Comments (0) Best Local Act Gone National - 2010
Theodore
Theodore's latest release, Hold You Like a Lover, is at once foreign and familiar, homesick and homeless, gorgeous and damaged in ways only residents of a confused blank slate of a city like St. Louis could create. Referencing guttural blues, alt-country icons Uncle Tupelo and free-jazz-era Miles Davis — multi-instrumentalist J.J. Hamon plugs his harmonica into guitar pedals much like Davis' trumpet circa On the Corner — Theodore's noise-folk reflects the cultural history of the Gateway City more than Ozzie Smith back-flipping over a Budweiser keg filled with toasted ravioli. While the rest of the nation takes note of Theodore via glowing reviews of Lover and the band's stellar session on buzz-generating blog Daytrotter, locals have cause to swell with pride. We all cheer for St. Louis bands to garner national attention, but Theodore transcends hopes and expectations by bringing such an essence of the city along for the ride.
