LA WEEKLY An absolute gem. The key is the punk-blues piano of Johnny Iguana blended with the gorgeous vocals…The band is composed of super talented musicians…Captivating…There’s no filler here…enthralling…It’s a record that ends and you want to hit ‘play’ again. Don’t resist. (Album of the Week pick.) (FULL REVIEW HERE)
MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE A skewed cabaret band of jazz, blues and rockabilly…A sensibility that feels equal parts James Dean and David Lynch.
NPR MUSIC Chicago’s original recipe band…The Claudettes’ sonic playing field is the blues and everything after, all tastefully and artfully blended together….Perhaps the band’s greatest super power: songwriting. (FULL FEATURE HERE)
GRANT BRITT, NO DEPRESSION Sleek, sensuous vocals….a mind-bending approximation of the B-52’s covering Devo on a spaghetti western odyssey…Iguana’s impressive songwriting skills are on display throughout the album….Even approaching a more mainstream soundscape, it’s still the quirkiest sound around. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
J. POET, ROCK & ROLL GLOBE Iguana’s songwriting blends all these elements into a sound that brings to mind the pop standards of the ’40s and ’50s.….’The Claudettes Go Out!’ shows the band’s mastery of every era of American music, from the roots of the blues, to today’s modern pop….the Claudettes pen standards for a new generation. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
JOHN APICE, AMERICANA HIGHWAYS Their tight approach to varied musical genres is adorned with no gimmicks, nothing superficial and everything suited to inspiring melodies and spirited lyrics…rousing thunderclouds of music….My first impression was this was a dance record, a ’60s-inspired girl-group endeavor–but it’s not. It’s way better than that. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
EMILY DUFF, ROCKING MAGPIE (UK) Your new favorite band have made a stellar, timeless record….An earful of delight…cleverly crafted songs…I am here to tell you that you can…and you should believe the hype…tracks so diverse in genre that they recall Everything But The Girl, The Jam, Leon Russell and DEVO all at once…I keep going back for more, discovering another layer to investigate and love with each and every listen….Wrecking Crew good vibrations…channels a lost track from The Who’s ‘Tommy’ and that’s no understatement…the album draws to a satisfying close, and you realize that you have a new favorite band who have made a stellar, timeless record that you will enjoy for the rest of your life. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
LOUDER THAN WAR (UK) Eleven prime fresh cuts of glorious attitude-packed musicianship…superb…achingly beautiful…will have you reaching for the repeat button. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
STEPHEN THOMAS ERLEWINE, ALLMUSIC.COM Clever, soulful rock & roll that’s rooted in blues, jazz, and R&B but veers toward classic pop: music that’s designed to be played in the heart of the night but is snappy and catchy enough to shine brightly during the day…..It all adds up to a vibrant listening experience, one that feels fresh even as it flirts with the past. (4 stars, Editor’s Choice) (FULL REVIEW HERE)
NO DEPRESSION (Amos Perrine) Hard-driving New Orleans-inspired piano anchors a wall-of-sound approach…ranges from the likes of Allen Toussaint to Julie London backed by a 1960s hot-rod band…an ambitious, elegant record, the likes of which are in short supply…what these four have done is no small feat…if (it) doesn’t grab you, then I don’t know what will. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
GLIDE MAGAZINE This recording will send echoes from Julie London to Allen Toussaint to garage rockers like the Detroit Cobras and the Black Keys…exceptionally strong and musically rich. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
POP MATTERS A particularly potent batch of compositions that highlight the quartet’s undeniable chemistry. Johnny Iguana’s piano remains a driving force within the group….The Claudettes have stepped comfortably into their finest moment yet…spotlights the group’s ability to marry humor with uncompromising musical ferocity. (FULL FEATURE HERE)
THE ALTERNATE ROOT Gypsy accents…majestic theatrics…soul-saving boogie…carnival cabaret…’High Times in the Dark’ sets up as main stage, big tent, taking the audience away from the troubles of day-to-day life with the merry melodrama of the Claudettes….The band put the bomp into pomp…(A) beautiful mash-up of coordinated chaos.
MOUNTAIN STAGE (NPR) If you like NRBQ, Medeski Martin and Wood, or any combination of amped up piano soul, then you’ll like the Claudettes.
BILL KOPP/MUSOSCRIBE What the Claudettes do is truly special: their music can’t be described in a few words, and it’s so damn good that one doesn’t even want to try. Let the music speak for itself…You’ll hear echoes of blues, R&B, punk and postwar jazz…and it all rocks with an undeniably sophisticated, sexy swagger. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
THE VINYL DISTRICT The band pulls off the difficult feat of being clearly roots cognizant while never sounding like a dusted-off relic….There’s considerable pop savvy on display, and in spots the LP is kinda like a 21 century version of what Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and the Dixie Flyers were doing. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
AMERICAN SONGWRITER It nods from diverse influences to piano blues and rockabilly to roots, jazz and soul. They’ve cultivated a sound that’s equally clamorous and shimmering–hence the term ‘garage cabaret’…a sense of bravado, both vocally and instrumentally. (FULL FEATURE HERE)
GREG KOT, CHICAGO TRIBUNE A revelatory blend of jazz and blues, stirred with punk brio. There are also dashes of classical and world music, and enough stops, starts and hairpin turns to suggest the giddiness of Raymond Scott’s cartoon music…How do they do it?
Johnny talks with Greg Kot in an extended Chicago Tribune interview
Greg also picks The Claudettes’ NO HOTEL as one of his top Chicago albums of 2015
HISTORIA DEL BLUES (Bogota, Colombia) A kind of catharsis…with much love and humor…’High Times in the Dark’ is an unpredictable album…based on Chicago blues but it has many New Orleans touches…it moves through rock, jazz, R&B and punk, without establishing a boundary between them…a very fresh sound that likes to flirt with the past.
FRANK GUTCH JR, NO DEPRESSION Holy Mackerel…I hear so many levels of what I consider amazing creativity…The Claudettes give me that same rush I get every time I hear Gruppo Sportivo…this album will end up on a very special list at the end of the year…I hear touches of Jerry Lee Lewis at his most manic…of cinema…of multiple genres wrapping around one another…These guys are the B-movies of the music world—maybe not understood now, but in the future, the kings and queens of the universe! (FULL REVIEW HERE)
FRED MILLS, BLURT The quartet…musters more per-capita energy across these dozen tunes than most any garage combo you’d care to mention…epic in feel…cinematic…a kind of cross between Dr. John-styled N’awlins rock and Krautrock-laced psychedelic punk….a musical magician’s act, primarily based around hi-nrg blues-jazz compositions for piano, bass, drums, and vocals, and a helluva lot of fun. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
BILL BENTLEY’S BANDSTAND, THE MORTON REPORT They’ve got firepower to spare, a bushel of original songs that can be detonated at will….There is simply no way to lose…a place not often visited these days by rock & rollers….These are a dozen songs played for keeps…guaranteed to turn everything from a gymnasium for juveniles to a geriatrics ward into a hothouse of delirious delight. Wear it out. (FULL REVIEW HERE)
GARY GRAFF, BILLBOARD The Claudettes begin a whole new era with Dance Scandal at The Gymnasium! The 12-song set showcases a different lineup of the band…but that’s only made the Claudettes’ distinct and idiosyncratic blend—punk, blues, R&B, rockabilly, some jazz—more potent. (FULL FEATURE HERE)
JEFF ELBEL, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES The band honors its disparate roots while crowding the palette even further on the new album….New Orleans stroll, roots, jazz, krautrock and rockabilly are swirled into the delightfully confounding mixture….Zach Verdoorn plays frequently feral bass and guitar.….Iguana deploys his piano as a blunt-force instrument.” (FULL FEATURE HERE)
SPILL MAGAZINE (Toronto): The Claudettes are…putting out music that sounds unlike like anything out there now….They have roots in the bluesy jazz groups of the past, the classic rock ‘n’ roll from the beginning, current folk influences, some country mixed in, and something special that is simply impossible to place….Their newest album really is a true masterpiece….It’s unlike anything I’ve heard before. 10/10.
NICK CRISTIANO, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER The title of the band’s album, Dance Scandal at the Gymnasium!, hints at the kind of kitschy fun percolating under this audaciously genre-defying set….From roots to pop to punk, the musical strains span decades as well as styles, making for a mash-up delivered with deft musicianship and flair.
RICK MASON, MINNEAPOLIS CITY PAGES Trying to parse the sprawling, shapeshifting, intoxicating gloop that Chicago’s Claudettes concoct would be “Utterly Absurd.” That’s the title of a noisy, twisted stomp on the quartet’s new album…it sounds like psychobilly night at New Orleans’ Dew Drop Inn. Blues, punk, and vintage rock slip up top, swirling around the piano antics of blues/art-rock vet Johnny Iguana.
MINNPOST (Minneapolis) You could throw a lot of descriptors at the Claudettes, and they would all stick: Windy City blues, punk blues, jazz, roots, rockabilly, soul, juke joint….Johnny Iguana is a hardcore piano banger….The music is fierce and the lyrics are wicked. If you’re on the hunt for something you haven’t heard before, this Chicago-based band is probably it.
THE SECOND DISC The Chicago group blends crunchy riffs with rhythm and blues, sixties-style pop and soul, and plenty of attitude….The sound is raw and immediate….This Scandal boasts punk spirit, earworm melodies, and a neo-retro sound that’s loaded with appeal.
TROY MICHAEL, INNOCENT WORDS Raw and unencumbered musicianship…the soul of the ’60s, psychobilly punk of the early ’80s and vaudevillian blues…commands your attention….one of the most entertaining and unique albums of this year.
DETROIT METRO-TIMES Psychobilly might be an unfamiliar term to some, but when describing Chicago cabaret rockers the Claudettes, it’s pretty damn accurate….The sultry, retro moodiness captured on the band’s latest record sums up what makes the Claudettes’ twisted ragtime vibe stand out from your typical revivalists….The Claudettes are well versed in whimsy, and throwing listeners for a loop.
MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE Another alluringly idiosyncratic mélange of blues, jazz, pop, rockabilly, punk and soul with a sometimes noirish vibe and a sometimes kinetic kick.
KEYBOARD MAGAZINE: Blues with the ferocity of punk….The piano takes center stage in the band’s music and songwriting, as it does on their new song “Don’t Stay with Me,” our featured track this week.
TOM HAUGEN, DAILY VAULT An unlikely meshing of blues, rockabilly, jazz and ’60s pop, all with traces of burlesque and vaudeville spirit….both reserved and ignited, sophisticated and reckless, and it contains some of the best elements of every notable genre of music since the ’60s….There aren’t too many albums that can remind you of both the Cramps and Patsy Cline.
JEFF ELBEL, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES Chicago’s premiere punk-blues piano band are back in high gear. Their fusion of sounds (ranges) from Otis Spann to the Minutemen and from Ray Charles to Raymond Scott…(and they) do wicked things to standards.
The Claudettes selected as Bluesbreaker of the Week by Dan Aykroyd (a.k.a. Elwood Blues) on Bluesmobile!
The Claudettes featured on Sound Opinions, “The World’s Only Rock and Roll Talk Show”!