New York’s Public Access TV Show Their Slow Jam Side On “All We Want”

It’s got guitar solos for days.

May 05, 2015

Public Access T.V. is the kind of rock band that stokes non-New Yorker's fantasies of what musicians from the Lower East Side are like. Its frontman, former Be Your Own Pet member John Eatherly, used to tour as a session man with local institutions like Eleanor Friedberger and Chairlift; he's got an irresistible nasal snarl, and has even penned a tune encapsulating the supremely New York sentiment of feeling like New York isn't fun anymore but still not wanting to move to California. Fittingly, before they even aired their winsome, economical rock songs in public last January —and before anybody over on this side of the pond even knew who they were, really—NME had already anointed them "New York's hottest new band," which is the kind of high compliment that can be both a blessing and a trap.

Before we go ahead and hail them (or write them off) as the second coming of The Strokes, though, I think I'd like to point out the somewhat less headline-worthy fact that they write undeniably pretty songs. "All We Want," which they debuted today, is both a testament to Eatherly's chops and a departure from the post-Ramones aesthetic of their first few singles, nixing easy breezy chord changes in favor of the sort of walking-paced funk-pop best suited to wobbling around a near-empty dance floor at 2am (especially when the protracted, George Harrison-esque guitar solo comes in). "The bands I'm attracted to constantly changed, progressed, and refused to be boxed in," John Eatherly told The FADER via email. "I think 'All We Want' shows another side to the type of music I write and what Public Access TV is capable of. I have absolutely no interest in Public Access TV being just another band in the Lower East Side." The band's debut EP, Public Access, is out digitally next Tuesday, May 12th—and physically on May 16th—via Terrible Records. Pre-order it here.

Tourdates:
May 10 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
May 11 Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel
May 12 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
May 14 Ferndale, MI - The Loving Touch
May 15 Toronto - The Garrison
May 16 Montreal - Petit Campus
May 18 New York City - Bowery Ballroom
May 19 Boston - Great Scott
May 20 Brooklyn - Music Hall of Williamsburg
May 21 Pittsburgh - Brillobox
May 22 Columbus, OH - A&R Music Bar
May 23 Chicago - Lincoln Hall
May 25 Minneapolis - 7th St Entry
May 26 Omaha - The Waiting Room
May 29 Denver - Larimer Lounge
May 30 Salt Lake City - Kilby Court
June 1 Seattle - Tractor Tavern
June 2 Portland - Doug Fir Lounge
June 4 San Francisco - Bottom of the Hill
June 5 Los Angeles - Teragram Ballroom

Header photo: Chad Moore.

New York’s Public Access TV Show Their Slow Jam Side On “All We Want”