Celilo: Press

"Shades of Drive-by Truckers, the Jayhawks, and other notables from the crestfallen frontier can be found in this local quartet’s sorrowful harmonies and feisty tangle of guitars.... a spirited collection of wistful Americana"

"The Man Who Owns The Sand is the third release of these local alt-country sad sack rockers is a tight, catchy record full of hooky, poppy tunes. Think Wilco or Ryan Adams. Celilo isn't afraid to pull out the Neil Young-like twangy, dirty guitars and vocal harmonies."

"On the new album they take their bourbon-soaked twangst to a new level, Sloan's beaten down vocals travel on world-worn wisdom through barrooms, bedrooms, and back roads..."

"conjures such classic Americana rockers as Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Alejandro Escovedo.."

"sounding eerily like an alt-country Isaac Brock, a brilliantly played and tactfully crafted release.."

"summons up the barroom twang and driving pop of early Wilco, conjures the bleak beauty of Townes Van Zandt..."

The Stranger
"recall classic California acts like the Flying Burrito Brothers and the Byrds, or better yet the Eagles meets Calexico"

"Del Fuegos, Blasters, Neil Young, Flying Burrito Bros....contains some nail splitting rockers..."

Miles of Music
"akin to the Band or the Jayhawks when at their most rural, and in the opposite sonic direction they shift toward a raw edgy sound more in league with Built to Spill or Pavement"

"Celilo's promising debut is filled with lush and poetic alt.country rock"

"rooted in an earlier time but one that looks forward... bittersweet, genuine and old-time tinged effort full of rootsy harmonizing.."

"Pour 1/5 Townes Van Zandt, 1/5 Stones, 1/5 Jayhawks, 1/5 Will Oldham, 1/10 Gillian Welch, 1/10 Stanley Brothers on top and ready is your Celilo. They have given us an outstanding record, one of the highlights of 2004 ..."

"Celilo is at once lilting, sultry, wistful; almost fresh, as in a little wet behind the ears; as in limned out and presented clean and confident; as in enthusiastic and heartfelt enough to make one think hopefully again. But there is a lot of the old tradition there too, and I hear country without the corn, I hear hints of the comforting sensibility of such musical strongholds as Nirvana and Tom Petty, and I might hear a little of Neil Young and such as that, but then maybe I don't know what I'm talking about..."

"sweetness, love lost, death and departure, honest and believable..."