Press Quotes

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT THE PUSH STARS AND PAINT THE TOWN:

"...mix of nostalgia-dosed requiems for old lovers, older towns, and pledge-pin romance, all wrapped in a package of cascading choruses and soaring melodies. It's the sentimental stuff of prom dates and wedding receptions, with the occasional Sunday hangover thrown in to keep it all from getting too WB Network-cute." - Boston Phoenix

"Another brilliant album, the songs here are written so poetically, and abstractly - it's nearly impossible not to be intrigued." - DiscoveringArtists.com

"Luckily for us, Trapper's therapeutic output results in the kind of infectiously melodic pop that is far too rare these days. His lyrics range from the pensively melancholy to the goofily ecstatic, but the tone and sound of the Push Stars music is relentlessly vibrant, reveling in sheer joy." - Patriot Ledger

"...pop rock with an edge..." - Post Standard

"...new songs seemed to fit right in, maybe adding a more rootsy, thoughtful turn. Songs such as the stormy-sweet "Claire" and "Outside of a Dream " were a keen mix of Chris Trapper's rich, passionate voice and his unabashed sentimentality." - Boston Herald

"It's not often that a successful pop band creates its best album and then works to separate itself from the major label muscle that can back it up. But when your A&R guy takes another job, and your record label drops both Richard Thompson and John Hiatt in an effort to become more "R&B," then it's time for a talented songwriter like Chris Trapper and his Push Stars to take a hike. Produced by the band, Opening Time is not only the Push Stars' best collection of songs to date, but it's also their sonic zenith. In fact, "Waiting, Watching, Wishing" is like no other Push Stars song. With layers of booming drums, bass, keyboards and guitars, the catchy, zooming track is a "wall of sound" metaphor for a desperate tale of stealing a car to escape smalltown bleakness. The Push Stars have already scored movie soundtrack hits for Something About Mary and Me, Myself & Irene, and Opening Time is utterly filled with gorgeous songs ripe for film. With an uncanny knack for painting sonic wordscapes, Trapper can evoke a gripping image through full-throttle rock songs like "Millionaire," or do the same with only his voice and a piano on the anguished "Last Night's Dream." Whether or not any songs on Opening Time end up as radio or movie hits, there's no denying the sheer depth of talent and beauty contained on these twelve tracks." - CMJ

"It's not often that a successful pop band creates its best album and then works to separate itself from the major label muscle that can back it up. But when your A&R guy takes another job, and your record label drops both Richard Thompson and John Hiatt in an effort to become more "R&B," then it's time for a talented songwriter like Chris Trapper and his Push Stars to take a hike. Produced by the band, Opening Time is not only the Push Stars' best collection of songs to date, but it's also their sonic zenith. In fact, "Waiting, Watching, Wishing" is like no other Push Stars song. With layers of booming drums, bass, keyboards and guitars, t he catchy, zooming track is a "wall of sound" metaphor for a desperate tale of stealing a car to escape smalltown bleakness. The Push Stars have already scored movie soundtrack hits for Something About Mary and Me, Myself & Irene, and Opening Time is utterly filled with gorgeous songs ripe for film. With an uncanny knack for painting sonic wordscapes, Trapper can evoke a gripping image through full-throttle rock songs like "Millionaire," or do the same with only his voice and a piano on the anguished "Last Night's Dream." Whether or not any songs on Opening Time end up as radio or movie hits, there's no denying the sheer depth of talent and beauty contained on these twelve tracks." - CMJ

• • CMJ Review of Opening Time

"It's not often that a successful pop band creates its best album and then works to separate itself from the major label muscle that can back it up. But when your A&R guy takes another job, and your record label drops both Richard Thompson and John Hiatt in an effort to become more "R&B," then it's time for a talented songwriter like Chris Trapper and his Push Stars to take a hike. Produced by the band, Opening Time is not only the Push Stars' best collection of songs to date, but it's also their sonic zenith. In fact, "Waiting, Watching, Wishing" is like no other Push Stars song. With layers of booming drums, bass, keyboards and guitars, the catchy, zooming track is a "wall of sound" metaphor for a desperate tale of stealing a car to escape smalltown bleakness. The Push Stars have already scored movie soundtrack hits for Something About Mary and Me, Myself & Irene, and Opening Time is utterly filled with gorgeous songs ripe for film. With an uncanny knack for painting sonic wordscapes, Trapper can evoke a gripping image through full-throttle rock songs like "Millionaire," or do the same with only his voice and a piano on the anguished "Last Night's Dream." Whether or not any songs on Opening Time end up as radio or movie hits, there's no denying the sheer depth of talent and beauty contained on these twelve tracks." - CMJ

• "The Push Stars are one of our favorite bands. Their album is phenomenal." - Peter Farrelly of The Farrelly Brothers (who included The Push Stars’ music in his films "There’s Something About Mary" and "Me, Myself & Irene")

• "Ebay stocks might be worthless in a month. A surer bet is that someday The Push Stars will be getting so much airplay you could stick them in a room with the Barenaked Ladies and wait to see who comes out alive. (They won "Rising Star" at this year’s Boston Music Awards, following up on last year’s "Outstanding Rock Band" and "Outstanding Songwriter" for singer/guitarist Chris Trapper. Then there was a single on the soundtrack of There’s Something About Mary, a new album on Capitol records, amazing press reviews, and a snowballing fan base that threatens to avalanche and crush the request lines." - BOSTON Magazine

• "stunning major label debut…hook-filled, plaintive tales…smart, emotionally direct and melodically satisfying." - HITS

• "We’re so smitten by Chris Trapper’s songwriting, honestly, this disc has melted onto the
transport system of my trusty Magnavox CD machine. From the opening "Any Little Town" to the concluding "Cadillac," this is great music, the kind of music picky holdouts like you and me so righteously deserve." - Gavin

• "classic pop perfection…The Push Stars" - The New York Times

• "a streamlined collection of burnished pop songs…towers head and shoulders above generic modern-rock poster boys." - Boston Phoenix

• "rocks with an uncommon glee and breezy intelligence." - The Boston Globe

• "Maybe you weren't in the audience the first time Prince strutted onstage in bikini underpants. Or when Jewel yodeled her first aphorism. Or when Michael Stipe mumbled his first indecipherable. Don't fret. There are still plenty of musical discoveries to be made…Look for the Push Stars to soon join the ranks of the top alternative artists, right up there with the Goo Goo Dolls and Third Eye Blind ...The Push Stars have such a winning sound that it would be a pleasure to hear them 20 times a day on 99X." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

• "Every so often you come across a band that makes you glad to be alive. The Push Stars are that rare type of band that somehow touches you and moves you and leaves you changed. There are no gimmicks. There is no marketing scheme. These are the caliber of people who genuinely feel and play from the heart. It is no surprise that devoted fans had come from far and wide to see them." - www.AltRockWorld.com