RELIANT
TOM
"Nevermind the Garbage" single out 3.27
Tracing their origins to a chance meeting at DIY show in Brooklyn in 2015, the Brooklyn-based post rock electronic band and experimental performance art Reliant Tom is centered around its core creative duo, Western Massachusetts-born, Brooklyn-based composer Monte Weber and Dallas, TX-born, Brooklyn-based choreographer and vocalist Claire Cuny. The duo’s collaboration is a seamless synthesis of their individual talents and interests – sound design, wearable technology, modern dance and hook-driven, yet genre-defying songwriting.
“Reliant Tom gives me the outlet to explore both pulse driven works while maintaining the other musical elements which I find fascinating - timbre, aleatoric processes, and interactive technologies,” Weber explains. Adds Cuny, “Our ultimate goal with Reliant Tom is to be a multi-media performance experience that straddles the line between pop and experimental music - and philosophizing about what that even means, and is that even possible as ‘experimental pop’?”
Thematically, the duo’s two previous releases, 2016’s self-released, self-titled EP and 2018’s critically applauded, full-length debut effort Bad Orange, touch upon the pitfalls of digital communication and the generally blasé nature of modern social interaction – through the guise of avant-pop and avant-punk influenced musical devices and arrangements featuring electric guitar, vocals, a hybrid electro-acoustic drum kit, synthesizers and Weber’s Kontrol Instrument, which he developed while studying at the Paris-based Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music as a way to make electronic music more tactile and immersive in its performance.
Slated for a Spring 2020 release through Chicago-based Diversion Records, Reliant Tom’s sophomore effort Play & Rewind is a decidedly bold and self-assured step forward: Cuny’s sultry and expressive vocals while being prominently placed front and center, effortlessly glide over lush yet spacious arrangements of shimmering acoustic guitars, atmospheric electronics and twinkling keys with the material possessing a cinematic air that recalls Dummy-era Portishead, Tales of Us-era Goldfrapp, Radiohead circa OK Computer and others. And while continuing to be tech heavy in their means of sonic production, their thematic exploration of communication and interaction in the digital age takes a back seat. This time taking a more human approach, the material may arguably be the most mature yet accessible, most emotionally honest and vulnerable of their growing catalog.
Happy Birthday single
9.28.18
Diversion Records
SOS single
3.2.18
Diversion Records
Reliant Tom's EP
10.4.16
Self release
BAD ORANGE album
11.2.18
Diversion Records
"Reliant Tom’s Bad Orange is one of those records that proves art is all in the details. Each of the album’s nine tracks are underscored by sparse, gritty electronic production that feels at once cold and analogue, creating a musical mise-en-scene for powerful vocal performances by vocalist Claire Cuny."
View -The Deli Magazine (NYC)
"Avant-pop duo, Reliant Tom, is nothing if not absolutely striking. The two-piece combines clever instrumentals and cutting edge musical tech with sultry vocals and sharp-tongued lyricism. View -The Deli Magazine (NYC)
"They constantly push genre boundaries to the limit with their experimental brand of avant-pop." -Artvoice
"Full of lush atmospheric tones that radiate with undeniable elegance" -Custom Made Music
"You can't help but be fascinated by Weber's sound design and composition sensibility as well as be captivated by
the haunting timbre of Cuny's voice" -Musical HeARTBeat
"Reliant Tom’s EP it is definitely an album I know I’ll find myself revisiting on late nights and early mornings." -No More Division
"...Reliant Tom shows their cyberpunk leanings and create a funky, futuristic spectacle that shines brightly. "
View - The Big Takeover
"An experimental piece with that intoxicating blend of avant-pop with beautifully constructed and pliable melodies."
View -Music & Riots Magazine
"This is music that will open up the door to your senses."
View -Firesquid Music Blog
"This is a sonically dynamic duo that demands to be recognized with their sheer musical senses and hook-laden darkly tinged tracks that leave the listener in a state of yearning."
View -Jammerzine
"truly captivating musician with an eerie presence or a rock band that are just the coolest shit ever. Well that’s what this is, it really is a mix of the two." -Audiotox
"Feel the Garbage meets Portishead vibes" -Raised by Gypsies
The “nuanced connection between the movement and the music allowed the audience to be a part of an experience, not just witness a show.”
-Christopher Dolder speaking to The Daily Campus (SMU)
