Fort Worth Star-Telegram; Jan 8, 2008
Area bands look to build on their success in '08 and maybe get a shot at the big time.
"Ancient instruments, dusty vibes, wrist-slitting tension”
Fort Worth Weekly
“A complex symphony of sound”
SF Station
San Francisco, CA
“Incredibly written and wonderfully performed”
Adventures in Live Music
Dallas, TX
"It's hard to get your fill of Telegraph Canyon, a rustic eight-piece band from Fort Worth, currently working on the follow-up to 2006's All the Good News. Guitarist/vocalist Chris Johnson spins dark-hued tales of love, loss and life that spring to life on pedal steel runs and angelic organ fills. Timeless yet immediate, it's the sound of America, torn from the depths of an observant soul."
Star-Telegram
Fort Worth, TX
“One of the most creative original bands around”
Harder Beat
Dallas, TX
“One of the brightest new bands”
Star-Telegram
Fort Worth, TX
“Holy Cow”
Wilderness in the City
Dallas, TX
“Telegraph Canyon navigates the pre-apocalyptic universe by the light of bright acoustic riffs and to the march of thunderous beats, everything guided by the spirit of frontman Chris Johnson’s ominous, the end-is-near lyrics.”
Fort Worth Weekly
“Telegraph Canyon expertly blends the rustic, organic tones of harmonica, viola, organ and acoustic guitar with the technological muscle of intricately processed electronics.”
West Coast Performer
San Francisco, CA
“Telegraph Canyon’s densely layered All the Good News is rife with spiritual doubt and instrumental variety. There’s Chris Johnson’s delicate, urgent acoustic guitar and banjo, high-lonesome harmonica, and agitated, haunting voice, plus Tamara Cauble’s violin and the mononymic Sherilyn’s synth splashes. Despite all the Southern Gothic grandeur, however, this septet manages impressive interludes of rocking out.”
Fort Worth Weekly
“Telegraph Canyon’s debut album, "All the Good News", is informed by the kind of country-twinged folk rock that has survived and grown in the Texas music scene long after being left for dead by many tastemakers. But with up to seven members filling out the roster, Telegraph Canyon are also able to expand on the conventions of the alt-country movement. So quieter songs, driven mainly by acoustic guitar and singer Chris Johnson's brainy wordplay, may be followed by stompers that aim for U2 levels of bombast. And with a new album on the way for 08, more expansion (if not more instruments) will be on the way soon.”
The Staplegun Singer
San Francisco, CA
“There's a hint of Herman Melville in the music of Telegraph Canyon, a seven-strong collective from Fort Worth, Texas. Songwriter Chris Johnson has a penchant for penning soundtracks for wide-angle shots of skimming vessels, incorporating accordion and violin into his seasick, acoustic-guitar-based compositions. Picture a band of sailors congregating for a post-typhoon jam session, and you'll begin to get a sense of Telegraph Canyon's world-weary indie folk. Toss in some disenfranchised politics and romantic couplets, and you're halfway to bear-hugging the group's debut, All the Good News, which strikes a balance between No Depression alt-country and the folkways of Alan Lomax.”
Pitch
Kansas City, MO
"Chris Johnson is a bright young singer-songwriter out of the Jeff Tweedy/Paul Westerberg mold and he's backed by his crackerjack band Telegraph Canyon."
Ragtag Cinema
Columbia, MO
“Telegraph Canyon's All the Good News is a burnished, folksy gem that captures one of the area's finer songwriters, Chris Johnson, offering one absorbing sonic sketch after another."
Star-Telegram
Fort Worth, TX
Fort Worth Weekly
“A complex symphony of sound”
SF Station
San Francisco, CA
“Incredibly written and wonderfully performed”
Adventures in Live Music
Dallas, TX
"It's hard to get your fill of Telegraph Canyon, a rustic eight-piece band from Fort Worth, currently working on the follow-up to 2006's All the Good News. Guitarist/vocalist Chris Johnson spins dark-hued tales of love, loss and life that spring to life on pedal steel runs and angelic organ fills. Timeless yet immediate, it's the sound of America, torn from the depths of an observant soul."
Star-Telegram
Fort Worth, TX
“One of the most creative original bands around”
Harder Beat
Dallas, TX
“One of the brightest new bands”
Star-Telegram
Fort Worth, TX
“Holy Cow”
Wilderness in the City
Dallas, TX
“Telegraph Canyon navigates the pre-apocalyptic universe by the light of bright acoustic riffs and to the march of thunderous beats, everything guided by the spirit of frontman Chris Johnson’s ominous, the end-is-near lyrics.”
Fort Worth Weekly
“Telegraph Canyon expertly blends the rustic, organic tones of harmonica, viola, organ and acoustic guitar with the technological muscle of intricately processed electronics.”
West Coast Performer
San Francisco, CA
“Telegraph Canyon’s densely layered All the Good News is rife with spiritual doubt and instrumental variety. There’s Chris Johnson’s delicate, urgent acoustic guitar and banjo, high-lonesome harmonica, and agitated, haunting voice, plus Tamara Cauble’s violin and the mononymic Sherilyn’s synth splashes. Despite all the Southern Gothic grandeur, however, this septet manages impressive interludes of rocking out.”
Fort Worth Weekly
“Telegraph Canyon’s debut album, "All the Good News", is informed by the kind of country-twinged folk rock that has survived and grown in the Texas music scene long after being left for dead by many tastemakers. But with up to seven members filling out the roster, Telegraph Canyon are also able to expand on the conventions of the alt-country movement. So quieter songs, driven mainly by acoustic guitar and singer Chris Johnson's brainy wordplay, may be followed by stompers that aim for U2 levels of bombast. And with a new album on the way for 08, more expansion (if not more instruments) will be on the way soon.”
The Staplegun Singer
San Francisco, CA
“There's a hint of Herman Melville in the music of Telegraph Canyon, a seven-strong collective from Fort Worth, Texas. Songwriter Chris Johnson has a penchant for penning soundtracks for wide-angle shots of skimming vessels, incorporating accordion and violin into his seasick, acoustic-guitar-based compositions. Picture a band of sailors congregating for a post-typhoon jam session, and you'll begin to get a sense of Telegraph Canyon's world-weary indie folk. Toss in some disenfranchised politics and romantic couplets, and you're halfway to bear-hugging the group's debut, All the Good News, which strikes a balance between No Depression alt-country and the folkways of Alan Lomax.”
Pitch
Kansas City, MO
"Chris Johnson is a bright young singer-songwriter out of the Jeff Tweedy/Paul Westerberg mold and he's backed by his crackerjack band Telegraph Canyon."
Ragtag Cinema
Columbia, MO
“Telegraph Canyon's All the Good News is a burnished, folksy gem that captures one of the area's finer songwriters, Chris Johnson, offering one absorbing sonic sketch after another."
Star-Telegram
Fort Worth, TX
Fort Worth Star-Telegram; Oct 19, 2007
Pitch; Aug 30, 2007
Fort Worth Weekly; Dec 27, 2006
Telegraph Canyon mines the past for new, novel sounds on All the Good News.
Star-Telegram; Dec 1, 2006
Socket Shocker; Jul 1, 2006