August 13th, 2005: Angrypirate.com “... As always, 20 Minute Loop were great and I can't believe you haven't bought their latest CD, Yawn + House = Explosion yet. What's wrong with you? Go buy it, damnit. Honestly, I feel like indiegeek (my music site) is a failure as long as 20 minute loop stays a relatively unknown band. They should be revered as one of the best indie bands of the 21st century.”

Noisepop 2005, Bimbo's 365 Club “Magnetically drawing the sold-out crowd to the stage, 20 Minute Loop's Greg Giles and Kelly Atkins melted their voices together into sugary-sweet harmonies. The band put on a tight and vibrant performance, sounding impressively dead on with their recorded work.

Film School's music is atmospheric and haunting, yet they have an energy and presence live that their recordings don't capture. Keyboards and guitar hypnotized the audience with effects, distortion and samples. Krayg Burton channeled the moody, velvet vocals of Robert Smith as he crooned new lyrics from Film School's upcoming full-length.

Working the mic like a pole dancer, Walkmen singer Hamilton Leithauser oozed "I'm a Fucking Rock Star" stage presence. There's no holier-than-thou nonchalance about the band's performance, though. They're raw ­ it's as if they've bet all their money on winning their high school Battle of the Bands. Embodying innovation and talent throughout a diverse set, the band was a perfect closer for the 13th annual Noise Pop Festival.
~ Veronica Young (Performer Mag)”

2003/02/15: Live Music: Ultralash, 20 Minute Loop, and Ramona the Pest at Bottom of the Hill, Friday, February 14, 2003 I've written before about the execrable state of San Francisco's local music scene, so I'm pleased to say that I went to a show of all-local bands that was well-attended and had an enthusiastic audience. It was a lot of fun, too. All of these artists sound distinctly local Ramona the Pest, in particular, have the kind of eclectic sound I associate with some of the quirkier San Francisco bands that formed in the early 90s (Ovarian Trolley is the first name that springs to mind, although I don't think most of you will ever have heard them)). All of these artists have been around for a while, so they were playing for a crowd that already knew and appreciated them, which is the kind of warm and fuzzy vibe that's supposed to make local shows special. It's a pleasant departure from the haughty New-York-in-San-Francisco vibe that weighs down shows by some of San Francisco's hipper bands.

Of the bands on display, my favorite was definitely 20 Minute Loop, a band I'd somehow managed to miss - not a mistake I'll be making in the future. They have all the things I love in indie pop bands: close male / female harmonies, enough changes in the songs to keep them from ever settling in one place for too long (including a personal favorite: random screwing with the time signature), off-kilter hooks that still grab something inside you and give it a sharp yank, incisive, surreal lyrics, and two super-cute and bouncy singers (I myself preferred the girl, but tastes will probably vary). I bought the two albums they have out (which will receive separate reviews soon), and the recordings don't do them justice. Live, their quirkiness and energy give their songs the sparkle they need; on record things get a little turgid in places. They get compared to the Pixies, Throwing Muses and R.E.M., which gives you an idea of which corner of the alternarock multiverse they inhabit, but they reminded me more of something Rob Crow would do (Crow's most prominent current project is Pinback, but he's also the mastermind behind Thingy, Heavy Vegetable, Physics, and Optiganally Yours). People who like Crow's music tend to be kind of rabid about it, so if you're one of those people, you should definitely check out 20 Minute Loop if you can catch them live.

The cutest moment of the evening was when 20 Minute Loop brought out a birthday cake for the nuclear bomb, who is 60 years old, as of February 13th. It seemed fitting to be singing "Happy Birthday" for humanity's most successful weapon of mass destruction - especially as that was the only time when any of the bands acknowledged that it was Valentine's Day. Truly, San Francisco hipsters are a hardened lot.

The Gig List (Los Angeles) About a month ago, Chris Manning told me to check out a band called 20 Minute Loop, saying "Since my band, Jellyfish, broke up, they are the best songwriters I've worked with yet. With an endorsement like that, I couldn't resist. I went to their site (WWW.20MINUTELOOP.COM) and loved what I heard. Thursday night I got to take it all in LIVE at the Silverlake Lounge. Kelly Atkins' vocal quality is reminiscent of Xene's, but she's not a copycat. Her style is all her own, and her voice is pairs up beautifully with co-singer Greg Giles (rhythm guitar). Lyrically and musically, this is thoughtful pop for people who crave stimulation from head to tapping toes. Joe Ostrowski wails on the electric guitar, and Dan Jones (bass) and Ethan Turner (drums) fill every song with magically delicious bass and drumlines. Currently playing mostly in the Bay Area, we're hoping to see them down south more often. Check 'em out!

sfgirl.com (Showgirl) Noisepop 2002: "Wednesday night I went to Café du Nord to see 20 Minute Loop, my favorite local band, along with Xiu Xiu, Rilo Kiley and The Extra Glenns. 20 Minute Loop put on a good show, as always. I've been going to see this band for well into 3 years now, and 2 cd's later vocalists Kelly Atkins and Greg Giles, backed by guitarist Joe Ostrowski, bassist Nils Erickson and drummer Ethan Turner, are still making wonderful usually happy but sometimes not so, pop sounds together. Greg's slightly Michael Stipe-esque tone and Kelly's amazing crystal clear voice melt together perfectly, and contribute to some top-notch harmony that goes perfectly naturally from folky to funky to soulful to hoedown one minute to the next... "

02/28/2002 Entry: "Concert Report: The Extra Glenns, Rilo Kiley, Xiu Xiu, 20 Minute Loop (Noisepop!), Cafe du Nord" ... We got to see a lot of the artists walking around while we waited for the room with the stage to open up. When they opened that up, everyone rushed in and grabbed the seats. Oh well! Standing for us.

The first band was 20 Minute Loop, who turned out to be really, really good, especially for an opening act. They had two singers, a man and a woman, and they were both individually very good and they sounded great together. Roger was impressed enough to buy their CD, and I would probably have done that if he hadn't. They had a really full sound, a little poppy, but I think the vocals were what "...really made it sound good..."

to top