PRESS

GUILT FREE PLEASURES
"The show was one of the best I've been to all year.  The music was a revelation, and I anticipate having his CD playing on repeat in my car for quite some time. When Wes plays, it is clear that he feels the truth of his music through and through, as if the world only makes sense to him when he's holding his guitar and belting out lyrics... I give the album a resounding yes, with hopes that this will not be the last for Wes and his skillets."

THE WASHINGTON POST "… solid songwriting and tight instrumentation in musical styles ranging from funk to groove-based R&B to soulful jam-based ballads… the most impressive aspect was the songwriting. Tucker's tunes are sturdy without being rigid, soulful without being cloying, and he expresses them like he believes the words."

ON TAP MAGAZINE "From fast-train attacks like “Casting Stones” to funked-up near-raps like “Wasted Worry,” Wes Tucker and his veteran band show what can be done with a setup that’s technically country rock in origin. All the songs are constructed without irony, and most of the narrated thoughts and experiences come from the painful side of the street; Tucker’s smooth vocals range from wistful to angry over multiple, skillfully played guitars."

LEFT OFF THE DIAL "From funk inspired foot-stompers to soulful ballads, Tuckers songwriting style remains strong. He is certainly a talented musician and one that will appeal to the masses. Its obvious that Tucker is a musician that we will be hearing more from over the years."

EARVOLUTION
“Tucker excels in expressing the feelings associated with finding what your heart truly desires and the burdens such knowledge can bring … Discerning listeners with appreciative ears will admire and relish the nuances of Tucker's thoughtful songwriting and the Skillets' skillful musicianship.”

INDIE-MUSIC .COM
"Fine rootsy rock minus the twang, and with a little old school funk thrown in just for grins." -- Jamie Anderson

MUSIC MONTHLY MAGAZINE
"Wes Tucker definitely continues to impress on Beauty in the Broken. By combining the solid songwriting skills he displayed on his debut with the support of his new group of supporting musicians, Tucker has succeeded in making a good thing even better."

“outstanding songwriting ability…[Tradition] is a vibrant work of an original artist.”




BIO

Wes Tucker & The Skillets to Release Afterlens November 17, 2012

D.C.-area band Wes Tucker & The Skillets will release their new studio album Afterlens on November 17th, 2012 with a show at IOTA Club and Café in Arlington, VA. The Reserves and Drew Gibson will open the show.

Afterlens is the band’s fourth full-length record and offers their most fully realized songs to date, thanks, in part, to the expert production of Grammy-Award-winning engineer Matt Shane (Flight of the Conchords, Robbers on High Street, Rosanne Cash).

“I’m proud of this record. I feel like this is our strongest material yet—our best arrangements, a fuller sound, lyrically and vocally, just really solid songs,” said Tucker, who has been recognized in the past by the Mid-Atlantic Song-Writing Contest for his thoughtful, socially conscious lyrics.

That type of songwriting continues on Afterlens, which features stories about soldiers led off to die in the desert and our divisive political climate alongside stories about letting go of the past and redemption, two additional themes Tucker has long been drawn toward.

“Afterlens is a made up word that speaks to the way things look entirely different once they have passed compared to how they look while we are going through them. That became a theme with the songs I was writing for this record. How much we can grow through experience if we learn from it, and how destructive it can be if we don’t.”

The Skillets’ last studio album, The Scorpion and the Dove, earned nominations for Best Roots Rock Group and Best Roots Rock Recording at the 2009 Washington Area Music Association Wammie Awards. The Washington Post described the Skillets’ live performance as a showcase of “solid songwriting and tight instrumentation in musical styles ranging from funk to groove-based R&B to soulful jam-based ballads.” Expect that and more to be on display at IOTA on November 17.