Eclectic Indie/Alt Rock trio Voodoo Loons (who claim residence in both Cincinnati, OH and Donegal, Ireland) are guaranteeing that their latest album, The Criminal Ear, is better than Songs of Innocence, the new U2 album Apple recently spammed 500 million iTunes accounts with.
“It’s been a few weeks now”, explains Loons guitarist/singer Dennis O’Hagan, “we’ve had a chance to listen to Songs of Innocence and let it soak in. Not to be cocky, and with all due respect to U2… but The Criminal Ear is simply a better album. It sounds better, the songs are better, and we’re sure people would agree if only they’d hear it for themselves… But in today’s environment, that’s the trick, isn’t it?”
While the new Voodoo Loons album has earned glowing reviews and airplay on regional and even satellite radio, the band’s dilemma is how to reach the unconverted masses in today’s music environment. How does a little independent band convince the world that their album is better than the one Apple just stuck in everyone’s iTunes on behalf of the world’s biggest band?
With that question in mind, the band decided to not only make The Criminal Ear available for free download (or you can name your own price, if you prefer to pay the band for their work), but is also backing their claim with a set of guarantees:
1. If you pay for the download and don’t think the album is better than U2’s, the band will refund your money.
2. If you take the download for free and still prefer the U2 album, O’Hagan will eat a bug and post the video on YouTube (the band also guarantees it will be a sizable, crunchy bug, but feels confident that won’t be necessary).
O’Hagan says the Loons are aware that some might have a negative reaction to their position, but feel it is a noble one. “The people who know us will tell you we are extremely humble, and honestly we are. We’re nobody, really, and we have a tremendous amount of respect for U2. They’ve made amazing music, and their last tour was unbelievable. But here they are the biggest band in the world, and we look at this album they just pushed to tens of millions of people, and then we look at our little album, our art that we poured our souls into, and I’m sorry but there’s just no comparison. So we’re giving it away, with a request, a guarantee, and a promise. No less.”
This is a grassroots effort, O’Hagan explains. Voodoo Loons themselves are a grassroots effort. The band is asking, even challenging, people to download the album and see for themselves. “If we’re wrong and you actually prefer the U2 album, we’ll make it up to you. Here’s your money back, or I will eat a bug if you grabbed it for free. But if you agree with us,” he adds, “share the album. Post the link for your friends. Turn them on to it. Let’s see what happens if we push the better album.”
Download The Criminal Ear at http://voodooloons.bandcamp.com/album/the-criminal-ear
Voodoo Loons will reschedule ASAP their East Coast Fall Tour, originally slated for October, which has been canceled due to a family illness. The Criminal Ear is the band’s 2nd album. More Voodoo Loons info at http://voodooloons.com
