Nashville-based indie rock band The Criticals (Parker Forbes and Cole Shugart), have released their new single “Belmont” today, along with a companion music video directed by Daniel Chaney, WATCH HERE. The song is a love letter to their hometown of Nashville and captures both the idleness of youth and independent spirit running through the city’s Belmont Hillsboro neighborhood. The band recently signed to Fantasy Records and announced their debut EP for the label titled Front Door Confrontations out July 21. The EP also features their recently released single “Clever Girl.”
The Criticals on “Belmont”
Back in 2018, Nashville was very different than it is now. The rest of the country was
just starting to consider moving here but hadn’t pulled the trigger quite yet. It was an
untouched, innocent, and inexpensive place. Especially the underground music
scene, house shows and backyard parties til 5am because none of us could play at
the actual clubs. “Belmont” is a vivid description of the community we were all
immersed in at that time of our lives. It was so electric and so real.
Friends for more than a decade, having first met as children at music camp – Forbes and Shugart logged time together in Nashville’s wild DIY rock scene. The two musicians quite simply feed off one another’s energy and not only has it made for a close friendship, but an incomparable musical partnership that blends tuneful classicism and indie-rock thrash into a seductive, unforgettable mix. Now, following a pair of highly-regarded EPs — 2019’sMimosa Hygiene and the following year’s Sour Grapes — not to mention a steady diet of raucous live shows, the band is set to release their most accomplished work yet with Front Door Confrontations.
Since officially forming in 2018, The Criticals have proven themselves a powerful duo — one with both a diverse musical appetite in their songwriting and a whiplash live show that’s drawn sellout crowds in major US markets including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The band will be on tour throughout the summer and fall. Highlights include a hometown show at The Basement East in Nashville on August 2nd, Barboza in Seattle on September 12th, Brick & Mortar in San Francisco on September 15th and The Echo in Los Angeles on September 18th. Full tour dates are listed below.
Tour Dates:
July 8 – Pleasantville Music Festival – Pleasantville, NY
July 9 – Mr. Smalls Theatre – Millvale, PA
July 11 – Open Chord Music – Knoxville, TN
July 14 – A&R Music Bar – Columbus, OH
Aug 2 – The Basement East – Nashville, TN
Sept 5 – Uptown Theatre Encore Room – Kansas City, MO
Sept 7 – Vultures – Colorado Springs, CO
Sept 8 – Lost Lake – Denver, CO
Sept 10 – Kilby Court – Salt Lake City, UT
Sept 12 – Barboza – Seattle, WA
Sept 13 – Polaris Hall – Portland, OR
Sept 15 – Brick & Mortar – San Francisco, CA
Sept 17 – Goldfield Trading Post – Sacramento, CA
Sept 18 – The Echo – Los Angeles, CA
Sept 20 – House of Blues Voodoo Room – San Diego, CA
Sept 21 – Valley Bar – Phoenix, AZ
