PRESS:
“On her début album, ‘Elevator Ride,’ Bronwen Exter’s voice is like a warm mist capable of obscuring all of life’s problems.” John Donohue - The New Yorker
"From the start Bronwen Exter and her band had her local fans, and me for the first time, enthralled. She had been described to me as feeling like "swimming in a dream." I was expecting yet another sensitive singer-songwriter, and what I got were songs of well-honed experiences in songs that just kept getting better, with a tight full band... the same one on the album, and I cannot recommend her more highly. I eagerly await the album, in part to make sure I was not dreaming. Amos Perrine - No Depression
"...Local songstress Bronwen Exter brings the Americana Haze with each of her inspired compositions. She excels in the shadows of remembrance, and lays haunting reminders of lives left past." - The Ithaca Times
"Exter weaves tales of love, loss and home in a voice that demands your attention." Jim Catalano - The Ithaca Journal
"Come all ye cowgirls and barflies, tragic comedians and lazy poets, all ye disciples, degenerates, and dowagers. If Bronwen Exter hasn't written a song that speaks right to you yet, it's time you live a little, darlin.'" Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance
“Bronwen Exter’s croon recalls the much-beloved voice of Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star… One whisper of that smoky, husky voice can seduce the pants off of any bystander. Exter interprets and completely transforms Jonathan Spottiswoode’s songs with a pop lounge flair on 2006’s Elevator Ride. Spottiswoode, a talented NYC songwriter who takes a few cues from Tom Waits, shows his vehement approval by appearing on guitar in her band. The real highlight of her debut album, however, is her very own craftwork “Float,” a haunting song that could charm its way into any hip downtown lounge.” Nancy Chow - The Deli Magazine
“OK, picture this: Lou Reed and Astrud Gilberto have a baby. She’s raised by the band Mazzy Star until the age of 16, when she falls in love with James Bond and runs away to Argentina. Got it? The soundtrack for this story is the music of New York resident Bronwen Exter. Hypnotizing you with her husky, half-whispered vocals, she’ll thrill you with the mixture of samba, tango and NYC cool, and entice you with lyrics about dreams, pain and roads from the moon to the sun. To the instrumental foundation of bass, drums and guitar, Exter adds organ, piano, trumpet and saxophone. The work of songwriter and producer (and one-time PS DIY artist) Jonathan Spottiswoode is evident in the offbeat yet refined sound. From the refreshingly eccentric lyrics to the creative arrangements, Elevator Ride will be a trip your ears will want to take again and again.” Mare Wakefield - Performing Songwriter
“Exter possesses a breathy, ethereal singing voice that is reminiscent of Rickie Lee Jones and the Cowboy Junkies Margo Timmins. Elevator Ride is full of enchanting tales of scorned women, the Deep South, and intoxicating tropical nights, with Exter’s voice creating alternating senses of narcotic tranquility and tragic nightmare ... Basically, if you don't like this album, then there's something wrong with you.” Ethan Kanat - BreakThru Radio
“Delightfully dark lounge sweetness.” Tim Perlich - NOW Toronto (Critic’s Pick for NXNE Festival)
“Imagine Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) covering Patsy Cline and a Hawaiian luau. That’s how Junkyard opens, but from song to song, while Exter’s vocals keep the Sandoval dreaminess, there’s a distinct musical change. “Monster’s” sultry waltz is a good candidate for a James Bond soundtrack, “Leave My Love Alone” has an Andrews Sisters harmonic sweetness, and “Covered Bridge” is a barefoot, country fair hoe-down. Variety is the spice of life, and she keeps things interesting throughout." The Big Takeover, Issue 72
“Love at first hear… blend the two female voices, lead and back up, with a song or two of counterpoint, so perfectly blended your jaw drops open… 50s-ish guitar licks… beautifully played keys, just the right, right absolutely right drumming and bass playing and a little bit of strategic hand clapping. Throw in lap steel and a touch of banjo, just a smidge for flavor. Shake it all together, put a punky edgey, feel-like-I'm-in-a-totally sophisticated-Manhattan club or at the very least, dressed in all black and dancing with the mirror at the Continental, clean, tight, but not at all stilted....and baby, you'll just about understand Bronwen Exter. wow, just wow.” Do-It-4Lv Productions
FILM/ TV/ RADIO HIGHLIGHTS:
“Feed Your Loving Child” featured in Nancy Drew, episode 25 (NBC, 2022)
“Float” featured in Oscar Nominated film Bombshell (Lionsgate, 2019)
“I Change Every Minute” featured in The Secret Circle (CW Network, 2012)
“Trust What You Feel” featured in She’s Out of Your League (Dreamworks/ Paramount Pictures, 2010)
“14 Days” featured as the top tune on Nic Harcourt’s Morning Becomes Eclectic (KCRW, 2008)
“Trust What You Feel” featured in Six Degrees (ABC, 2007)
INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS:
“Poor Quentin” finalist in Independent Music Awards Alt-Country song category (IMA, 2012)
“Trust What You Feel” finalist in Independent Music Awards Pop/Rock song category (IMA, 2007)
2012 JIMMIE AWARDS:
BEST FEMALE SINGER: "Exter's noir-ish vocals often sound like they should be on the soundtrack to a vintage black and white film; her latest album 'Junkyard' provides a more organic setting than her 2006 debut 'Elevator Ride.'" Jim Catalano - The Ithaca Journal