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THE VILLAS (fronted by husband-and-wife singers, guitarists and songwriters Bill Villa and
Angie Villa) placed a Villas song, “Always Ending,” on the Dawson’s Creek 4th Season DVD released by Sony Pictures Television.
Live, The Villas have shared the stage with Los Lonely Boys, The Fixx, Indigenous, Third World, Steve Kimock, Koko Taylor, and Lucinda Williams.
“This husband and wife power pop team gets everything right: the hooks are rich, the musicianship sharp, and the lyrics are literate but never pretentious. Their 1960s-Merseybeat-meets-1980s-New-Wave songs stack up nicely with the Plimsouls, the Smithereens, and the skinny Elvis Costello of yore. That's very good company to keep and proves the Villas know
how to cure a broken heart with the kind of song craft that makes the Monkees a better band
than Pearl Jam. Plenty of these tunes belong on the radio.” Nick Dedina, RollingStone.com
LA DJ (“Breakfast with The Beatles”) and film producer (“The Mayor of Sunset Strip”) Chris Carter describes The Villas as sounding like “The Raspberries meet Elvis Costello on Abbey Road” and this is true sometimes. Other times, The Villas serve up “rustic and heartfelt pop enveloped within a slick shiny sheen, much like Steely Dan with Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark instead of Becker and Fagan,” according to Kevin Mathews/The Power of Pop.
Or as Donnie & Marie might say, “a little bit alt-country, a little bit pop-rock & roll, with always interesting dynamic and emotional ranges being explored.”
“While their approach is certainly rooted in the jangle pop sounds of the 1980's, The Villas don't sound like a throwback so much as a continuation of the style, and their willingness to throw some potent hard rock overtones ("Exclusions") and country influences (a nice cover of Steve Earle's "More Than I Can Do") into the mix suggests an aural worldview that goes beyond the Rickenbacker.” Mark Deming, All Music Guide
"Like Fountains Of Wayne, Guided By Voices, and Ivy, The Villas weave melodies in and out of chord progressions that recall the golden era of Brill Building songcraft, though there is nothing retro about this ensemble. Similar to the post-John Cale Velvet Underground and the early incarnations of the Talking Heads and Blondie, The Villas are a band out of time; or, as critics
like to opine, ahead of their time.” Tom Semioli, Amplifier
Eleven songs from The Villas first two CDs (“Secrets,” 2000, and “Set For Life,” 2003) have received playlist adds and airplay on radio stations across America, including KCRW Santa Monica and WXPN Philadelphia where the XPN DJ’s nominated The Villas for Local Band
of The Year.
The Villas hail from Allentown, Pennsylvania, where they’re currently working on their 3rd CD.
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