Diacon-Panthers w/ The Distant Relatives
Nick Huinker

When the Royal Bangs played their first show back from hiatus in June, the biggest surprise wasn't that the band was already back in top form or armed with new material, but that the opening act Diacon-Panthers damn near stole their thunder. Themselves reconvening after an extended break, the young band captured the fickle attentions of a packed Pilot Light with alarming ease, tearing through a set of earnest, Southern-tinged rock, exhilarating in its edgy familiarity and presided over by Natan Diacon-Furtado's distinctive, sensitive caterwauls. Scheduling conflicts unfortunately kept the band from capitalizing on its heightened profile throughout the summer, and in August Diacon-Furtado and guitarist Greg Given had to return to school in Oregon, but not before lead Banger Ryan Schaefer got the Diacon-Panthers into the "studio," recording an LP's worth of material that will finally see (limited, tentative) release on Dec. 21st, when winter break brings the Panthers back together for a single show at the Pilot Light with shoegazing up-and-comers The Distant Relatives. After that, it's back to school until late May, but a fruitful summer in Knoxville is already planned, and listening to the record, it's not unreasonable to imagine plenty of new fans will be humming along in the meantime.

Printed in the Knoxville Voice (Knoxville, TN) on December 13th, 2007.