The President Lincoln is a transatlantic band named after a transatlantic ocean liner. And like the journeys of the great ship itself, the songs of The President Lincoln are all over the map.
 


BBC 6Music’s Steve Lamacq described their sound to listeners as a cross between glam rock and Americana. Louder Than War wrote that their music combines “the baroque ache of The Decembrists” with “the skewed indie of Built to Spill”. AmericanaUK simply called their 2013 debut album “inventive and brilliant”.
 


Lead singer and songwriter Alex Maws divides his time between New York and London, and the latest album "Pilgrims and Aliens" was recorded in both locations. The intercontinental nature of the band inspired Maws to adopt the name of the early 20th century ship which once transported his Polish-Jewish ancestors from the old world to the new. Fittingly, The President Lincoln’s lyrics often deal with themes of migration and seeking refuge, issues which have become all too relevant today.
 


"Pilgrims and Aliens" is a quirky hodgepodge of an album. Sometimes jangly, sometimes synthy. Both earthy and spacey. Equal parts earnest and snarky. Big and small. 
 


All aboard...

[Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.]