The Immigrants...

"How cool underground music really can be."

Baby Sue Music Review,
~ Atlanta, Georgia ~

Summer, 1995

The Immigrants

Amazingly unpretentious music from this Charlestown, MA duo. If you're looking for busy arrangements and mountains of studio tricks, you can skip to the next review.

But if you like smart pop delivered in a straight forward fashion with no frills or gimmicks, you'll want to check out The Immigrants.

My favorite tunes here are "Jackie Boy," "Changemaker," and "Shot to Pieces."

This here thing goes to show how cool underground music really can be.

Baby Sue Music Review
Atlanta, Georgia

Jackie Boy — "This is a polished single!"

Jackie Boy takes me back to Alternative Rock Anthems like The Pixies' "Here Comes Your Man" and Weezer's "Buddy Holly"

by Ama Cruz

Boston, MA - February 2, 2025 — I'd just like to begin by expressing how much I love the name of this band, The Immigrants, as well as the name of this song, Jackie Boy - Requiem for a Slugger.

Jackie Boy is an uplifting rock anthem, a must-have for any playlist, and a tribute to the band-leader, Bill Sheridan. The instrumental performances of the drums and guitar takes me back to beloved 90s grunge alternative rock anthems like The Pixies' "Here Comes Your Man" and Weezer's "Buddy Holly" with the melodic guitars, and roughness, yet a song that makes you want to dance -- like Jackie Boy. This is a polished single!

With the sound of a baseball game and a cheering crowd, rooting for our underdog, Jackie Boy, The Immigrants blend a cool melodic, surf-rock guitar, a superb vocal performance, reminiscent of Black Francis of The Pixies, or Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. This is classic alternative rock at its best!

Jackie Boy will be deeply appreciated by audiences who love alt. rock, grunge, shoegazing, and noise pop.For audiences who love live performances, or anyone seeking REAL and raw music these days, given the pop, synth and auto-tune world we are living in, be sure to check out The Immigrants. ❏

About The Reviewer: Ama Cruz is an instrumentalist, writer, and has over a decade of professional experience in arts management, including her time working for Sony’s Latin/Jazz PR division. She has contributed as a music journalist and editor for other publications.

~ The Ocean Breathe ~

"From the salty depths — a weathered nautical ballad."

by Mary Wildsmith

Boston, MA - December 4th, 2024:

From the salty depths, The Immigrants hoist up The Ocean Breathe, a weathered nautical ballad, with a lilting, guitar driven melody, crisp drums, and gruff vocals which recount an ill-fated whaling voyage — drowned by the very creature it had marked as prey, as all the while, the ocean rages dispassionately on.

The distant sounds of the waves, the wind, and circling birds that bookend the song generate a vivid nautical atmosphere from the very first moments to help make The Ocean Breathe something special.

Flirting back and forth between Alt Rock and something heavier, The Immigrants have a keen underground vibe and fuse gritty attitude with historical awareness in a treacherous tale intriguing enough to lure in listeners of all ages. ❏

About the Reviewer: Mary Wildsmith, an FM Radio DJ, has been involved in both on-air work and radio production. For the past decade, she has worked in the live entertainment industry and engineering stage sound systems. Mary is passionate about promoting new and independent artists.

Watch The Ocean Breathe video - On YouTube!

Lyrics from the Charlestown CD

The Ocean Breathe

Breathe Deep the Ocean Breathe
Breathe Deep the Ocean Breathe

Square rigger out of New Bedford
Bound for perdition on the ocean sea
A man aloft stays alert on watch
There she blows on the larboard side
The captain shouts, the whaleboats lower
The crew give chase, the harpooner stands up.
Dead leviathan beside the ship,
Down below the crew try to sleep,
Above the thrashing of the sharks,
Outside the hull, on the ocean sea.

Breathe Deep the Ocean Breathe
Breathe Deep the Ocean Breathe

On Johnny Cake Hill back in New Bedford
There’s a cenotaph on the wall in Bethel’s chapel
Black chisel marks in the white marble
Tell the names of the crew on the Acushnet
Near Sable Island off Nova Scotia
Towed out of sight in their boat by a whale
Wild horses roaming free on Sable Island
And down below on the rocky beach
The crashing waves of the sea
The ocean sea, the ocean sea

Breathe Deep the Ocean Breathe
Breathe Deep the Ocean Breathe

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