zurich's indie rock trio gabardine is among the few swiss bands that could easily rank near the top internationally, if they didn't live in our neck of the woods. but they don't care about all that and have now released "slow motion rocket", a wonderfully moody and captivating new album. 15 songs outline a wide range of emotions in a quietly noisy, playfully melancholic sort of way, ranging from bare-bones song structures a la cake to dream walking melody lines. pensive, thoughtful, intense like a long autumn walk. one of the most engrossing rock albums of the year. concerts in cchaffhausen (10/17), colothurn (11/06) and zurich (11/22) not to be missed!
(tages anzeiger, zurich 15.10. 03)


we live in the worst of times. every tv station is showing bland, blood- and worthless
singing puppets being "discovered" or haphazardly thrown together into "bands" until you get so bored that your thighs fall asleep. but: we also live in the best of times.
for as long as there are still bands such as zurich aussersihl's own gabardine, there's still a golden glimmer to our present times. their hauntingly beautiful music - somewhere between ipanema-punk and spare-bedroom-lofi-pop - has for years been like a good soundtrack to good people's lives. feathery jazz chords are looped thru candy colored stomp boxes, a grumbling bass checks in from below, while the man behind the drum kit conjures up all sorts of rhythmic underpinnings without breaking a sweat.
a few weeks ago gabardine have released "slow motion rocket", their third album, and it's a superb piece of work, once again filled with an astonishing wealth of melodies and sounds. songs such as "strobe Light" or the striking "feeder road" are turning heads everywhere and leave the listener calm and contented, feelings never brought about by prefab pop fodder. the three good natured "astronauts" are now climbing aboard their slow motion rocket and are traveling all thru switzerland's sonic space. and while clueless couch potatoes everywhere are still looking for that next artificial "pop idol", gabardine are already at work setting up their amps, and the tubes are starting to sizzle.
(loop, 10. 03)


gabardine is ready for lift-off. a guitar trio with a complex album. the launching tower is creaking at the seams, vapor trails are streaking along the sonic rocket's sleek exterior, chips are getting warm, the universe remains cold, and the astronaut is thinking of his girlfriend.
(weltwoche 11. 9. 03)


press soda fountain

l e t z i g r u n d
the second album by the trio gabardine is one of the most convincing swiss records of the last few years. a grumbling lofi masterpiece, it oscillates successfully between fragile slow motion and fiery fast forward. the subtle sonic tapestries that manfred hirt, daniel hobi and roberto tomai manage to pull from their instruments are amazing, and the songwriting is simply awesome. the only thing separating gabardine from a billiard tournament with radiohead, blur and dEUS is the occasionally intruding swiss accent of the singer. otherwise:marvellous
forever. (tages-anzeiger, zurich, switzerland; 8-30-00)

z u r i c h   a u s s e r s i h l   a l l   t h e   w a y
hallelujah! we are celebrating the arrival of a phenomenal new album, which is bound to wake the city from its late summer slumber: "soda fountain" by gabardine. after their great debut disc "variety outlet" (1998), this zurich band presents a collection of first-rate gleam-below-the-surface songs. the trio, whose characteristic blend of lofi indie rock and bossa nova has been aptly described as "ipanema punk", consists of manfred hirt (the guitar player with the longest effect loop), roberto tomai (dubbed "world's funniest bass player" by a local paper), and drummer daniel hobi, who has been known to run a circle around his drum kit instead of taking a solo. "soda fountain" finds them layering catchy pop hooks with intriguing soundscapes, open feedback with refreshing guitar runs. thus a masterpiece emerges, a string of pop music pearls, an album that sounds like an intense conversation between yo la tengo and sonic youth at the jazz school rec room. And if everything else in the world is accidental, this record is a necessity. (metropol, zurich, switzerland; 8-29-00)

s o d a   f o u n t a i n
over the last few years some wonderful music emerged from switzerland. some more noisy stuff (like "favez" and "chewy") but also more softer music (like "sportsguitar") . the zurich trio gabardine fits in here effortlessly and present with "soda fountain" a truly wonderful record. the songs are sometomes reminiscent of american lofi witha touch of dEUS and then again they are totally different. "livingroompop" would be anadequate description. a swiss journalist called it "ipanema punk" because gabardine like to build in bossanova elements to their songs. it's obvious that musicians with an awesome sence for harmonies and with wonderful, mature songwriting were at work here. the records busts with beautiful ideas and oifr "guz" maurmann did an excellent producer job. "soda fountain" in any case is a small jewel that makes me smile again and again! beautiful record. (gästeliste-musicmagazine, dortmund, germany; 3-2001)