DONORA ANNOUNCE SOPHOMORE ALBUM

Boyfriends, Girlfriends Out September 27^th on Rostrum Records

Video for “The World Is Ours” Premieres TODAY on AOL SPINNER!

 

Jake Hanner met the future lead singer of the band Donora a few hours after she was born. He was disappointed she was a girl and cried. Eighteen years later, Jake got over it, and he and his sister Casey had their first practice as a band. Now the brother/sister team, alongside band mate Jake Churton, are releasing Boyfriends, Girlfriends, their infectious sophomore album that is poised to put the Pittsburgh trio on the musical map.  Today the band has unveiled the video for first single, “The World Is Ours,” on AOL Spinner. Check out the clip here. Boyfriends, Girlfriends is set for release on September 27^th on Rostrum Records.

 

You may recognize Casey Hanner’s soaring vocals from sync spots pulled from their 2008 self-titled debut album for multiple MTV shows or as the soundtrack to PostSecret’s Valentine’s Day viral video. With a buzzy debut album and a viral video of their own under their belts (see the awe-inspiring hoola-hoop clip for track “I Think I Like You” here), Donora returned to the family studio to write and record Boyfriends, Girlfriends. The Hanner siblings grew up in a music household, living over the recording studio that their father runs. Casey’s bedroom was directly above the control room, and she attributes her ability to sleep through anything to this fact. Jake grew up watching his father in the studio and happened to pick up a thing or two, which he lends brilliantly to the production of their sophomore album.

 

The band blends ‘80s slick-pop with ‘50s girl group bop, an alchemy that when layered under the band’s upbeat lyrics leads to an assured exuberance, a whimsy contained on the record that Casey likens to having a “Disney” effect. Jake Hanner plays drums, triggers samples from his octapad, and sings backup, and Casey sings and plays bar chords on an old black and white Silvertone.

 

Aptly named, Boyfriends, Girlfriends is threaded through with a welcome honesty, a hard stare at love and the mythology that surrounds it. First single “The World Is Ours” is a jangle-pop anthem, a point-counterpoint tune that chugs through the elation of love with Casey’s gauzy vocals, as Jake’s provide a shot of realism.  “And Then The Girls” is the best song the ‘80s never produced, equal parts synth chilliness and dance-pop warmth, chronicling the predisposition that most have to wait on an idealized version of love. “Mancini’s Dance Hall” – based on the tales a local plumber has spun about his youth -- whirls open in sepia tones before turning into a full-on dance floor strut. Central to the album, and to the band’s sound, is the notion that things can be both serious and fun, upbeat and important. 

 

Boyfriends, Girlfriends track listing:
1. The Story
2. Champion
3. The World Is Ours
4. Mancini’s Dance Hall
5. Boom Boom
6. The Untouchables
7. And Then The Girls
8. Can Can
9. If You See My Boyfriend
10. Happily Ever After