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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, all of them still in high school) 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, Pop ETC/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. All teenagers - Niko Porlier (vocals, guitar) is 18,Tommy Vitale (vocals, bass) is 17, Donald Young (guitar), Shane Cashman (keys), and Jacob Porlier (drum) are 16. Edelweiss have only been together for just over two years 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. 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.