Roger’s Blog

Thanks for the review!

http://cbs4.com/music/ex.norwegian.indie.2.1086621.html

http://revuewm.blogspot.com/2009/06/put-your-dance-pants-on.html

Indie Music Stop just posted a review on Ex Norwegian’s Standby… you can read it HERE.

Ex Norwegian’s Standby gets a Top Pick and 5+++ rating on LMNOP/Babysue this month… read the review HERE.

The upcoming print issue of Bootleg magazine will have a review of Standby

“Taking a band name by way of Monty Python makes sense for Ex Norwegian. As random as that comedy troupe is the same could be said of Ex Norwegian and the songs (and their titles) on their pop rock full length Standby. It wouldn’t be fair to criticize a band for having a multitude of influences but Ex Norwegian seems to be making twelve different albums at once with these twelve songs that are disparate and catchy and share three solid singers. They wear on their musical sleeve The Kinks, Spoon, Cheap Trick, a handful of teeny bopper pop bands, Cake, The Outfield, The Alarm, shades of T.Rex and many more. It sounds like mid-seventies Brit pop at times and then early eighties rock. Ex Norwegian is perfectly frantic and accessible.
Standby is a car crash of power pop, classic rock, tiny doses of punk and mainstream flavoring that, in the end, feels familiar and overtly optimistic. Lead vocalist Roger Houdaille has a unique voice that is as sonic as it is sweet. No matter what the song structuring is or sounds like, the material is upbeat. ‘Pow3rful’ is on fire, groping at pop-punk and ‘Something Unreal’ aches like a lost Kinks song. ‘Gross You’ is a distant cousin to ‘California Dreamin’ and ‘Sad Wonder’ struts along like solo Gene Simmons circa 1978.
Standby is a polished and varied album. For all those who complain that bands churn out an album of material that all sounds the same then Ex Norwegian is clearly the antidote. It’s not an album of songs intertwined around a single dynamic but ends up sounding like a mix CD of material. There’s a lot to pick from.”

Read The Fire Notes’ review HERE.

“Father Bloopy’s album Ginger, Baby is a gem if I’ve every heard one.”
-Popwreck

Read the whole review here: http://popwreck.blogspot.com/2008/06/father-bloopy-ginger-baby.html

Dream Magazine

Father Bloopy Ginger, Baby (Dippy) This nine piece band from Miami Beach, FL is built around the voice and songs of Roger Houdaille who brightly echoes folks like Ray Davies, David Bowie, and Lou Reed in a rare good mood. Lots of folks are apeing the better 60s and 70s bands these days but few are pulling it off with the aplomb and energetic invention of the relentlessly upbeat Father Bloopy. Brightly catchy songs loaded with hooks, and pleasant surprises. A dozen tracks overflowing with dynamic pop power and good vibes.

George Parsons
Dream Magazine #9
www.dreamgeo.com

Fire Note Says: Don’t let the name stop you from checking out the likable Ginger, Baby!

Album Review:
Miami’s Father Bloopy and their debut record Ginger, Baby is a slice of modern indie rock that lets their influences like The Kinks, Lou Reed and even ELO shine through on many of the twelve tracks, giving the album a true sense of familiarity even though the band flies under the radar of most. The group is lead by singer/songwriter Roger Houdaille, which has been on the Miami scene for years releasing solo EPs. These previous recordings lead up to the release of Ginger, Baby which follows suit of his earlier offerings containing focused and concise tracks of witty lyrics and pop sensibilities. Houdaille has the swagger and croon of a young Jonathan Richman, which gives each track a likable quality and makes repeat listens rewarding. You might get scared off from the bands name itself but once you get by the somewhat awkward naming the music on Ginger, Baby will win itself a spot in your rotation because of its modern yet classic groove of indie rock that can stand beside some of the more familiar artists in the genre.

Key Tracks: “Ginger, Baby”, “And I, Lover”, “Miss Morality”

Bands With Similar Fire:
The Modern Lovers
Evan Dando
Lou Reed

-Reviewed by Sam DaMatta

http://thefirenote.blogspot.com/2008/05/father-bloopy-ginger-baby.html

Miami Beach is great, but hard to launch a band. Too many tourists, not enough locals, and everywhere is far (except the Everglades, but the alligators don’t care). So it’s inspired oddball, interesting bands, from The Eat and Cichlids to Holy Terrors and Scraping Teeth. Nine-person Father Bloopy (on Dippy Records!) is as unpredictable. One minute Roger Houdaille is Jonathan Richman jamming with Brian Eno on the title track, with similar Lou Reed talk-singing, the next he’s Ray Davies doing wistful poptunes like “Pepper Tan” or “Miss Morality.” Anyone hard to pin down is hard to sum up, but there’re several well-written grungy power-pop songs with English-centric vocals, like Peter Perrett of Only Ones singing Big Star. The base gets a treatment too, in both the standout “Florida No Fault” and “Aventura,” and there’s humor in “Baby Your Lame” and the art rock “Who Pulled the Child Support?” (dippyrecords.com)

Reviewed by Jack Rabid, editor of The Big Takeover.

www.bigtakeover.com