ON TOUR NOW

TORONTO, ON – July 21, 2023 – Nashville-based indie rock band, The Criticals (Parker Forbes and Cole Shugart), have released their new EP, Front Door Confrontations today. The EP is the first for their new label home, Fantasy Records. Front Door Confrontations features two of their recently released singles, Clever Girl and Belmont, along with the epic opener, All The Way.  Listen and purchase here.
 
The Criticals on Front Door Confrontations: “We recorded this EP in the dead of winter, where it was so cold we stuffed hand warmers in our socks. Choosing to be off grid, just the two of us, with no cell phone service, in a shed in rural West Tennessee where we've recorded most of our music. It is the finale of our EPs, before we start working on our full-length debut. Front Door Confrontations is a tribute to our youth. It is meant to be played loud and to embody what is the new Nashville Rock and Roll.”
 
Friends for more than a decade, Forbes and Shugart forged a unique musical bond logging time together in Nashville’s wild DIY rock scene. Building on the foundation laid by Bowie, The Stones, and The Kinks, their taut, revved up tunes also evoke post-modern heroes like The Strokes, The 1975, and Fontaines DC as well. 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 fuses tuneful classicism and indie-rock thrash into a seductive, unforgettable mix. Now, following a pair of highly-regarded EPs — 2019’s Mimosa 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 2, Barboza in Seattle on September 12, Brick & Mortar in San Francisco on September 15, and The Echo in Los Angeles on September 18. Full tour dates are listed below.

UPCOMNING TOUR DATES:Tour Dates:
August 2 - The Basement East - Nashville, TN
September 5 - Uptown Theatre Encore Room - Kansas City, MO
September 7 - Vultures - Colorado Springs, CO
September 8 - Lost Lake - Denver, CO
September 10 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT
September 12 - Barboza - Seattle, WA
September 13 - Polaris Hall - Portland, OR
September 15 - Brick & Mortar - San Francisco, CA
September 17 - Goldfield Trading Post - Sacramento, CA
September 18 - The Echo - Los Angeles, CA
September 20 - House of Blues Voodoo Room - San Diego, CA
September 21 - Valley Bar - Phoenix, AZ

DOWNLOAD – press photo | DOWNLOAD – EP cover artwork