Carole King runs into the Beach Boys while trekking the Appalachian Trail... Exquisitely arranged yet homespun songs.
—Philadelphia Magazine, Best Band 2004, August 2004

The long-awaited full-length from Philadelphia's Buried Beds features an expansion and revision of their sound from their 2003 EP Po Tolo. The mournful, beautiful, orchestral arrangements are reminiscent of the chamber pop outfit Hem, but slightly sadder and more haunting. The centerpiece of Empty Rooms is a redesigned version of the sultry love song "Camellia," which has been slowed down and rearranged from earlier incarnations. Eliza Hardy's lonely, lovely singing intertwines with Brandon Beaver's aching vocals on other standouts, including "Anchor and Sea" and "Perfect Skyline," while tracks like "Great Divide" begin with a spare intimacy and grow into lush and fully realized soundscapes. On "Forever in You," Hardy sings, "Daybreak, roll out of bed, feel the earth shake, wondering if I'll ever be awake." Empty Rooms evokes that same nebulous dream-world between sleep and consciousness.
—David Faris, Philadelphia Citypaper, March 16, 2006

Once a folky duo with ambitious range, Philly's Buried Beds truly break out on the new self-released Empty Rooms. They're now a quintet armed with guest stars and string parts, and the latter combine with Eliza Hardy's and Brandon Beaver's introspective vocals to recall the swooning misery of the Delgados.
—Doug Wallen, Philadelphia Weekly

A young band with a seemingly innate flair for elegant melodrama, Philadelphia's Buried Beds sound remarkably assured on 'Po Tolo,' a self-released five-song EP that's so achingly sad, it's enough to slow the blood. Principal members Eliza Hardy and Brandon Beaver know how to lend a rustic feel—aided by piano, lap steel, and a generous application of strings—to angsty, heart-on-the-sleeve melancholia that sounds both winsome and wise...
—The Onion, August 4, 2004

One of Philly's most important indie/folk bands.... Buried Beds has created one of Philly’s most memorable albums in some time.
—Jaimie Krems, Bi-College News, February 21, 2006

Though their songs are steeped in the traditions of American folk music, these Philadelphians don’t come off as an old-timey preservation society. They are history buffs, to be sure, but they aren’t peering over their reading glasses at each other. Gently sung, their beautiful “Camellia” contains the line, “I don’t see much in this world, but I see my arms around you.” The song is as measured as it is melancholy, never overstating, never tugging too hard at those weary heartstrings, and it’s easy to see and feel much in the worlds constructed by singers Eliza Hardy and Brandon Beaver. A disarming indie minimalism pervades the group’s simple, lovely songs, marking them as Americana at its unassuming, delicate best.
—Nashville Scene, Dec. 1, 2005


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