"Considering how rarely Times New Viking plays these days, somebody needed to step up to keep first-rate slapdash scuzz-pop on Columbus stages. Cliffs is getting it done.""The fact that Cliffs is a shout-along guitars/drums duo positions these guys as contemporaries of Japandroids. And while they share those Canadians’ affinity for anthems, Cliffs shambles across all sorts of sounds rather than hone in on one. Consider “E=mc2,” which approached White Stripes garage blues with the wobbly
"Considering how rarely Times New Viking plays these days, somebody needed to step up to keep first-rate slapdash scuzz-pop on Columbus stages. Cliffs is getting it done."
"The fact that Cliffs is a shout-along guitars/drums duo positions these guys as contemporaries of Japandroids. And while they share those Canadians’ affinity for anthems, Cliffs shambles across all sorts of sounds rather than hone in on one. Consider “E=mc2,” which approached White Stripes garage blues with the wobbly grace of Pavement’s Wowee Zowee, or the impressive manner in which power pop ditty “From Bonnie to Clyde” descended into harmonized “oohs.”
-Chris DeVille. Columbus Alive
"Cliffs maintain the sharp efficacy of Fugazi (one of their many heroes) yet ditch that band’s attitude and posturing. They adhere to the recent wave of shape-shifting duos that mine noisy, craggy, terrain like No Age and Japandroids, yet attack each song with an earnesty that can only come from two dudes who have been friends since childhood. It’s a youthful camaraderie that dominates the dynamic of Cliffs, yet there’s also an increasing penchant for experimentation. Whether that includes adding an organ or a bassline to their basic formula, the desire to branch out and expand is ever present in the grooves."
