. ”  Gascan Magazine stated  that “Albert’s Square”, a track from  Piccadilly, “feels like an undiscovered Beatles demo”, while  Emily Stoddard-Burnham of BDN’s Culture Shock noted that, “Piccadilly is very much in keeping with the tuneful, melodic, Beatles-haunted indie pop that was present on the first album”  and mp3hugger (Ireland) found it to a be "as lively as can be, so we get a bevvy of dishy and industrious chords to go with the slightly folky vocals."  The video for Dragonfly also received positive reviews. Lefuturewave (NE) hailed it as “a real masterpiece.” 

Lyrically,  Waverley  continues  where  Piccadilly  left off, exploring old ghosts and demons in the wonderful city of Edinburgh. This  time around, you can  join Chad as he relates stories  pertaining to  the Edinburgh Fringe, spirits in a dwelling, street foxes, a  “double-dose of iodine”, and  a city that,  at least from on high,  looks like the inside of a trumpet.  Waverley also seems to appeal to critics who found that Waverley was  “A big pop take with confident elements” (We All Want Someone to Shout For), “their most musically varied and richly-produced collection yet (Mike Dow, The Maine Edge).  As 2017 drew to a close, An Overnight Low received a Portland Music Award, recognized as the city’s “Best Rock Act” by the readers of the Portland Phoenix. Acknowledging the award, the Phoenix stated “Keeping with the train metaphors, An Overnight Low has proved they’re not just passing through; they’re here to stay.”  

An Overnight Low debuted the first single,  Galileo Chains, received a wide airplay in the United States, Ireland, and England.   Mystic Sons (London) said that An Overnight Low “channels the retro sound of R.E.M. for this swooning alt-rock delight.”  Barry Gruff (Ireland) also acknowledged  Galileo Chains  as a “bright, upbeat & melodic slice of  jangley  guitar-pop.”  At Cost Magazine (Canada) declared it “a bright and rosy twee sound with instrumental warmth” while  When the Horn Blows (London) found that  Galileo Chains  has “a great energy, attitude and bounce.”  Critics also gave praise to the second single,  Another Plot at the Wrong Time of June (featuring Monique Barrett): “Effervescent vocals shine though” (ObscureSound) a “Bright, upbeat and hooky slice of melodic indie-pop. It is dripping with melody and oozing with a sweetness and charm as it skips  along a smiley, jovial groove” (BarryGruff).  In late 2019, they released  Tameside (featuring Ted Warner), the third single from Connolly, Part One.   Aimsel  Ponti  included the song in the Portland Press Herald’s  “Face the Music” year-end highlight reel and declared it “pure, upbeat sunshine,” while other writers found that Tameside “rustles our inner 90's and takes us back to younger, freer days when nothing seemed to hold  us back from having a good time (mp3hugger).

Despite restrictions implemented due to a global pandemic, An Overnight Low still managed to enjoy a productive 2020. The band continued to work on Connolly, Part Two throughout the year, recording numerous songs at four separate studios, with help provided by a host of distinguished local musicians. In all, eleven new tracks were completed. Having this wealth of new material prompted the release of three singles over the course of the year. 

The first single, “New Fascinations”, was released in early July, along with an accompanying video. That video, with its theme of pandemic-induced isolation, resonated with the band’s fan base, garnering hundreds of views in just a few days. As for the song itself, Sam Pfeifle of the Portland Phoenix noted that AOL sounded “like a band that put a lot of care and attention into what they were trying to produce”. Proceeds from the sale of “New Fascinations” were donated to the employee tip jar at Elements Books Coffee Beer in Biddeford ME, one of the band’s favorite venues. 

“Dover Thrift Edition” (single version) was released as a B-side in late August and received repeated airplay on local radio. The song was accompanied by a video, which continued AOL’s exploration into themes of isolation and disconnection. The year’s final release was a holiday single, “Gold Star”, which became available to the public on December 3rd. In the Portland Press Herald, Aimsel Ponti described the song as being “the good kind of infectious”, while Mike Dow of The Maine Edge proclaimed that “Gold Star” was a “tasty bite of bright power pop”. All funds received for sale of the single were donated to the Center for Grieving Children in Portland, Maine.  

In early 2021, Alt77.com found that their next release “Paracetamol Philistines” contained “grandpop orchestration and pretty melodies,” while St. Anthony, the third single from Connolly, Part Two, was also met with similar criticism.  We All Want Something to Shout For praised “St. Anthony” for its “lovely classic-esque storytelling” and mp3hugger proposes that “Beer tankards be raised in its company...it is soul nourishing that songs like this are still being made in 2021.”  “St. Anthony” also made Mainebrews N Musicreviews’ “Top Singles of 2021”. 

An Overnight Low had high hopes for summer. An early review of their next single “Surfeit Safari” compared it to “a sound reminiscent of the likes of Jets to Brazil, The Get Up Kids, with some R.E.M. undertones” (UNXIGNED).  At the close of 2021, a deep track (and band favorite) from Connolly, Part Two, “Terminal D”, made The Portland Phoenix’ “Top Singles of 2021”.  They also began working on new material with a new line up:  enter Chris Plumstead, Paul Gauer, and Ellie Osborn.  They released a new single, “The Exorcist”, on Halloween (2021).  The Portland Press Herald called it “moody, but snappy and smart”.  At the close of 2021, An Overnight Low released their annual holiday single called “Tilt One to Your Teeth (Saturnalia)”.  Finally, mp3hugger delivered an unexpected review of Caterpillar right before Easter weekend of 2022: “An Overnight Low is here to woo us like the country version of The Monkees ... It could have gone down quite well in the court of King Arthur in fact such is its style and the ease with which it could transfer to open courtyard of a warm spring evening. Was getting some serious Tapioca Tundra flashbacks here!”

Professional dancer, experimental everything else

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