Praise for “Ultraviolet Garden” (2009)

“Smart, bubbly pop ... The Corner Laughers' Ultraviolet Garden cuts studs its sugary hooks with quiz bowl vocabulary and surreal imagery. The tunes are airy, breezy and laced with unexpected lyrical twists ... Their second album, produced by the Orange Peels' Allen Clapp, puts a 1960s sheen onto conflicted, ebullient and intricately intelligent girl pop. All these songs are bright, sardonic, and without a trace of self pity, bouncing along on unstoppable beats and irresistible girls-rule harmonies.  ”

-- Blurt Magazine

“A catchy indie-pop sugar rush frothing with humorous, whip-smart lyrics ... Ukulele-led sunshine folk-pop and girl-group harmonies and handclaps ... Ultraviolet Garden feels like a place that Camera Obscura, They Might Be Giants, and Kirsty McColl might have strolled through at some stage. It’s simply wonderful.” -- Alan Brown, PopMatters

“Inspired vocals ... and a series of brilliant ’60s-inspired numbers. Blessed with Camera Obscura’s gift for rainy melancholia.” -- Magnet Magazine

“Blending a unique and eclectic pop sensibility with intelligent, offbeat lyrics and a wicked sense of humor... The Corner Laughers write brilliant Pop songs ... enough Pop sensibility to stay on the Pop culture radar, but walk off the beaten path enough to garner counter-culture support as well. In short, The Corner Laughers succeed so well by being adamantly themselves. The music is irresistible; the lyrics intelligent and sometimes funny. Vocalist Karla Kane has the sort of voice that speaks of a late-blooming flower, sultry and sensual but hidden behind a shy intellect that's as prone to misdirection and humor as it is to blunt observation. The vocal harmonies are to die for; and the album, Ultraviolet Garden, is the sort of debut that a band could spend the rest of their career trying to match (much less top).” -- Wildy’s World

“This San Francisco outfit can write some delightfully infectious indie pop that harnesses elements from the best of the girl groups from the 60s and give them new life in the form of contemporary, offbeat pop that features light guitar, ukulele, organ, and the occasional glockenspiel. The vocals have the sweet sincerity of Leigh Nash (Sixpence None The Richer), and are overlayed with clever harmonies with lyrics that are refreshingly cerebral. Think Go-Gos meet XTC. For those searching for something a bit more eclectic, The Corner Laughers also put their stamp on baroque pop, bluegrass and folk.

A little off the beaten path, but never straying from a good melody, ‘Ultraviolet Garden’ is a smart and charming delight.” -- Bill’s Music Forum

 “This album has a grace and ambience that is miles beyond what went before. Stocked with great songs from top to bottom. This is modern pop music played the way it's meant to be.” -- Mr. Suave’s Mod, Mod World

“The Laughers are a nigh-on-perfect fusion of bubblegum-sweet tunefulness and clever, subtly barbed lyrics. “Thunderbird” is an addictive gem, a history of mankind as seen through the eyes of a mythical beast —- it’s like the CLs scrunched Mel Brooks’s History of the World Part One into a classic-to-be three-minute pop symphony. Karla Kane’s voice has the dulcet quality of the very young Diana Ross and their melodies are the sweetest guilty pleasures since the heyday(s) of the Cowsills, Andy Kim, and the Vogues.  For younger readers, if the baroque-ish delights of Sufjan Stevens and B&S are your cup of Earl Grey, Ultraviolet Garden is a disc you dare not miss.”  -- Icon Magazine

“The sunny, breezy album moves from winsome pop to shuffling country to glistening shoegaze tunes with deceptive ease and smarts.” -- The Voice of Energy

“There's no shortage of hummable melodies, sing-a-long choruses and catchy grooves. Every bit as clever as it is charming.” -- The Charleston Gazzette

“The songs are bright, ebullient and have some of the most hilarious lyrics I’ve heard in quite a while but the band is no joke. The ladies voices blend perfectly and there’s enough 6-string jangle on here to keep any pop lover happy for days.” -- Dagger Magazine

“Lead singer Karla Kane is incapable of sounding anything but cute, even when she sings about things like space or the end of the world and the music gets a bit adventurous.” -- The East Bay Express

“The Corner Laughers aren't shy about wearing their heart on their record sleeve ... The music is relentlessly upbeat and sunny, jam-packed full of the kind of cuteness that makes it hard not to smile when listening to it ... it's the lyrics where the Corner Laughers shine. They elevate them above so much regular indie pop because their playful use of language is both equally amusing and intelligent.” -- Michael Edwards, Exclaim! Canada

“Quite wonderful, really.” -- Joel’s Hit Show

“Haunting and just pure amazing. Indie pop album with real heart and depth.” -- Indie Music Examiner, San Francisco

“It’s the sort of indie-pop that can’t help but help you ... creating a sort of vibrating stability in unstable world. In a place people stay together ‘for the sake of the cat,’ it’s nice to have this to bop to.” -- Cave 17

"Bay Area indie power-pop band The Corner Laughers return with an irresistible new album, “Ultraviolet Garden.” Produced by The Orange Peels’ Allen Clapp and released on John Wesley Harding’s Popover label, it brims with clever songs that will increase the fun quotient at any gathering.” -- Paul Freeman, The Daily News

Praise for “Tomb of Leopards” (2006)

“Sprite and twinkly twee pop done by two gals with an absolutely perfect ear for hooks.” -- RetroLowFi.com

“Everything a good pop album should be -- vibrant, sunny, full of catchy hooks, hand claps, and perky melodies.” -- Mr. Suave’s Mod, Mod World

“Managing to maintain the characteristic upper register cheeriness of a twee pop record, the group catapults the genre into modern relevance by subsumption of numerous unexpected elements into their distinctive sound. Treading the fence between unsullied knelling and raw energetics, they have managed to strike a very gratifying balance between glee and melancholia.” -- Sherwin Tay, PowerofPop.com

“Girly girl powerpop that's so catchy and infectious that it'll probably give you cavities.”  -- J.R. Oliver, Ear Candy Music Reviews

“Despite being smart, and defying easy categorization, the tunes are easygoing and may force listeners to tap their feet, dance a jig, drive fast, etc. depending on circumstance. The Corner Laughers favor simple, appealing melodies, a clear sound that borders on folk, and lyrics evoking a bright college girl who's daydreaming instead of studying for her finals. Kane's vocals are delicate and affecting, not dressed up with a lot of breathy "oooo's" and "yeahs" and other rock-ish posturing. Yet a good, rock-ish guitar riff lends backbone to the songs and overlays nicely with her jaunty uke.” -- Don Frances, the Mountain View Voice

“I like the wit and obvious fun being had.”  -- Mike Bennett, Fufkin.com

“The Corner Laughers have grabbed me by the, uh, neck collar and made an impression. What does it sound like? Well, I'll drop a bunch of names, but best to listen to the soundbites: Dressy Bessy, The Spinnanes, Velocity Girl, Bettie Serveert, The Decemberists, Barbara Manning and the post-C-96 sound of K Records circa early 90's. Help? Well, like we said, just listen. Bouncy, shimmery and indie pop jangly.” -- Bruce Brodeen, NotLame.com

“Singer Karla Kane’s vocals should please fans of the Shop Assistants, the Darling Buds and the Primitives.” -- Anthony Strutt, Indiemusic.co.uk

“The Corner Laughers presents fun, engaging music. Their sound harks back to the bright, bouncy girl group sounds of the past, from the Angels to the Go-Gos. Yet the songs display an irrepressible freshness ... A 60s effervescence bubbles through their music.”  -- Paul Freeman, The Daily News