BIOGRAPHY:
The music of mr. Gnome has been described as utilizing elements of AltRock, Metal, Post Punk, and Prog, but lands in a realm of their own making, crafting a compelling sonic-psychedelic melange of indie rock. Since their conception in 2005, the Cleveland duo has released two EPs, receiving wide-ranging and honorable comparisons to Massive Attack, PJ Harvey, Tool, Portishead, Cat Power, Pelican, Death From Above 1979, Bjork and Blonde Redhead. While comparisons vary, one thing is certain - the duo's unique sound explores unpredictable shades of violence and intensity, while meshing the sludgy, reverberating monsoon of hardcore with the feminine. Their debut full-length CD, Deliver This Creature, is available now on El Marko Records.

Rising from the ashes of a basement band that never saw the light of day, Nicole Barille and Sam Meister began experimenting with a sound based on minimalist instrumentation and the rigid dichotomy of soft vs. loud and masculine vs. feminine. Within a year, the two released their first EP, Echoes on the Ground, and were touring the regional circuit. Their second EP, self-titled (Mr. Gnome), was released in November of 2006 and the two, having hooked up with Lost Barrio Artists, a booking agency based out of Tucson, Arizona, now found themselves on the national circuit. After completing their first two national tours, Barille and Meister found it hard to go back to the daily grind and felt an immediate urgency to continue traveling the countryside.

With the road calling, Nicole and Sam ditched their belongings in a storage space and temporarily parted ways with the midwest. Mr. Gnome, an officially homeless band, began touring the United States, living out of a van and sleeping on random couches for the second part of 2007. With a handful of new material in their setlist, the two used practice spots along the way to complete the writing of their new creation and by the force of their journey, discovered both Larry Crane's Jackpot Studios (Elliott Smith, Cat Power, The Shins, The Decemberists) in Portland, Oregon and Craig Schumacher's Wavelab Studios (Calexico, DeVotchka, Neko Case, Animal Collective, Iron and Wine) in Tucson, Arizona where they recorded their first full-length album with engineers Kendra Lynn, and Chris Schultz. Mr. Gnome headed back to Cleveland to put the finishing touches on their album at Ante Up Audio (Bone Thugs N' Harmony, Tori Amos, Guided By Voices) working with Michael Seifert. The album was then mixed at Butch Vig's Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin by Beau Sorenson (Death Cab for Cutie).

With four national tours under their belt within the last year and countless regional dates, mr. Gnome, with the support of El Marko Records, will continue to tour the countryside in 2008, behind its first full-length release.

*PRESS QUOTES*

"This duo's debut full-length balances a soulful, feminine power that recalls Scout Niblett and a drummer who coldly demands dymanic shifts with almost electronic precision. It's an earnest tug-of-war.
~Spin

The excellent "Night of the Crickets," where great swipes of serrated guitar slash across Nicole Barille's gooey vocals. The absolute antidote to all those shrinking violets we've been big upping lately.
~ Rolling Stone.com

"Rabbit" from mr. Gnome's debut full-length, Deliver This Creature, pulls a heckuva lot of noise out of a small hat, pretty much just Sam Meister's tribal drums and the reverberating vocals and sludgily atmospheric guitar fills of Nicole Barille.
~Pitchfork

The finesse of merging sharp and smooth sounds seems almost effortless. Nicole Barille's bellowing voice rips through each song with audacious intensity. Her thundering guitar and Sam Meister's pounding drums are equally as acerbic and loud. Their simple but substantial instrumentation enhances the weightiness of Mr. Gnome's macabre poetry.
~Amplifier Magazine

Boy does this Ohio duo make a lot of noise. Such is the overwhelming nature of the twosome's aggressive-yet-beautiful sound.
~Paste Magazine

Breathy femme vocals waft airily through ethereal soundscapes. Surges of jagged hard-rock guitars come out of nowhere, shake things up and disappear again. Boxy rhythms trip and hop, connecting disparate pieces of sound. Disembodied vocals float above churning snare rattles. Something weird and wonderful is going on in Cleveland.
~LA Weekly

Barille and Meister play music that can be heavier than heavy metal but also atmospheric and beautiful. Each song ends breathlessly, with intensity, on that line between pleasure and pain.
~VenusZine

Deliver This Creature is the latest magnificently twisted musical fruit sprung from the loins of Cleveland-based clamorbrats, mr. Gnome. One is liable to hear artifacts of PJ Harvey, Bjork, and Blonde Redhead.
~My Old Kentucky Blog

The Mr. Gnome track starts me off thinking of Portishead/Mazzy Star, but that is quickly forgotten as I realize it's more Yeah Yeah Yeah Karen O.

~Brooklyn Veegan

The duos' aggressive yet melodic style is catchy and very innovative.  The group is sure to become one of the topmost new acts in the country. 
~Chicago Flame

This Ohio duo is cool in epic proportions.  Rock is made edgy, 3D and gloriously alive.  Their sound is so full and complete you would think you're listening to a full 6 person ensemble. 
~Unsigned the Magazine

Enter the realm of face-melting guitar riffs, haunting vocals and intricate drum cadences.
~The Pitt News

Mr. Gnome is a rare, refreshing duo, the group sounds like it's from a different musical universe.
~The Other Paper

The trip-rock act Mr. Gnome melds the percussive swagger of Portishead with the metallurgy of Black Sabbath. The duo's unique sound transcends anything else being played locally.
~Cleveland Plain Dealer

Think White Stripes turned inside out and upside down, with a dash of psychedelia, and then you can get an idea of this duo's sound.
~Detroit News

Tightly written songs weave around trip-hop atmospheres, indie rock guitars, and glamorous female vocals that while eerie are out-of-this-world delicious.  Something that fans of Tool, Massive Attack, and Portishead can all find in common"and if that's ever been uttered before I'll eat my hat.
~Smother Magazine

An offbeat fusion of stoner metal and trip-hop that could boil blood.
~Scene Magazine

A sound as ferocious and unapologetic as it was courageous for a duo to pull off... like Black Sabbath fronted by a breathy Fiona Apple.  This duo continues to push the sonic envelope
~Cool Cleveland

Intense, singer-ly vocals are set against distorted guitar and huge drums, and it's hard to believe all that noise comes from just two people.
~Tucson Citizen

Two Midwestern kids who play the kind of rock 'n' roll you thought no one played anymore.
~Tucson Weekly

The sheer intensity of the music - loud and harrowing, alternately dark and beautiful - belies the size of mr. Gnome.  Certainly it takes more than two people to reach the volume of pure and simple noise the band creates. Yet somehow Nicole Barille and Sam Meister manage to mount an auditory assault on the senses comparable to the loudest, grungiest alt rock bands.  And they sound pretty good doing it, too.
~ Oregon Daily Emerald

The Cleveland duo filters trip-hop rhythms through fuzzed-out speakers resulting in a Sabbath-meets-Tricky mash-up.
~Salt Lake City Weekly

Cleveland rocks, indeed: This Midwestern two-piece manipulates easy rock cliche's and uses deliciously off-balance, schizophrenic time changes of their songs to make enviable and glorious noise.
~Las Vegas City Life

There are so many things going on within one Mr. Gnome song, thrilling structural shifts, spontaneous-sounding sonic bursts, high-ceilinged vocals, air-tight, and artistic drum parts.  Like Tool, Mr. Gnome creates a new brand of raging Psychedelic Rock for a generation of Metal, Indie and Prog fans.
~Cincinnati City Beat


Remember how they sing "Cleveland Rocks" in the theme song of the Drew Carey show? They must have been talking about Cleveland band Mr. Gnome.  Mr. Gnome is what other rock indie bands should be aspiring to - a unique and incredible sound.
~Unsigned Music Magazine

A mix of Death From Above 1979 with the intense vocal wail of Diamanda Galas, while Kurt Cobain sits in on guitar. In short, Mr. Gnome makes a lot of beautiful noise.
~Albuquerque Journal