Press

Scummy Water Tower

Overall, Destination is a wonderfully done concept album. With themes of meaning and searching and adventure. Of being found, and not lost. Of being remembered. Purcell has a skill of superb storytelling and creating perspective in an incredibly grounded and human way. If you're looking for an excellent singer-songwriter album for the reasons mentioned in the previous sentence, look no further. This is arguably one of 2024's best written albums and there are more than a handful of examples of songs that prove the assertion. Purcell's vocals are among the best you'll hear out of the Americana adjacent genres this year. (4.5/5)

Destination also made SWT's list of the best records of 2024.

On Repeat Records

Review #1 — The band's latest single "Tito (Far Away, Not Lonely)" is a fantastic ode to big dreams… Dave cites inspiration from artists as diverse as REM, Los Lobos, and Calexico, and it's not hard to find strands of DNA from each throughout the track. Whether listening in full sun or under a canopy of stars, it all makes for quite an adventure.

Review #2 — It was an honor to recently premier the record's lead single, "Tito (Far Away, Not Lonely)," and the entire record is an incredible field trip through roots rock, Americana, and the sort of dreams that take place after falling asleep next to a transistor radio playing music from the faraway big city. RIYL Son Volt, Calexico, and staying up late to listen to music from distant lands.

Rosy Overdrive

His latest project enthusiastically throws together mid-period R.E.M.-like college rock, Los Lobos-esque Chicano-inspired rock and roll, and, most surprisingly, synthesizer/space pop-influenced "noir pop" moments in the instrumentals, too. It all amounts to a forty-six minute statement that's a strong reintroduction to a musician who's been around for quite a bit but still has plenty of ideas and things to say.

ABQ Green Room

The album is a spectacular orchestral achievement, vibrant and hardy, meditative in a cyclic way. Their very band name, Radio Free ABQ, makes a sort of big promise — maybe that they present the motley sound of the city. With an eclectic assembly of instruments and a strong theme of community, Destination gets close to delivering on their promise.

Add To Wantlist

Twelve well-produced songs — partly instrumental — about searching for meaning, connection and a place to call home. The lyrics are memorable, the vocals road-worn but magnetic, and the instrumentation and samples rich and warm — there's a lot to enjoy and discover here.

3Albums6OldGuys

As of late, there have not been many indie records that evoke desert noir and the American Southwest as well as Radio Free ABQ's Destination. The music is fresh and, with each song, the lyrics drop the listener in the middle of a story. If the idea of blending R.E.M. with Calexico sounds appealing, Destination is absolutely worth checking out.

Lost In The Manor

Radiant guitars, winding synth tunes, swinging drum rhythms, and expressive vocals converge into an adventurous and energetic musical space. R.E.M., Los Lobos, Calexico, and other similar musical influences can be felt throughout the sound, making it a compelling listening experience.

Cincinnati CityBeat

Genres orbit around Purcell's dome like rogue satellites transmitting galactic signals directly into his main frame. His influences aren't chiseled in stone, they are as malleable as sculptor's clay and he molds his songs in a similarly flexible manner, reflecting his creative soul's prismatic response to his musical inspirations as well as his own estimable accomplishments. — Brian Baker

Cincinnati CityBeat — The Long Fight

Like other great musical acts of the past 40 years, Pike 27 conjures the same spirit as the best of the massively influential Costello's work, sharing with him not only a melodic magnetism, but also an ability to vividly and perceptively translate and project through song a full range of moods and emotions… one of the best Cincinnati-produced releases of 2017.

WVXU-FM Cincinnati — Calling Out

The R.E.M. influence is palpable in all five tracks — an obvious nod to "Radio Free Europe." Both the jangling open-string chord structure of the music and the self-effacing, deconstructivist imagery of Purcell's poetry bring to mind classic R.E.M. titles. But Pike 27 avoids becoming a "wannabe R.E.M. band" by deftly incorporating styles reminiscent of Alejandro Escovedo with rhythms that are soulful and yet dipped in honky-tonk.

Midpoint Music Festival — 2014

Pike 27 careened from song to song with the visceral intensity of The Old 97s and dashes of Alejandro Escovedo and Grant Lee Buffalo at their delicately nuanced and head-kicked obvious best. Pike 27 is clear evidence that having the right motivation to return can evolve into a stunning and most welcomed result.

Jason Ringenberg — Falling Down Hard, 2002

Like the Ohio River that spawned the band, Pike 27 is deep, steady, and true. The lyrics hit home like a cold glass of lemonade in July, and they have a much better gift for melody than is common in American roots bands.

Americana UK — Falling Down Hard, 2002

It's refreshing to hear from the opening chords of first track "Wrecking Yard" a strong hybrid college rock sound. The songs contained on this, their debut CD, are rootsy without losing their edge. Lead singer Dave Purcell's ear for a good hook and passionate lyric can leave you blinded.

Cincinnati Enquirer — Falling Down Hard, 2001

A roots-rock keeper — Dave Purcell, the brains, voice, and rhythm guitar behind Pike 27, has delivered state-of-the-union Americana with his band's debut CD. It's smart, rocking and concise, one of the year's most promising debuts by a Tristate act.