Draft:The Criticals

Overview

The Criticals are an American Rock band that is based in Nashville Tennessee. The band was created in 2018 by Parker Forbes and Cole Shugart^[1]. Other potential members have been inconsistent with different names having played with them live and being credited in music videos and on albums. They found their roots in the Nashville DIY scene and have since gained some popularity and have played live all across the United States. Credited inspirations of the band are The Stone Roses, Jane's Addiction, and The Doors^[2][3].

Mimosa Hygiene

In November 2019 the band released their first EP "Mimosa Hygiene" under Fantasy Records. The EP includes 6 songs and is 17 minutes and 27 seconds long. Tracks for this are "Good Looking", "Treat Ya Better", "Homebody", "Just For The Weekend", "Kate Moss", and "Got No Love". All of the songs on this EP were written by Cole and Parker with "Treat Ya Better" having Brandon Kelly listed as an additional credited songwriter^[4]

Sour Grapes

The band's sophomore EP "Sour Grapes" was released in October 2020. This piece of work is 19 minutes and 50 seconds long with 7 tracks. "Talk Now", "Under Your Nose", "Dancing On My Tongue", "Kansas City", "1952", "High Life Clinic", and "Crocodile Tears" are the 7 tracks listed on this sophomore EP. Like their first one, "Mimosa Hygiene", "Sour Grapes" was also made under Fantasy Records and Distributed by Concord. This album does have more credited songwriters with Andrew Grasso, Jesus Rudolfo Rosas Jr., and Reeve Anthony Powers listed on tracks 3, 6, and 7^[5].

2022 Releases (Habits To Break and Talk Now)

In 2022 the band released a third EP with only 4 songs and a 10-minute and 18-second length called "Habits To Break". Tracks include "United States Of Chemicals", "The Truth", "Absinthe", and "Izzy". This piece of work is different as it only has one song written by exclusively Parker and Cole (United States Of Chemicals) while JJ Scheff is credited as a songwriter on "The Truth" and "Absinthe". "Izzy" has "anonymous" listed as the credited songwriter under the Spotify details^[6]. In 2022 "Talk Now" a 2:47-minute stand-alone single was also released. Credited songwriters are just "The Criticals^[7].

Front Door Confrontations

Front Door Conversations is the latest work released by the band in July 2023. The singles include "Belmont"^[8](track 2) and "Clever Girl" (track 4)^[9]. It is 6 songs total with the complete tracklist including "All The Way", "Belmont", "Call The Cliche", "Clever Girl", "Burn With Me", and "Front Door Confrontations"^[10]. It was recorded by The Criticals at The Shed in Savannah Tennessee, while the drums were recorded at Battle Tapes in Nashville. Tracks 1-3 were mixed by Mark Needham at Southeaster Studios in Nashville. Tracks 4 and 5 were mixed by Vance Powell at Sputnik Sound which is again in Nashville. The last track (track 6) was mixed by Parker Forbes at The Salt Rock in Nashville. It was mastered by Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Sound, Nashville, TN^[11].

Music Videos

The "Belmont" music video is described by the band as a love letter to the old Nashville scene. They try to use this video to capture the previously untouched innocence and community that used to be seen in their town. The video includes images and videos of the band singing the song while being surrounded by the type of community and culture they adore. Credits are as follows Director & Editor: Daniel Chaney, DP: Rawtani Houston, Creative Director: Kathryn Chaney, Stylist: Kathryn Chaney & Albert Oberst, Gaffer: Jaried Gentry, and Grip: Darrell Green. The video was uploaded and released June 28th, 2023 gaining around 81k views on YouTube^[12].

The "Clever Girl" music video shows the band in a typical 9-5 office setting while juxtaposing these scenes with scenes of their current rock and roll lifestyle. The video was directed by Hannah Gray Hall, photography was done by Garret Hayes, Grip/AC by Bryce Barker, produced by Hannah Gray Hall, the art director was Caylah May, editors include Garret Hayes and Hannah Gray Hall Colorist Garret Hayes, and stars Ash Rose, Joni Thomas, Luv Patel, Caylah May, Joe Colvette, and Harrison Forbes. It was released May 31st, 2023 gathering 91k views on YouTube^[13].

The music video for "1952" was released on October 20th, 2021, and received 12k views. It features the band performing the song in 70's style glam and production. Credits are as follows Director: Kirsten Barnett, Cinematography / Editor / Color: Neil Shukla, B Cam Operation: Hannah Hall, Kevin Cecil, Chief Lighting Technician: Kevin Cecil, and Band: Parker Forbes, Cole Shugart, Izra Rudolfo, and Andrew Grasso^[14].

The "Absinthe" music video was uploaded on September 20th, 2021, and shows the band singing at various locations and partying with presumed fans of the band. It stars Parker Forbes, Cole Shugart, Andrew Grasso, and Stylo Ghost as The Criticals and features Courtney Borders, Caleb Smucker, and Bailey. Crew credits are as follows, Director and Editor Hannah Gray Hall, Cinematographer Neil Shukla, Lighting Design Conor Cunningham, Assistant Director Sierra Torres, Unit Stills / Production Assistant Samuel Katz, and Grip / Electric / EPK Roger Ploch. The video gained 40k views on YouTube since its upload.^[15]

The "Crocodile Tears" music video is compiled footage from the band's sold-out show at The Basement East on June 3rd, 2021. It was shot by Hannah Hall and Connor Cunningham, edited by Hannah Hall, and features the band (Parker Forbes, Cole Shugart, Andrew Grasso, Izra Rudolfo, + Dawson Lowe). It was uploaded on June 25th of the same year and has since attained 20k views^[16].

Kansas City's music video takes place and displays the fight and party going on in an underground boxing ring fight club-type facility. It stars Caleb Smucker, Tristan Vogel, and The Criticals, It also features Rae Riot, Raven Mckenzie, Andrew Grasso, Izra Rudolfo, Scott Welch, and Mike Hagler and highlights background talent such as Sierra Torres, Brenner Jennings, Sam Smith, Jacqueline Day, Robert Sieben, Savannah Toal, Ivy Rhodes, Michael Meadows, Tom Ebner, and Levi. The crew credits for the video are as follows, Directed & Edited by Hannah Gray Hall, Produced by The Criticals and Hannah Gray Hall, Cinematography & Lighting Design by Neil Shukla, Assistant Camera & Grip by Caleb Allen Jones, Hair and Makeup by Sierra Torres, Unit Stills by Garret Hayes and Tom Ebner, Production Assistants Sierra Torres and Tom Ebner, Rentals by Garret Hayes and Contrast Studios, and Vehicle from Zacchaeus Dance. It was uploaded to YouTube on May 25th, 2021, and has gathered 25k views on YouTube^[17].

The "Good Looking" music video doesn't include as much of a plot as it is just the band performing the song in a tinfoil-covered room. It was produced and projected by Keesh. Creative direction and editing credits go to Andrew Grasso and Cole Shugart. The group uploaded the video on February 19th, 2021 where it has since received 20k views^[18].

The music video for "Under Your Nose" was uploaded on October 22 of 2020. It was directed and edited by Neil Shukla. 1st Assistant Director is credited to Christopher Richards and Lighting Cameraman to Connor Cunningham. It stars Ivy Rhodes and the band which includes Parker Forbes, Cole Shugart, Dawson Lowe, Izra Rudolfo, and Andrew Grasso. It shows the band performing at a bar while a woman in a fancy dress slowly becomes more and more intoxicated by alcohol and other substances. Since its upload, it has since been watched 23k times on YouTube^[19].

The "High Life Clinic" music video shows a night out with The Criticals during quarantine on September 1st, 2020, and was released to YouTube on September 18th of the same year. It was shot by Hannah Gray Hall, edited by Cole and Parker, and stars Parker Forbes, Cole Shugart, Reeve Powers, Izra Rudolfo, and Andrew Grasso. The description of the video includes this quote from the band describing how the song was written, "We wrote and tracked this song live in a cabin in Turtletown, TN in May 2020. We Airbnb'd a cabin deep in the Ocoee wilderness with 2 gallons of wild turkey, our studio gear, and an engineer for three days to write and record. This was the first song we finished". While this video was their least popular it still has 9.1k views on YouTube^[20].

The "Treat Ya Better" music video was uploaded to YouTube on August 4th, 2020. This is their most popular music video that some credit to the band's popularity as it received 180k views. It was directed and edited by Danial Chaney, lighting was done by Mika Matin, set design and styling was done by Balee Greer, assistant director was Kathryn Hurtado, makeup by Sophia Lauer, and assistance was provided by Hannah Hall. The band in the video includes Parker Forbes, Cole Shugart, Reeve Powers, Izra Rudolfo, and Jeremy Wolda. Featured actors in the video include Walter Egan, Maureen Wildman, Hank Compton, Kyle Neach, Madelein Shank, Lexi Aviles, Nick Fair, Chegs, Keesh OTB, Albert Benedict III, Meg Pollard, Ashlynn Tierney, Kristen Suratt, Savannah Dohler, Savannah Toal, Zayne Mills, and Stephanie Jeffers^[21].

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The Criticals

References