THE LONESOME HEROES: Press

View The Lonesome Heroes's EPK

Lonesome Heroes "Don't Play to Lose" Music Video from Daniel Stolzman on Vimeo.

The Lonesome Heroes are a wandering lot, so maybe we shouldn’t be too surprised that it took them about three years to make a video for “Don’t Play to Lose.” We give them a pass on the old tune, though, because the video is pretty great. How can you not love two adorable kids escaping from some hardcore bikers and bouncers?! It’s like Goonies II: Goonies in the City! Or something. Kudos to Daniel Stolzman of Frameless Films for directing the video, and to Rich Russell and Landry McMeans for wherever they dug up their younger counterparts. As for the Heroes themselves, they’ll be back in town after last month’s trek up into the north east for a gig at the Continental Club on Saturday, January 16.

LIVE SHOWS:


CONTINENTAL CLUB. AUSTIN, TX.
“...Li’l Cap’n Travis, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Magnetic Fields, and The Flaming Lips. The group clearly has a wide range of musical interests, perhaps only surpassed by the number of instruments you could hear on any given track. The 7-plus band members bring everything from pedal steel to saxophone to fiddle to melodica into their twangy indie Americana.”
Jan 16, 2010
The Austinist

MUSIC VIDEO PREMIERE.
“The Lonesome Heroes played a phenomenal set on a snowy night in Virginia, winning over a staff full of new fans in the process. The video was charming and full of life, and was so well-received that we had to show it twice. The staff and customers at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Winchester are already looking forward to a return visit from the Lonesome Heroes.”
Dec 9, 2009
Steve Nerangis, Owner
ALAMO DRAFT HOUSE, WINCHESTER, VA.

SILVER DOLLAR BAR, JACKSON, WY.
“Just when you thought country-rock’s boundaries were maxed-out, Austin’s Lonesome Heroes added a psychedelic-indie edge. The free-spirited Heroes are a diamond in the saturated buffet of what people are calling country these days.”
Jul 22, 2009
PLANET JACKSON HOLE

AUSTIN SOUND: SOUND OFF.
“Few young artists have done as much to promote the local music scene as the Lonesome Heroes.”
Feb 23, 2009
AUSTIN SOUND

AUSTIN CHRONICLE ARTICLE:
DON’T LOOK BACK. Lonesome Heroes rewrite the rules of alt.country.
“Since taking up residency at the Hole in the Wall last September, the Lonesome Heroes' alt.country nights have become one of the most popular weekly events in Austin. As a genre, alt.country hardly begins to characterize the eclectic lineups. All musical directions ultimately converge in the Lonesome Heroes' easy psychedelic twang.”
Apr 4, 2008
Doug Freeman
THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE

WALDEN'S COFFEE HOUSE, RENO, NV.
“If Maryrose Crook and the Renderers are the jaded souls playing to the barflies as closing time looms, then The Lonesome Heroes are the still-hopeful opening act.”
75 OR LESS

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"CROOKED HIGHWAY" (2008) REVIEWS:

AUSTIN SOUND REVIEW: "CROOKED HIGHWAY"
“The group’s debut full length flourishes in its ability to be a guiltless revelry that extends beyond alt country. Evoking sounds from the Cowboy Junkies to a twangier version of Alison Krauss the album draws the listener in with ease. An excellent offering from a talented duo that intertwine their talents to perfection.”
Jan 13, 2009
Kathryn-Terese Haik
AUSTIN SOUND

THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE REVIEWS: "CROOKED HIGHWAY"
“The debut full-length moves in more focused, if experimentally flourished, directions. Russell's playful drawl shading Lyle Lovett. McMeans' soft trill on "Canary" and "Stardust" lifts the album into airier climes that balance Russell's earthier tones, like Alison Krauss with a Texas twang, the best songs marrying the two vocal impulses in duet.”
Oct 31, 2008
Doug Freeman
THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE

AUSTIN SOUND: SOUND OFF
“There are touches of cosmic country and Sweetheart of the Rodeo in their psychedelic tinged, restless country tunes, but the real draw of the Heroes is excellent melding of Russell and McMeans in spirit and sound. McMeans dulcet twang and expansive dobro, and Russells’ more grounded drawl and guitar combine for a mesmerizing and beautiful exchange, while their songs evoke the open west Texas expanse of road and possibilities. With their latest album, Crooked Highway, they have assembled a stellar band of local luminaries.”
Feb 23, 2009
AUSTIN SOUND


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"DON'T PLAY TO LOSE" (2006) REVIEWS:

AUSTIN DAZE REVIEWS: "DON'T PLAY TO LOSE"
“The Lonesome Heroes are on a mission to make a different kind of country music. With its Grapes of Wrath era feel soaked in reverb, you get the feeling you are listening to a long distant echo of something that once was. The drifting melancholy and bittersweet style is beyond the range of their youth, and yet it seems totally natural to them.”
Maria Mesa
THE AUSTIN DAZE

THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE REVIEWS: "DON'T PLAY TO LOSE"
“The Heroes sad and forlorn country cry walks the dirt road from West Texas desert to a poor man's urban dwelling. Singer Rich Russell's Brooklyn upbringing marries Willie Nelson to Will Oldham on the Heroes' debut EP, and when McMeans' delicately airy voice opens up "Oyster," tears roll.”
Jul 21, 2006
Darcie Stevens
THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE

AMERICANA UK REVIEWS: "DON'T PLAY TO LOSE"
“A sixteen minute psychedelic steel trip. The eerie, liquid noise that Landry McMeans pulls from her lap steel and dobro is the defining sound on this five track EP.”
AMERICANA UK MAGAZINE


AUSTIN SOUND REVIEWS: "DON'T PLAY TO LOSE"
“A perfect blend of indie space rock and classic country, the abstract neurotic and the concrete pathetic. The country instrumentals and space rock production are a classic case of opposites attracting. The lyrics delightfully blend the conventions of both genres.”

“It is hard to imagine the Space Country sound through description alone, for you certainly don't hear it on the radio or even very often on the indie scene. But when you do, and it's done as perfectly as it is on this EP, it registers to the bone. It would be hard to find a more perfect exemplar of this crazy coupling that turns out not to be so crazy than this band.”
Apr 1, 2008
B.D. FISCHER
AUSTIN SOUND

FOXY DIGITALIS REVIEWS: "DON'T PLAY TO LOSE"
This is the perfect soundtrack for hunkering down in a sleeping bag under the stars somewhere out in the wild expanses of Americas vast hinterlands, counting shooting stars and cowering from coyotes howling in the night.
Aug 7, 2006
Jeff Penczak
FOXY DIGITALIS MAGAZINE

SMOTHER MAGAZINE REVIEWS: "DON'T PLAY TO LOSE"
Salty vocals with numerous harmony parts soar into a high ledge of abandoned folk guitar and twangy hollow body guitar swagger. With psychedelic underpinnings, Don”t Play to Lose is a tasty morsel of modern country folk that was extraordinarily produced and engineered.
j-Sin
SMOTHER MAGAZINE