Artist Biography

David Terry's love of the pop hook has only gotten stronger with time. Unlike I Sold Gold's huge, blown-out drum sounds and blip-pop synths, Or Give Me Death finds Terry broadening his tonal horizons to encompass mariachi horns, Gershwin-esque strings, looped and layered vocals, and grand piano. Oh and there's also quite a lot more electric guitar. Terry has grown as an artist since 2005's I Sold Gold, and Or Give Me Death is his most melodically complex and lyrically mature release to date.

Aqueduct was founded in Tulsa's dusty plains as the solo project of pop aficionado David Terry. He relocated to Seattle in 2003, and a mere 12 hours after Terry's arrival in Seattle, Aqueduct was opening for Modest Mouse at The Showbox.

Industry folks and new fans alike throughout the Pacific Northwest raved about the nimble cleverness of Aqueduct's heartbreaking lyricism and unstoppable piano-laden hooks. Copies of the band's 2003 self-released, Power Ballads, recorded by Trent Bell at Bell Labs (Flaming Lips, Starlight Mints) were circulated, along with CDRs of new material, to the delight of many new ears - including those at Barsuk.

After months of culling and polishing new and pre-existing material with the help of producer Matt Pence, Aqueduct completed their second full-length, I Sold Gold, along with an EP, Pistols at Dawn.

Or Give Me Death is a Futurist classic rock record, a snapshot of the oldies stations of tomorrow. Combining the breadth of the FM dial ( i.e. Brian Wilson vocal melodies, the flute solo from California Dreamin', Chicago horns, the magic of ELO, NWA beats, and Heart guitars) with new ideas and a progressive production ethos, Terry has crafted a treasure chest of an album, where sturdy rock songs wrap around shimmering, beautiful arrangements like a trusty old blanket. It's familiar and warm. It's big and cozy. It's a lot to listen to.

This isn't a concept record, but there's an undercurrent throughout to which we can all relate. There's a familiarity to this record, and there's hope and faith in the human condition shimmering under the loneliness and misanthropy. David Terry is a post-modern soul singer, telling you with his piano-bar do-wop that he knows how you feel: it sucks, but it will be all right in the end. Barsuk is proud to have released these documents of infectious bedroom pop-perfection, and while Or Give Me Death takes Aqueduct somewhat out of the bedroom, we still think it's pretty darn perfect pop.