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The corners of my mouth began to point up, and my ears danced with excitement. All this taking place about 30 seconds after inserting Northern Room’s CD and pressing play. The talent and potential this band carries with them is frightening, but what is scarier is that a major label has not scooped them up yet. “We’re On Fire” is an absolute hit, plain and simple. The intro riff, steady drum beat and smooth vocals easily capture the listener from the very start. There is a Mute Math feel to the song, which is what originally drew me to the song when I first heard it on the band’s website. “Galaxy”, “Dutch Radio” and “Stars of God” are some of the albums strongest songs and with them all back to back the album has a killer opening. “Galaxy” should suck you in with it’s first line of “Piano’s bleed for superstars…”. The ambient music mixed with strong vocals excel the opening. The song is able to just slip from the verse into the laid back chorus without effort. Much of the record is mellower than the opener but that doesn’t distract or change anything because the slower songs bring with them just as much a sense of passion that flows out of the speakers. The mix of faster and slower songs is pretty even with “Waiting” and “Everyday” creating a bit of diversity on the second half of the album. “Everyday” has rich bass line during the verses that absolutely pops, adding to the song. The album is 2 of the band’s EP’s put together, which sort of sucks for the people who bought them before, but great for all the future fans. The 3 acoustic songs are labeled as “live” but sound just as flawlessly recorded as all the other tracks on the album. The band just about tops them self with the acoustic version of “We’re On Fire”, it is just as good if not better than the original. I love when an album is able to write the review for itself because there is just so many good things to say about it. This is a band you need to listen to, and an album you need to buy!

"It's an audible eargasm fresh with immense faith. The crashing wave crescendos prove as powerful as the meaning behind the songs. I'm a believer...plus I hear they're big in Japan!"

...after hearing several original songs you could not compare [Northern Room] to any other group or sound. It was a style all it's own--soft but daring vocals, fearless bass, fluid guitar, and steadfast drums. They are undeniable.

I also saw Milwaukee locals, The Northern Room, who drew in a huge crowd at the Harley Davison Stage. If you haven't heard of these guys, all I can say is look out Bono, you have some serious competition. The swift vocals and even swifter guitar lines create a seamless web of melodic rock. These guys have enjoyed a ton of success so far and are surely continued to do so.

TNT Award (artist most likely to blow up nationally) -- Northern Room Artist of the Year (Pop/Rock) -- Northern Room Live Performer of the Year (Pop/Rock) -- Northern Room

Although astute music fans remember such famous residencies as those of the Beatles at Liverpool's Cavern Club and The Jam's at London's Red Cow, the practice hasn't been popular among rock and roll bands in recent years. Of course, The Velvet Whip did it at the Avant Garde in Milwaukee in the '60s and blues and jazz musicians make a living via standing gigs at specific venues, but anthemic Milwaukee rockers Northern Room blaze something of a contemporary trail when the foursome plays a quartet of weekly gigs in March at the Hi-Hat Garage. "We have always been attracted to the idea of a residency due to the platform it presents us in bringing out new material," says the band's lead singer Andrew Jonathan. "The four of us are extremely prolific that find it difficult to play new songs without a constant stream of live opportunities." Jonathan says that the gigs, two of which are acoustic performances and two of which are "electronic" and feature special guests The Figureheads, are a great way for the band to stretch out a little, too. "We are also a very rehearsed band that, to be honest, doesn't usually sway too far from what we prepare for. Taking on a residency will allow us to jump out of our skin for a month, test new material, extend previously recorded songs into darker and more colorful territories, as well as, give us a stage where we can receive immediate feedback from our fans as to what is working and what isn't." The band, which has a label deal in Japan and last year released a deluxe edition of its disc "Last Embrace," bolstered with live and previously unreleased tracks, has no fear that four gigs in a month may tax the interest of a relatively compact music scene. Northern Room also nabbed three wins in the inaugural 88Nine Milwaukee Music Awards. In November the quartet packed Turner Hall Ballroom and played a New Year's Eve gig at the Intercontinental Hotel with The Gufs. Northern Room also recently shared the stage with Jack's Mannequin in Peoria, Ill. "If we were doing the same type of Northern Room show we have typically done, then I might think so," says Jonathan. "What we are preparing, though, is completely left of center for the band. The first and third Wednesday's in March we will be doing acoustic and alt-country versions of our songs. "Michael (Morgan), who is a blossoming songwriter in his own right will also be debuting a number of his own brilliant works. Michael has been writing a lot of broken-hearted love songs in the vein of Ryan Adams and Willie Nelson, which cannot be missed. "The second and fourth Wednesdays in March we will be presenting electronic versions of our songs. Milwaukee's Figureheads will be a major part of these nights." The upshot, Jonathan says, is that the residency offers the band a chance to try new things in front of a crowd likely willing to give the band wide-ranging space to explore. "I love when I am in a situation where creativity is instantly molded and shaped by a group of people without the time to re-think. A lot of improv, poetry and random off-the-cuff melodies will be thrown around the room during these performances. We are all looking forward to sharing these experiences with Milwaukee in March. " The residency shows on March 5, 12, 19 and 26 are at Hi-Hat Garage.

Remember the last time good music made it on to anything besides college radio? Northern Room, hailing from Milwaukee, reminds me of the rare occasion something I liked made it to the radio before I stopped listening - Snow Patrol (the closest comparison in this instance), Carbon Leaf, Eve 6, Beck. "We're on Fire" comes as a sudden blast of sound, a moment of exhilaration put into musical form. Indie rock is always hesistant to live in the moment, but Northern Room is an exception (and possibly not technically "indie rock," sound-wise).

I caught the Midwest-based Northern Room somewhat by accident because they began playing after my friend’s show. And just like that, I was hooked on their mellow, U2-esque sound. The four band members were also pretty easy on the eyes. Northern Room is apparently already a hit in Japan. Now they want the same love in the U.S. Outside Arlene’s Grocery, lead signer A.J., or Andrew Jonathan, of Milwaukee did a great job selling his band. “It’s universal music,” he said. “If you like that kind of music, you’ll like us.” All right, A.J. You’re right! Who doesn’t like universal music? Northern Room’s “We’re On Fire” seems the most marketable cut on their demo CD. There is something very comforting and familiar about A.J.’s voice, and this band is sure to widely appeal to the masses. This song is something you would hear blasting very loudly at Abercrombie. (That’s a good and a bad thing.) It’s a sweet love song of sorts, and Northern Room has got it right: They’re on fire. Check them out.

Northern Room probably isn’t on your radar yet, but they should be. These Wisconsin boys have created an ear-catching blend of pop-rock, merging the song-craft of U2, Coldplay and Maroon 5 with the ambition of Ryan Adams. Their songs are crisply produced, they have hooks built for maximum brain hijacking, and above all, each song is of such high quality it’s difficult to believe these guys aren’t signed to a major label. They produced their first album, Last Embrace, on a shoestring budget, combining a series of EPs to create a full length which sounds as well-developed as most pop/rock bands’ fourth or fifth albums. We sat down with lead singer Andrew Jonathan right before the holidays to discuss the band’s album, their plans for the future, the potential merits of Hinder-bashing and how a group of no-name musicians from Wisconsin managed to become an indie hit in Japan. SSv: How would you define meaningful music? Andrew Jonathan: The best way I can put it, to me at least, if it makes me stop for three and a half minutes and think about the course of my life, or think about my family, or even if it makes me want to go pick up my guitar in order to compete with that song, that’s meaningful. The song meant something to me in that moment, and becomes something of a soundtrack for that moment. To me, that’s meaningful music - music which speaks to the soul. SSv: What would you say sets Northern Room apart as a band? Jonathan: I think it’s that we don’t pretend to be anything but what we are. We struggle with wanting to be discovered and toy with the idea of sitting down and writing this massive pop single. I think we’re capable of that, there are a lot of bands which are capable of that, but I think what’s different about us is that we choose to let things happen naturally. We want to let nature take its course with our songwriting. We don’t pretend to be something we’re not, so maybe it’s going to take us a little bit longer to succeed or to put food on the table, but it sets us apart that we don’t pretend to be anything more than what can be created by our four members. SSv: So how would you describe the band’s sound to someone who hasn’t heard you? Jonathan: I would definitely use the word ambient or slight experimentalism, but always with a focus on the lyric, the content, extremely strong melodies. An easy way to put it would be ambient rock music. When it really comes down to it, a band succeeds or fails purely on the basis of great songs. So the first year was literally spent writing and demoing, so it was a really patient process. SSv: Who have you been listening to lately who you think more people should be hearing? Jonathan: Some of my favorite records of the year would definitely be Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible and Ryan Adams’ new record Easy Tiger. And there’s a record that came out earlier this year, and it’s easy to forget those when you start to look back, which would be Memory Man by Aqualung. SSv: I haven’t heard that one. Jonathan: The writing on that one, I think is hands down the best collection of songs to be put out in 2007. But then a band that isn’t so much commercial, and we’re really good friends with them but they put out a truly amazing record, is Fever Marlene. They put out a record called Civil War and they’re from Milwaukee as well. We’ve done a few shows with them, and they’re really amazing guys with insane songs and a total Brit-rock vibe. SSv: As a band, who are your musical influences? Jonathan: I used to be influenced by The Beatles, when growing up - the White Album was one of the first tapes that I had and early on, even before that, I’d always watch Monkees reruns with my dad. And granted, they’re not truly a band, but their songs are great, they had great writers. So there were the Monkees and the Beatles early on, then I got into U2, and U2 has been a huge influence on our sound. But nowadays I’ve been more accustomed to listening to anything with a story: Dylan, Springsteen, even music a little darker like Arcade Fire. I like when a listener can be brought through from point A to point B and point C, not necessarily having happy endings, but at least we’ve been taken somewhere through the music. SSv: I had noted in my review of your album that with the right promotion, the album could become your Greatest Hits record. So I was wondering: how did you go about recording the album on a limited budget and still come out with a fully developed pop rock sound? Jonathan: Well, the first year that we started the band, we knew that instead of cutting our teeth by doing a bunch of shows, we wanted to stay in our basement and just write, produce songs and continue to arrange these pieces. And when it really comes down to it, a band succeeds or fails purely on the basis of great songs. So the first year was literally spent writing and demoing, so it was a really patient process. Then we went into the studio to record just a little over half of what became Last Embrace. We put out the first group of songs as an EP, then we went back to the basement and did the same thing again, developing. It’s a process of patience, really. A lot of bands don’t get that, especially bands just starting out. Everybody wants to get out, to play shows and build a fan base, but if you don’t have the songs your career will be very short and dull. SSv: How do you guys go about writing songs? Is it a group effort? Jonathan: Yeah, it is. I’d say it’s about 75% a group effort, and then 25% me coming in with the partially developed songs I’ve been working out on my own. Songs like “We’re On Fire” and “Last Embrace,” those songs came out of magical moments in rehearsal, just playing and coming up with melodies all together, and I think the warmth of four bodies in a room helps create something … we all want to work together to create something better than what we could create on our own. Then, a song like “Galaxy,” I pretty much had that song written and then I brought it in and we developed that as a band, putting guitar parts and drum parts together to form the whole song. SSv: So do you come in with the lyrics first, or do you more often develop the hook? Jonathan: Lyrics hardly ever come first. With Northern Room it’s always the groove, the vibe, we’re creating drama in the room that can change the temperature for us. A song like “Last Embrace,” that was written from a four chord line on an old analog synth that Tony started playing, then we all just started jumping in because we felt the heat of that progression. It was slightly magical in that moment. SSv: That song in particular caught me off guard. I’d gotten into the groove on the first four or five songs, and then “Last Embrace” had that electronic sound which reminded me of Kenna’s first album, New Sacred Cow, a few years ago. And I was surprised, because that song didn’t necessarily fit into how I thought I’d figured you guys out. So I had to go listen to the album again. Jonathan: Right! And with that song in particular does stand out. I think normally you’d say our typical setup is guitar, bass, drums and big vocals as a band. But we also have a love for electronic music. And when we were recording, the first time we went into the studio, we knew that we wanted to have a song in the vein of, something like our own version of, DJ Shadow. It doesn’t end up sounding anything at all like DJ Shadow, but that was what we were trying to come up with. We envisioned it a lot choppier, being something more like a glitch track, but it came out as something of a mini-epic masterpiece. SSv: Well, it does make sense that you made that the centerpiece of the album. Jonathan: It felt right. It felt right for us to make that the core of the album. SSv: What’s your studio recording process like? Do you record for a live sound, or do you do a lot of overdubs? Jonathan: It’s mainly overdubs, and it comes down to our own fault of perfectionism, we really want to hone in and focus on getting each part locked in, getting each part right and making sure each part has its own energy. So yeah, our recording process is simply that we’re all in the same room, maybe divided off a bit, and then we’ll start playing. We capture the drums first, then add bass and guitar. A lot of it’s just looping the tracks once they’re recorded, coming up with the best guitar part, coming up with the best vocals … it’s like a fifty step process with us. It’s not “I go into a room and jump around and capture it.” It’s a very patient group process. SSv: What do you do then in transferring that process into a live setting? Jonathan: Well, and with most bands I know this is the case, you write a song and record it and then it becomes a whole other beast live. What happens is we have some synth tracks or some kind of backing tracks - some of the backing synth tracks on the album we use to provide a backing live - and then other times we simply change it up a bit to make the songs more straightforward rock, a little more raw. It just feels right to do it that way, because at the end of the day if you don’t blow people away with a good rock show - and I’m not talking about some big bombastic thing with pyrotechnics or anything - then what have you accomplished? We like to bring a balls-to-the-wall guitar sound, making somebody’s ears ring in a good way because of the energy we’ve brought into the live setting. SSv: I hear you’re distributed in Japan by BM3 Records. How’d an unknown band from Wisconsin develop a cult following in Japan? Jonathan: As far as I can tell there were a couple different radio stations in Japan with DJs who found us on MySpace and wrote to us, and from what I believe, some of those DJs began talking to different labels. The same week we had a couple different offers on the table, and that all developed from those DJs spreading the word about our music since they were fans of the band. So we threw the contracts to our attorney and said “hey, which one looks the best?” They’ve been hugely supportive, we’ve done a lot of press there and we’re getting minor radio play over there as well. It’s pretty wild! SSv: Have you had any major-label interest in the US? Jonathan: Yeah, we have. We’ve had a lot of interest, though none has gone anywhere. At the end of the day, in peoples’ eyes, they want to see you selling 100,000 records a year on your own before they’ll even consider signing you on. But we’ve had interest. SSv: I’m kind of surprised though, because if I were running a major label, which of course I am not, I’d be looking at a band like Northern Room and saying “look what they’ve been able to record on a limited budget. These songs? We can promote these!” If they wouldn’t have to offer a large advance, where’s the risk? Jonathan: I completely agree! I’ve had this conversation many times, and I don’t say this arrogantly. “We’re On Fire,” that’s a hit. That’s a hit. With a little bit of push from a label and street team support in a handful of cities, you’ve got a hit. And “Stars of God,” that could be a song in a major motion picture; at least that’s what I believe. Obviously I’m a little biased, but I really do believe that. SSv: Then again, that’s the kind of thing you guys could almost do on your own, behind the scenes, get your songs placed in a few TV shows, try to sneak it in the back door, then the labels come calling and you’ve got them by the balls. Jonathan: [Laughs.] Yeah, that would certainly give us more leverage. I completely agree with you, but it’s a waiting game and you’ve got to just keep your head down and put the hard work in. SSv: So without a major label’s help, how are you going about promoting Last Embrace in the U.S.? Jonathan: A lot of it’s working the Internet, writing to blogs trying to get reviews. Every time we play a show we’ll burn a couple tracks off the record and we’ll go out weeks in advance and hand out CDs, saying hey, come check out the show, we have our new record available. It’s literally getting in your car and going into whatever city that you’re playing in that night and one by one try to win over fans, building relationships and storming the path that way. SSv: You’ve done well touring in Japan and in the Milwaukee region. Have you had any plans for a nationwide tour? Jonathan: There have been talks of going out west this year and we’ve done the east coast thing a couple times. That’s always gone well, every time we return to a city, there’s more and more people there. So yes, we may be hitting the west coast at some point in 2008, though mainly focusing on building more in Chicago and the Twin Cities. SSv: You’ve said before that Last Embrace is a combination of EPs. Have you thought about what you’d like to do with your next studio album? Jonathan: Definitely, we’re already writing our next record, and we’re always writing. But we don’t see ourselves going into the studio until later in 2008. Hopefully by the end of the year we’ll have a bigger budget from touring and investments - there are people who have actually been investing in the band now - so hopefully we’ll have enough of a surplus that we’ll be able to make what we feel is our twelve or fourteen-song masterpiece. Go in for three, four, five months and come out with something so great it blows away everything that we’ve done. At this point we feel like it’s been something of a piecemeal operation, where we go in for a little bit of time then leave the studio for some time and go back in. SSv: Like buying studio time by the hour. “How much am I able to record in this hour of studio time?” Jonathan: Right, exactly. SSv: How much would you say you spent recording Last Embrace? Jonathan: We spent, including the costs of duplication, probably in the range of $15,000 to $20,000. SSv: And does it seem possible that you’ll be able to make that money back through sales on tour? Jonathan: Definitely. SSv: If you could record with any artist, who would you want to work with? Are there any producers you’d particularly want to work with? Jonathan: Sure. I’d love to write a song with Ryan Adams. I’d also love to write a song with Joseph Arthur, I don’t know if you’ve heard of him, he’s just an insanely gifted songwriter who’s from Ohio. I think he moved to London now but he’s got a bunch of records out. He’s fantastic. In terms of producers, I’d love to work with Daniel Lanois. He’s worked with U2 since the late eighties, and I think he jumped on with Brian Eno in 1985. I’d also like to work with [producer] Brad Wood. SSv: What does it take for a band like Northern Room to make a living from music? Jonathan: I think it just takes some very focused touring, getting on bills with other established bands, getting your music licensed, all these seemingly very obvious things that could help put food on the table. And, obviously, selling records. SSv: What do you think needs to happen for solid independent music to make headway in the industry? Is online distribution helpful or does good music just get lost in the shuffle? Jonathan: I think the great music rises to the top. I’ve always believed that. Independent music, yes, it’s easier for that to get lost in the shuffle. This is just common sense: money can put one band ahead of another band. SSv: Like Hinder. I’ve never understood how they could go as far as they have. Jonathan: Well, they had someone write a great song for them, or what most people consider to be a great song. I thought “Lips of an Angel” was atrocious. SSv: I’ve asked so many women why they like that song. It makes me want to vomit. Jonathan: Yeah, and that, unfortunately, or fortunately for the rest of the world, is why they’re probably going to wind up playing State Fairs for the rest of their career, because that’s the kind of music which doesn’t last. And you can put that in print too. SSv: Yeah, I think I’ve done more than my fair share of Hinder-bashing. Jonathan: Well, sign me up! I don’t usually bash bands or artists, but come on! Write something from your heart, bro! Don’t write something that some writer in Nashville gave you. Now, maybe I’m wrong, but it sounds like a manufactured song, as though it came out of a two week writing session. But that kind of song, though it becomes a hit, will eventually be forgotten. When you get down to it, people will find good music and expose it, the same way bad songs eventually get exposed for being bad songs. SSv: Where do you hope Northern Room can go from here? Jonathan: Honestly, I hope we can eventually make a living putting records out, and touring. I want to outdo everything we’ve ever done, so far, and continue to connect and build relationships with people, because that’s why we’re doing it. I mean, we love music. It’s in our blood. But we do it to connect with people and inspire a new generation of kids to go out and pick up a guitar or get behind a drum kit, to make music that means something to them.