David Nagler, The Inner Banks, Clara Kennedy

David Nagler is a Brooklyn-based musician, composer and songwriter. Mortal Enemies is his forthcoming debut solo record. Comprised of ten songs—nine originals and one cover (a sweeping reinterpretation of “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley)—Mortal Enemies showcases Nagler’s ambitious songwriting and articulate lyrics. The adventurous musical arrangements touch on folk, psychedelia, soul, and Tropicália. Mortal Enemies is co-produced and arranged by Josh Kaufman (The National, Josh Ritter).

As the guitarist & keyboard player on Wesley Stace (John Wesley Harding)’s NPR-broadcasted Cabinet of Wonders variety show, Nagler has performed with such artists as Andrew Bird, Rosanne Cash, Aaron Neville, Fred Armisen, Steve Earle, Eleanor Friedberger, Kelly Hogan, Graham Parker, AC Newman (of The New Pornographers), Andrew VanWyngarden (of MGMT), Ted Leo, Fountains of Wayne, and more.

Nagler has arranged a Welsh men’s choir for Jon Langford of the Mekons’ Skull Orchard Revisited and a 17-piece orchestral pop ensemble for Chris Mills’ The Wall to Wall Sessions; he toured as the accompanist for American Music Club’s Mark Eitzel; he has appeared on records by ‘80s electro-R&B icons The System and Tanya Donelly (of Belly); he has composed music for comedy shorts, modern dance performances, live talk shows, and podcasts; and he is the founder and frontperson of New York metropolitan area pop group Nova Social.

Brooklyn band THE INNER BANKS is the musical alter ego of married couple Caroline Schutz and David Gould and their revolving cast of talented friends. Since forming in 2006, THE INNER BANKS has eluded easy categorization, and in its upcoming third release Wild, the band shows no sign of bucking that trend. The ensemble’s rich, cinematic orchestration skews the traditional country twang of instruments like the lap steel by integrating string sections, wurlitzer and layered female vocals. THE INNER BANKS draws inspiration from a wide variety of traditions—British folk,‘60s pop, shoegaze, film music and Americana among them—but ultimately emerges with a sound that is grander and more unique than the sum of its parts.

SPIN magazine has noted,"The musical pastiche of The Inner Banks is an exercise in euphony, with each disparate sound complementing the piece as a whole. Epics from anthills, each track is grand in scope yet completely unassuming, a piece of a soundtrack that never swells but always delivers." While Terrascope (UK) has described the albums as "crammed with shimmering pop nuggets well worth discovering... the sound of Americana played by Air."

A rich musical history gave rise to THE INNER BANKS’ eclectic sound. Caroline’s grandmother starred in Broadway musicals in the 1920s, and her mother sang regularly in New York and performed with the USO during the Korean War. Caroline also made her mark as the principal singer-songwriter for Folksongs For The Afterlife, whose 2003 full-length record Put Danger Back In Your Life earned a devoted following, as well as praise in Magnet, Time Out New York and Entertainment Weekly. David holds a Master’s degree in ethnomusicology and has a rich background in composing and producing, as well. A true multi-instrumentalist, he played banjo and upright bass in his previous band, The Bootleg Remedy, but has added lap steel guitar, acoustic finger-picking, sound collage and various analog synthesizers to his Inner Banks palette. David also founded DAG! Records in the early 2000s, which now serves as the vessel for his and Caroline's music, as well as a few acclaimed outside projects.

Wild is THE INNER BANKS’ most substantial release yet, offering 13 new tracks. It is also the most hopeful. Whereas prior albums The Inner Banks and Songs from Disko Bay, the latter of which was written after the death of Caroline’s father, struck a more ominous tone, Wild is a more vibrant exploration of identity, destiny and transformation. You can hear the contrast from the opening notes of the title track, "Wild," a propulsive alt-country burst of energy that contemplates the road not taken. As the album progresses through the dark angular folk of "Box and Crown," the cinematic swell of "Sketch" and the unexpected levity of "Found Holiday," there are plenty of surprises and mood swings to go around. Like a good road trip mixed tape, Wild is a soundtrack that ebbs and flow, but ultimately, one that leaves plenty of room for the listener to write their own story into it.

The New Yorker
"...Surreal and soothing indie-pop."

No Depression
"A musical pastoral from Caroline Schutz and David Gould, Wild paints its landscapes with American and English folk traditions, lush strings, keyboards and periodic rock eruptions. The 13 songs depict a winding path with winsome pop songs, mini-concertos for lap steel, and pensive English folk-rock..."

Huffington Post
"If you could conjure a future past, a time both technologically advanced and bucolic, would passionate data shepherds still prove digitally-rendered pleasures of valleys, groves, hills and fields while gamboling on beds of roses? You may fetch up on such a golden shore while lost in Wild, the new release by The Inner Banks..."
The Deli Magazine Album of the Month
"The Inner Banks have found a convincing middle ground between Americana and Dream Pop in the form of a mature, arousing pop with orchestral tendencies. Wild has all the right features to be the album we were waiting for to properly celebrate the upcoming summer. "

SPIN
"The musical pastiche of The Inner Banks is an exercise in euphony, with each disparate sound complementing the piece as a whole. Epics from anthills, each track is grand in scope yet completely unassuming, a piece of a soundtrack that never swells but always delivers."

AbsolutePunk
"...A celestial cornucopia of breathy vocals, swirling orchestration and stirring aural landscapes... Breathtaking... Not to be overlooked... Some of the most lush and eclectic songs released this year."