Like the flower of their moniker, Edelweiss comes from a realm few can reach and even fewer can possess. Musically adept and creatively boundless, this Stroudsburg, PA-based indie pop band have independently released their debut EP, Pre-Columbians on September 13, 2011. While bands of their ilk suffer the weight of heavy music, these nimble youngsters (average age: 16 years old) reach musical heights effortlessly with their ability to write and wield their instruments with surgeon-like precision while remaining excitingly fresh and dynamic.

Produced, engineered, and mixed by Jeremy Sklarsky (Freelance Whales, Teenage Fanclub, The Morning Benders) at Threshold Studios in New York City, the EP is a fascinating experiment of sharp guitars, soaring melodies and propulsive rhythms that is at once timeless and currently modern – a sound that betrays the surprising youth of the band. “I started playing when I was seven,” says the 15 year-old drummer Coby Porlier. His 17 year old brother Niko (vocals, guitar) started “when he was ten.” All teenagers - Tommy Vitale (vocals, bass) is 16 and Tony Young (guitar) is 15, Edelweiss have only been together for just over a year and yet, have played at large-scale regional music events and high-profile clubs in NYC including Knitting Factory, Highline Ballroom and Mercury Lounge among others, as well as Allentown, PA’s Mayfair Festival of the Arts.

From the surging “Icarus” with its soaring vocals weaving in and out of breakneck guitar noodling, to the bright and layered “Fiasco” with its shoegazey textures, to the meandering vocals of “(NO)”interplaying with the rhythm section like a frantic game of chess, Pre-Columbians showcases a band far beyond their years and a sound that betrays their roots in rural Pennsylvania. “Many of the bands that we listen to come from places other than America and Niko wanted something unique to where we come from. Pre-Columbians seemed fitting seeing as it is something exclusive to the Americas,” explains Coby. Drawing their influences from bands such as Bloc Party, Duran Duran, and Yourself and the Air, among others, the band continues to grow by leaps and bounds in the New York City and Northeast Pennsylvania club circuits and are preparing for their national break.

People’s expectations have been met, exceeded and, like the blossom of their namesake, bloom and grow forever.