Renée LoBue - vocals, keyboard
Sean Eden - guitar
Barbara Endes - bass
Ray Ketchem - drums

Firebrand Renée LoBue brings you on a free- wheeling make-out session after your worst break-up.

Elk City's Renée LoBue (singer/songwriter) and Ray Ketchem (drummer/producer) have teamed with influential ex-Luna guitarist Sean Eden and ex- Lovelies bassist Barbara Endes on New Believers, the band's finest work to date.

When recording began for New Believers back in 2004, neither member of the NYC-based Elk City knew what would become of it. LoBue had penned a notebook full of confessional, imaginative songs following the tumultuous departure of guitarist/ vocalist Peter Langland-Hassan, the male half of the boy/girl duets that had marked the group’s first three releases. LoBue’s songs described how the trio she’d been a part of for four years had dissolved with little warning. She brought them to longtime collaborator Ketchem's studio.

Upon hearing LoBue's newly inspired voice, Ketchem’s mission was clear: the band would recall the soul of Dusty Springfield, the power of Patti Smith, the big sound of Phil Spector and the warped-pop sensibilities of The Breeders on an album that brought LoBue to the front.

Ketchem began making calls to bands he'd produced. The first was to psychedelic guitarist Brother JT (Drag City). Driving 170 miles to every session, JT played guitars and sang backing vocals that brought out the best in LoBue's songs. Soon, word came that the legendary dream-pop act Luna were disbanding. Ketchem knew his friend, guitarist Sean Eden, would be a perfect compliment to LoBue's adept pop idiom. Eden had spent 13 years in Luna perfecting his fluid style, an ideal counterpart to LoBue's voice. They gave it a try during a residency at New York's Pianos in the summer of 2005. Crackling onstage chemistry made it unmistakable: this new group was something special.

Elk City's roots are deep: LoBue and Ketchem first paired as Melting Hopefuls, a pioneering 1990's band that scored two "Single of the Week" picks in England's Melody Maker and a SPIN Top Ten Single. In 1998, they became Elk City and recorded two critically acclaimed albums: 2000's status (Hidden Agenda) and 2002's Hold Tight the Ropes (WARM/ Touch & Go). The band criss-crossed the US and Europe endlessly to promote their releases, touring with The Walkmen, Luna and The National. Elk City became the first group to sign with trailblazing French imprint Talitres and performed for more than 450,000 listeners on French radio.

This new Elk City calls upon a wide palette of influences: 1960’s psychedelic bands such as Love, the girl group sounds of classic Motown, 1970’s proto-punk heroes John Cale and Television, and 1980’s alternative rock such as The Smiths and The Pixies. Never fearful of experimentation, these musicians are pushing new boundaries with their work, weaving Ketchem's ace production and LoBue's striking voice with the lyrical guitar of Eden atop Endes' solid foundation.

New Believers closes with the promise "be set for more." With New Believers as example, there is much more in store for fans of Elk City.