Completely Unofficial Biographies

"It's music with sick beats, high energy, attitude, affection, and promise. Think of that feeling when you find $20 in your pocket, that's what Demander is." - Miek!Miek!

Who is Demander?
"They are a team of crime fighters. Interpretive dance coaches. Musicians, entrepreneurs, people I shared a cab with. Individually they are Karen, Sivan, and Jared." - Miek!Miek!

Completely Official Press

Deli Magazine, May 2008
NYC Bands on the rise: Demander
I like this band. Now I could approximate Demander's sound by describing the NYC trio as Tom Waits with surf rhythms and blistering female vocals, at times edging on melodicore, driving a speeding runaway train of adventure rock with vivid, emotive vocals. My roommate calls the band, "Yeah Yeah Yeahs on prog(?) pills, exuberant but kinda gloomy, Sergio Leone dramatics + NYC guitar rock." So I guess "cross-genre" would be an accurate descriptor; I feel guilty about making comparisons. Demander has its own sound, touching on so many different reference points – Las Vegas, Victorian London, Saturday morning cartoons, spaghetti westerns – that the band makes one question the point of criticism at all. Well I'm here to tell you the point – Demander needs to be heard, especially if any of the preceding words strike a hint of interest, excitement, or curiosity deep within your cockles. Word has it the band is just starting work on its sophomore release. I can't wait.

CMJ.com, April 2008
Pop quiz: You've released an unstoppably ass-kicking album that seamlessly melds decades of gritty New York underground rock with a bit of Pac-Northwest riot grrrl indie menace; you've toured extensively with everyone from the Hold Steady to New Model Army; your video for "Hollis" is as clever and engaging an animated clip as any by a more high-budget band; but somehow you still don't get your proper due amidst the many musical communities you so tantalizingly cater to. Who are you? There is no answer other than Demander, the dual-gender trio straight outta New York (and not Williamsburg, but actual New York, New York), whose fierce DIY ethics (last year's The Unkindness Of Ravens was self-released, as will be their in-the-works followup) are part of their endearing package but may have left some would-be devotees in the dark. [Read online here]

Big Takeover Magazine, May 2008
Since 2004, this New York, NY trio – featuring bassist/singer/songwriter Karen Corrêa, powerhouse drummer Sivan Harlap (both ex-Hissyfits) and guitarist Jared Scott – has kicked up quite a racket and they are finally starting to get some attention. Counting the Hold Steady and New Model Army (!) as their peers, the band offers everything you want in an edgy, modern indie punk influenced rock band: locked-in playing, sophisticated songs, great melodies, adventurous songwriting and flawless production. Fans of Rainer Maria, Alexisonfire, PJ Harvey and Sleater-Kinney will find this band a welcome addition to their lives. A solid start by a promising band that's teetering on the verge of amazing.

CMJ New Music Monthly, Oct 2007 [PDF]
The three members of Demander, perhaps New York City’s most boisterous, witty and good-natured group, have dug in deep at B-Side, a quaint but bombastic bar on the Lower East Side... The bar has become a second home, rally point and late-night rendezvous for a band devoid of an obvious scene affiliation. This is due primarily to their dizzyingly addictive sound, which siphons off progressive punk and metal while salaciously seizing Sleater-Kinney’s darkest shipwrecked moments. [more]

Boston Metro, May 2007
NYC trio Demander has been making Boston audiences collectively wonder, "Wait, are you sure they're not the headliners?" for the past few years with their dark and intense pop. Singer and bassist Karen Kanan Correa delivers foreboding words in pretty melodies against an aggressive backdrop of Sivan Harlap's drums and Jared P. Scott's relentless riffs, but like her bandmates, she appears to be locked in a deep state of joy when performing these tunes.

MTV.com, Notable Releases, Oct 2007
Demander's The Unkindness of Ravens
The Hold Steady tourmates hail from New York and have already made their mark with a five-song EP and an intriguing animated video, for their song "Hollis." Now it's time for the requisite debut album, The Unkindness of Ravens, which sounds like a proggier version of Sleater-Kinney or Fugazi. Tracks include "GMT," "Baixo," "Elijah" and "TKO Ravens."

Royal Flush, July 2007
Demander's The Unkindness of Ravens is a truly stunning achievement for a debut record...[it] has a sound so familiar, yet at the same time is nothing like you''ve ever heard before. High marks for the atmospheric spy guitars, the crust-cracking bass and some truly adventurous jungle drumming. Correa's voice soars above all like a siren begging you to come to the shore where a terrible fate awaits. The Unkindness of Ravens is most importantly an adult record; mature, sexy, intelligent and not afraid to take the musical risks...

Free Williamsburg, November 2006
Stylistically, the band has a strong, stripped-down blues punk sound that is more accurately comparable to The Pretenders or PJ Harvey. Karen Corrêa proudly prefers to play the bass guitar's lowest notes and her vocals are equally as rich and robust. It's a perfect match for Sivan Harlap's rhythmic thunder and it's this pair's ongoing tug of war for dominance that makes the group's simple guitar, bass, and drums lineup so interesting.

Time Out New York, May 2005
Sivan Harlap and Karen Corrêa form the relentless rhythmic backbone of Demander, which seems to get better each time we see it. The dynamic outfit dazzles with angular off-time rock songs in the vein of Sleater-Kinney, which are publicly poppy but secretly proggy.

Guitar World's Bass Guitar Magazine, 2006
Plump, bristling prog-punk bass lines over in-your-face tribal drums and lovely alterna pop vocals. .... A powerful, efficient fingerstylist, Correa [plays] with so much bombast and articulation you'll wonder A) how she does it without a big ol' plectrum, and B) whether you should've spent so much on your last bass.

Subba-Cultcha, August 2005
Demander have the songs, the sound and the ability to transcend critical acclaim and break from the underground to compete with the real heavyweights of rock. Frustratingly this mini-album only runs to five tracks, but provides a mouth-watering sample of just how great Demander may yet become. Hugely encouraging – ones to watch.

Demander is:

Karen
Sivan
Jared