Dodgy Rock'n'Roll Photography
"Put The Sermon on a big stage, give them a decent crowd, and they absolutely kill. Astonishing. Saw it at Noise Pop back in March, saw it again here. This band should be selling millions and headlining Coachella... They are the best live band in San Francisco today."
--Neil Motteram

All Ages Show
"The MC for the Budget Rock Showcase introduced The Sermon as 'the hottest shit in town.' The Sermon then proceeded to prove that they are, without a doubt, worthy of that title. This is the best I've seen the band: crazy, frenetic, out of control. Everyone in the band and the crowd freaking out, falling down, losing their minds. Forty-five minutes of pure rock and roll fury. The best thing at the Budget Rock Showcase and that's saying something."
--Matt Korb

San Francisco Bay Guardian
"The Sermon delivered. They got out of their heads; they inspired the crowd to do the same; there was screaming, a few blaring guitar solos, a theremin warbling underneath the parts of songs that were the offspring of that middle section in "Loose" by the Stooges. The set was made up almost entirely of originals, and the music followed a pretty straight Sonics-Stooges blueprint, with a heavy dose of soul à la the Detroit Cobras to get the people dancing. The third song they played was an absolutely devastating take on that one riff that every good garage band has to have in their repertoire – the one that started with the Sonics "Cinderella," turned up again as "Loose," and then again later on Pussy Galore's "Mono Man" – that riff that charges ahead like a very heavy American automobile and lands like a slug in your gut before slapping your skull and starting over. The Sermon hit that one right on the head... The bottom line is this: The Sermon are a band who are able to capture a bit of the spirit those bands shot for, and for garage rock, that is the best thing a band can do."
--Mike McGuirk

SF Weekly
"The Sermon is the ideal warm-up act for Dead Moon, serving as a youthful foil to the elders' maturity. The local combo delivers overamped R&B with a punk rock intensity, offering stylish songs that kick hard."
--Jeff Heermann

San Francisco Bay Guardian
"The very thought of The Sermon leaves us quivering like a pole-axed jell-o mold. They stand as one of the best new rock and roll bands in northern California."
--John O'Neill

Lost at Sea
"I arrived in time for San Francisco's The Sermon who took the stage with a comfortable hometown swagger in their tight black jean uniforms and sunglass covered eyes. The mix wasn't the best, making it hard to hear the theremin that the lead singer occasionally attacked at the back of the stage. The two guitar players knew all the right moves, reaching their hands towards the heavens during chord breaks in their songs. The singer had the cocksure chicken strut of a young Mick Jagger. The Sermon kept the masses undulating with their rock revival antics and their music fell somewhere in the Rattlesnakes category of the new-retro rock. Even a maraca theft by an audience member couldn't cause their energy to flag."
--Jonah Flicker