All 13 entries tagged Rock

New Idlewild Single

After a solo album from Roddy Woomble that showcased the depth to the quieter side of Idlewild’s albums that seemed to be creeping up on the rest of the band’s output in the later releases, Idlewild have released a sharp shock to the system with their latest single, If It Takes You Home. This is short and sweet like the 100 Broken Windows days, and it bodes well for the new album, Make Another World, can’t wait!.

Actually, it’s a free download
And a limited etched 7”

: 07 Dec 2006 12:09 |  Tags: Audio Idlewild Indie Music Rock Single |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Okkervil River – Black Sheep Boy

This album had been on my ‘to get’ list for a long while, but never stumped up the money to bring it in on import. It was originally released in 2005, but in the UK in 2006 (which is why it’s valid here) but I actually bought it in Auckland a few months ago.

Okkervil River play songs that have been characterised as emo, rock, indie and country (the section where I found this) because the songs aren’t afraid to rock, Will Sheff’s vocals are definitely charged with emotion, yet there’s a side to the songs that is tender and intelligent.

The album itself is a concept of sorts, beginning with a cover of Tim Hardin’s, Black Sheep Boy, with a view to take it’s namesake through a series of songs later on in the album. Immediately after comes the quiet strum of For Real, a few hushed lines are given before a guitar stab comes out of nowhere, jolting you to attention and really kicking the song and album into gear. It’s actually quite surprising that Okkervil River have decided to give the two strongest songs off the album, the other being Black, away for free, but even more satisfying when the likes of The Latest Toughs and So Come Back, I Am Waiting prove that they haven’t given away all their album’s assets.

The quieter and more subtle songs took longer to take hold, but have since grown with repeated listens, recognising the horns prevalent in A King And A Queen and the following A Stone that lift the previously dour tone whilst hearing Song of Our So-Called Friend work its wonder with a jaunty strum and tinkling keyboards and Get Big release with a gorgeous slide guitar solo.

Saying that, any band that makes an album with these two songs is worth buying straight off:
Okkervil River – For Real
Okkervil River – Black
[taken from okkervilriver.com]

BUY THE ALBUM GODDAMNIT (it’s got some awesome art)!:
From Amazon
From Play.com

: 07 Dec 2006 10:37 |  Tags: Album Music Okkervil River Rock |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

James Dean Bradfield – The Great Western/Nicky Wire – I Killed The Zeitgeist

I am well aware that there are few bands out there who summon the spirit of Marmite quite like the Manic Street Preachers, so it was quite intriguing to watch the solo albums by the two remaining guitarists, lead guitarist/singer James Dean Bradfield and bassist/lyricist Nicky Wire, attract neither delirious praise nor acidic bile. In fact other contributors to this blog weren’t even aware that both had put out solo albums this year. Such is the journey to the quiet margins for one of the biggest, and most in your face, bands of the 1990s.

James

And it is just typical of this brilliantly perverse band that after one terrible album (Know Your Enemy) and one understated album (Lifeblood) it took them going solo to remember who they really are. It really is a blast of revitalised Manic Street Preachers, but that’s to say these are two Manics albums, rather two albums which demonstrate how the Manics came about from two different personalities.

In brief, James’s albums is big and glossy. This is where ‘Design For Life’, ‘If You Tolerate This…’ and ‘Sleepflower’ come from. It has big production, hand claps and sha-la-las. It also has a sense of melancholy and nostalgia about it. Lyrically simplistic but there are no furious attempts to cram the entirely of Das Capital into a three minute rock song so it flows. JDB has never been a man afraid of a soaring melody and The Great Western soars a lot, lush keyboards, his distinctive and brilliantly diverse guitar work. And the voice. If we forget that JDB has one of the bets voices of the 1990s then we are fools.

Nicky

Nicky Wire on the other hand is famous for not having a good singing voice, more a ranting tool. He also plays bass, albeit not amazingly. So therefore logically his album features no bass and a newly acquired, punk rock, fractionally off key but almost always listenable singing voice (in my opinion, you’ll have to try it for yourself). But if JDB was always expected to come up with a solid album then Wire’s has been the greater triumph as even avid Manics fans did not expect him to come up with something as good as I Killed The Zeitgeist. It’s indie as indie used to be, lo-fi, low key and unexpectedly thrilling. Yes, he does still try to cram in big words and ideas into every song, but the excesses of recent times are gone and the angry poetry is back. Even better his handle on an unexpected softer side comes up with some of the best songs of the year.

Ultimately the only down side of both albums is the feeling you when listening to the best tracks (‘English Gentleman’ (JDB), ‘The Shining Path’ (Nicky), ‘Break My Heart Slowly’ (Nicky), ‘Run Romeo Run’ (JDB)) you find yourself wondering how amazing they would be as full band Manics tracks. But just like Star Wars Episode 3 made me want to watch 4-6 again, this is no bad thing. This is why these albums are here together. They belong together, like their creators.

Listen to these:
MP3s Expired

Buy the albums:
The Great Western
I Killed The Zeitgeist

And whilst you’re at it, buy the 10th anniversary edition of the Greatest Album Of All Time, the amazing, wonderful, superlative ‘Everything Must Go’. It really is the most important thing in 1990s music! [/hyperbole]

: 05 Dec 2006 13:32 |  Tags: 31 Albums In 31 Days Album Indie James Dean Bradfield Manic Street Preachers Music Nicky Wire Rock |  Comments (6) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

The Violin as Rock Instrument

As a kind of ruse to let me post lots of good music at once, I’ve compiled a collection of tunes that showcase the violin in a different light to the standard rock/pop fare that usually comes to mind when a band goes to work with an orchestra. Funnily enough however, all of these are solo male artists so I’d be happy if you could suggest some female artists in the same vein (I’d have posted Joanna Newsom, but she’s all harp, ain’t she?). Anyway here we go:

Andrew Bird

Andrew Bird and his Bowl of Fire have been playing and recording for years, but it was only when scouting out various sites’ lists for the top albums of 2005 that I came across The Mysterious Production of Eggs. It’s a fantastic array of tunes that shift the focus from strummed, stroked or plucked strings, electric and acoustic, whilst fronted by his seem.ingly effortless vocal. Oh yeh, it seems strange to mention it, but he’s not a bad whistler either.

Fake Palindromes is a rock song with sly rhymes and building rhythms before battering drums back up the whirling violins in the wordless chorus. It’s possibly the noisiest on the album, and it’s over before you know it, but I love it all the same.

Andrew Bird – Fake Palindromes Mp3 Expired [buy The Mysterious Production of Eggs]

Bonus MP3: Andrew Bird – A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left Mp3 Expired
[taken from andrewbird.net]

Final Fantasy

Owen Pallett is probably more heard for his work arranging most of the strings for The Arcade Fire’s album, Funeral, but if you went to any of the early live shows, you’d find he’s also a damn fine solo artist as well. On stage, he builds up the songs around looping samples, tapping and plucking rhythms before forming string quartets over the top. On record, he’s allowed more freedom and adds effects and instruments into the mix.

Either way it’s amazing, and The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead was one of the first songs I heard before seeing the live show and I still find it’s buildup and release fascinating. He has since recorded a second more expansive and more concise record in He Poos Clouds, but instead of a fresh cut off that, I’ve added a favourite live cover.

Final Fantasy – The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead Mp3 Expired [buy Has A Good Home]

*Bonus MP3:*Final Fantasy – This Modern Love (live Bloc Party cover Mp3 Expired

Patrick Wolf

We now cross the ocean to an artist that actually shares a label with Final Fantasy, and one who also seems to relish a sort of otherworldly feel. Patrick Wolf enjoys revelling in electronics and adding a more harsher edge to his songs. Of course, a firm eye is kept on that killer hook as well as the atmospherics, well presented on both songs here.

The Libertine confusingly came out around the time of Mr. Doherty’s first foray into the public eye (and into the cells for that matter) and didn’t make quite the mark it should’ve done. Its galloping drum loop and punchdrunk violin line definitely made a hit with me, and I’m hoping new song, Accident and Emergency from the upcoming The Magic Position pushes him to fresh and inviting ears.

Patrick Wolf – The Libertine Mp3 Expired [buy Wind in the Wires]

Bonus MP3 Patrick Wolf – Accident and Emergency Mp3 Expired

Jeremy Warmsley

I’ve been kicking myself for the past week for not paying more attention when my radio co-host (the wonderful Emily Andrews) was thrusting a vinyl copy of Jeremy’s EP, Other People’s Secrets down my neck, and also when we actually played the lead track off the record. Of course now, it’s come back to bite me as his new album, The Art of Fiction is gaining praise wherever I’ve happened upon it and he’s just finished touring it around the UK (again, I missed him last time, despite more protestations).

Dirty Blue Jeans was that lead track, and it’s everything a lead track should be. Excited violins stutter, drums pound, spaces are filled with trumpets and Jeremy forces his way through as the song breaks down with him singing _“I’m still in control!” before it explodes and finally contracts. It’s a wonder so many glorious sounds could be fit into three minutes but he manages it with great aplomb. And yes, the album is a corker.

Jeremy Warmsley – Dirty Blue Jeans Mp3 Expired [buy The Art of Fiction]

Bonus MP3 Jeremy Warmsley – I Keep The City Burning (demo) Mp3 Expired
[taken from jeremywarmsley.com]

: 28 Nov 2006 06:24 |  Tags: Andrew Bird Final Fantasy Indie Jeremy Warmsley Patrick Wolf Pop Rock Violin |  Comments (7) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Phoenix – It's Never Been Like That

Writing about web page http://www.wearephoenix.com

For me, there couldn’t be a better time for a band like Phoenix to be entering my playlist. Here in Auckland, the sun is beginning to shine a little more, exams are almost over and I’ve got a whole summer to look forward to (sorry, I won’t milk it any more). This album was rather handily released back in May in time for the Northern summer but it’s only recently that I’ve really got to appreciate just how good it is.

Phoenix started out back when Air were getting big (and in fact spent some time as Air’s backing group) with Moon Safari, and their first two albums United (2000) and Alphabetical (2004) concentrated on the electronic/guitar pop their French contemporaries were famous for, but with a more direct band approach. You’ve probably inadvertently heard them through Lost In Translation (the singer Thomas Mars is dating Sofia Coppola) and the delightful song Too Young, a great example of this vibrant sound. The latest album doesn’t bring a total reverse of this straightforward approach, but instead you can hear the guitars are harder, the rhythms are tougher and it feels a lot more revitalised with an exciting level of energy that tended to be absent from most of previous album tracks.

The album kicks off with the shrill guitar alarm of Napoleon Says and doesn’t let up with the guitar hooks all the way through the album (with the exception of the tepid instrumental North which rather thankfully segues into the giddy blast of Sometimes in the Fall). The European connection is decidedly evident, characterised by Thomas Mars’ slight inflections and accent. Various lines are dotted with sly ‘huh’s that on paper may sound horribly pretentious (in the hands of someone like Jet, heaven forbid) but end up rather sweet and endearing. Another obvious touchpoint would have to be The Strokes, dealing in the same chugging guitar delivery but then nothing in the NYC-ians’ recent output can match the pop brilliance and innocence of something like Consolation Prizes or Courtesy Laughs.

Here are some of my favourite cuts from the album:

Phoenix – Rally MP3 Expired
It’s not a song that really hit me first but it’s one of the songs where there are just parts of the vocal I love. Particularly in the second verse where he croons “Teeeeee-easin’ me”. Gets me every time.

Phoenix – Long Distance Call MP3 Expired
This immediately follows Rally and ends a pretty much perfect first four songs that the two songs afterwards suffer a little for it. The keyboards return for this track but only in subtle touches. A perfect pop crescendo to finish it off as well.

Phoenix – Second to None MP3 Expired
The track that closes off the album, and the taut rhythms here lock into each other so perfectly you almost forget that one guitar has just been playing one note for the past 90 seconds. It doesn’t matter anyway because it’s another brilliant pop song, and a brilliant ending to what I think is a brilliant album. \\

/> />

: 08 Nov 2006 12:53 |  Tags: Album Indie Phoenix Pop Rock |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Seafood

Writing about web page http://www.seafood.uk.com

Seafood might just be the indiest band in Britain today. They are so indie that even though the rise of indie has catapulted bands as esoteric as the Futureheads, and as pointless as Jet, into the spotlight, it really does look like Seafood won’t be making their way into the pages of the Sun’s showbiz column. Perfect for the hardened indie snob who intensely hates the idea that any band they love could possibly have anything so vulgar as recognition but a little sad for anyone who possess, oh I don’t know, ears!

From Seafood’s website.

None of the descriptions of them I’ve seen seem to really do them justice. Post grunge is sometimes applied as if that was a proper description and not just some ridiculous concoction seemingly created by someone who lacks imagination. It’s not post grunge. Nickelback are post grunge and we all know what that means. Ick.

Maybe they need hoisting by their own petard. They claim inspiration from the Pixies and Sonic Youth… except they’re somewhere between the two in terms of how ‘pop’ they sound. Too noisy and squalling to be the sinister children of ‘This Monkey’s Gone To Heaven’ but not quite as wilfully obtuse as them there Youth. They even advertised, when forming, for a male drummer and a female bassist to really get close to their inspirations. It’s therefore gratifying that they ended up with a female drummer and a male bassist. It’s little cock ups like that can make from great music. The closest you can get in recent times to their style is probably some sort of step along from Blur’s self titled album, something influenced by American college rock, but more British. We’re not talking Union Jacks at dawn here, more a reluctance to do anything the simple way.

(c) Holly Cruise, 7th October 2006 – Coventry Collosseum

What am I wibbling on about? In short Seafood make an odd sort of music. For want of any better descriptions they make the saddest sounding happy music you’ll hear. Their music is like the soundtrack to chasing ghosts down the roads in the town you were born in whilst watching as it decays around you. But the lyrics don’t point that way. They are almost optimistic at times, a strange way. It’s a world where your friends are assassins and you are too. When your lover is both irresistible and your enemy in some bizarre game of mortal combat. But it’s not the sound of confusion. All these contradictions are just presented as the way things are.

Most bands are writing songs which are musically and lyrically about going to the pub and having a drink (with consequences both good and bad). No wonder Seafood ain’t cracked it. The new literalism in music won’t sit easy with lines like “walking into corners/not facing straight/I’m begging for attention/in this silent space/so keep tearing out the splinters/it all starts here/it looks good on you/it does” (‘Splinter’). You’ll have a room full of achingly trendy indie haircuts all crammed into the corners… actually on second thoughts that’s not such a bad thing, hehehe.

(c) Holly Cruise, 7th October 2006 – Coventry Collosseum

Anyway, Seafood have four albums and a mini album of this sort of thing to get your paws on. The best place to start is middle release When Do We Start Fighting which is probably their most accessible release. From there we offer you the superlative ‘In This Light Will You Fight Me’, the sort of three part piece which is more instant than a three part song with no obvious chorus should be.

Seafood – ‘In This Light Will You Fight Me’ MP3 Expired

Their latest album, Paper Crown King, is also very good. It’s a little heavier than When Do We Start Fighting and serves as a good bridge between that and their first two releases, the mini album Messenger In The Camp and the proper album Surviving The Quiet. ‘Between The Noise Part 2’ does pretty much exactly what a Seafood song should do. And the title doesn’t really make sense which is nice. Stab stab, take that literalism.

Seafood – ‘Between The Noise pt.2’ MP3 Expired

Then there’s their third album, As The Cry Flows. It’s a bit of a divisive album, some fans love it, some dislike the disjointed nature of it and use the skip button rather a lot to pinpoint the better songs. Recorded after singer David had been in hospital with serious lung problems (and causing many cancelled gigs in Coventry which this writer really wanted to go to) it is more laid back, and somewhat alt.country in tone, it still has some classic Seafood style songs. Perhaps the fact it can be categorised more easily than the others is a hint. Anyway, we’ve included ‘Heat Walks Against Me’ which might just be their actual best song ever. It’s huge, all floatiness and light one minute and then BANG!! Immense soundscape of joy/doom/invention.

Seafood – ‘Heat Walks Against Me’ MP3 Expired

The indie community’s last hidden gem. What have they done to deserve this?

The Albums

Messenger In The Camp (mini album)
Surviving The Quiet (2001)
When Do We Start Fighting (2001)
As The Cry Flows(2004)_
Paper Crown King (2006)

: 15 Oct 2006 13:27 |  Tags: Holly Cruise Indie Music Rock Seafood |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

What would happen if…?

Snow Patrol became a little More Adventurous?

As much as I should love Snow Patrol for writing arguably good pop tunes I just can’t help but be unimpressed by the predictability of the arrangements. When Rilo Kiley appear to take on the same style why does it sound better to me? Is it because I fancy Jenny Lewis? Probably. Maybe you can figure it out…

Snow Patrol - Wow MP3 Expired [buy Final Straw]
Rilo Kiley - Love and War (11/11/46) MP3 Expired [buy More Adventurous]

: 14 Oct 2006 13:38 |  Tags: Indie Rilo Kiley Rock Snow Patrol Swap |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Duels Duels Duels

Writing about web page http://www.duelsmusic.com

I’ve always been searching for a good fun indie band channelling early-Bowie (well, okay, Hunky Dory-era Bowie, i.e. not Suede) into modern pop songs with youth and vigour. Over a year ago I happened across Duels who had come out with a little song called What We Did Wrong. The quirky piano melody was there, the la-la-la harmonies and thick lead guitar lines, it was pretty much perfect. Their website heralded a few more gems in the form of a radio recording of Young Believers and a few snippets of songs here and that they were in the process of recording.

With just two full songs I was hooked.

I’d just arrived in time for a single, Potential Futures, another stomper of a tune that lead me to my first online digital purchase; I was that enthralled. For the next six months though, there was no news of album recordings and a seemingly lacklustre follow-up single in Pressure On You. Time passed and earlier this year I caught wind that they were recording again, and the resulting album, The Bright Lights and What We Should’ve Learned, has turned out to be a cracker. It’s an album which I’ve rarely found, where a band actually lives up to that first promise you heard in them with so much hope. And a British one at that.

Full of these wonderful melodies and hooks, with the tracks I loved re-recorded with even more relish (that they deserve), giving songs like Pressure On You a bigger kick that just wasn’t present before. It’s hard not to mention the obvious influence of the Britpop era in songs like Animal and Brothers & Sisters but they manage to couple the more upbeat driving tracks with a more paranoid undercurrent in slow burners like The Slow Build (duh!), Young Believers and Taxi Song, showcasing a bit more depth to their sound.

The album came out at the end of July but being out in NZ it took me a while to actually realise it. They also have an EP to be soon released with the title track, Once in the Night, which I’ve included here alongside Animal. I’ve also included the first demo version of What We Did Wrong which captured me in the first place. If you dig around the website to find the ‘Little Monsters’ section then you’ll be treated to a few more free musical treats such as a rather sweet cover of the Talking Heads’ Heaven ( which funnily enough has also been covered by Discothéque favourites, Voxtrot ).

The Bright Lights And What I Should've Learned (2006)
Duels - Animal - MP3 Expired
Duels - Once in the Night - MP3 Expired
[Buy from Amazon]

Bonus: Duels - What We Did Wrong (demo) - MP3 Expired
Duels YouTube Channel

: 30 Sep 2006 14:25 |  Tags: Album Alternative Duels Indie Pop Rock |  Comments (5) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

No Hope Left

So, Hope Of The States are another band to add to the list of disbanded-ness. I followed this band early on, intrigued by their brand of ambitious post-indie-rock and anxious to grab every music snippet I could find on the web and rummaging through NME every week (I was that sad, I know) for news on the album. When the album, The Lost Riots came, I had already heard many of the songs but still loved it all the same, especially when coupled with the deluxe string bound liner ‘medical’ notes (yup, still that sad). I was never a huge gig-goer at the time, and so missed on their apparently great live show. Of course, when years went by the fancy CD packaging didn’t fit with the rest of my collection, and all opinion on the band kinda got lost in the ether…

When Sing It Out was released earlier this year, I was completely flummoxed, this didn’t seem to be the same band I had loved a few years ago. And when album Left came out to a number of discerningly average reviews, I was even more inclined to ignore them in lieu of all the other bands I had been discovering in the meantime. This announcement is a disappointment by either way, because their debut was a stormer.

This song is a B-side off The Red, The White, The Black, The Blue single, which came together with the album. Hope you enjoy it…

Hope of the States – The Last Picture Show MP3 Expired /> [Buy The Lost Riots]

\\

: 02 Sep 2006 07:42 |  Tags: Hope Of The States Indie Rock Split |  Comments (1) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Interview: We Landed On The Moon!

We Landed On The Moon! are Melissa Eccles (Vocals), Stephen Bowling (Bass), John Lambremont (Keyboards, Guitar), Jonathan Kolich (Guitar) and Ryan Rushing (Drums), an explosive pop–rock five piece from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They combine powerful songs with beautiful vocals and lyrics to great effect, and are, in fact, awesome.

Following the release of their eponymous debut album (downloadable for UK fans from iTunes or bought in real life from AwareStore and CD Baby, they've picked up a lot of fans (including myself) on the Internet and we caught up for an interview with Melissa to find out how things were going.

Samples

(Listen to these while you're reading the interview. Magic!)

We Landed On The Moon! - Everything Is Fine
We Landed On The Moon! - Simple Steps

Interview

How did things with We Landed On The Moon! begin?

It began with me and John writing songs together. We just really had a connection with music. We were both raised on the Beatles and listening to Radiohead at the time. I know that’s kind of the standard in Britain, but hey, we’re in the states where some of my classmates literally had never heard of the Beatles. And a lot of people here think that Radiohead is for the stuck up people.

We wrote for a while, and went through a couple of lineup changes. And then one by one we found Ryan, Stephen, and Jon and that's when things really started taking off.

How did you come up with the name We Landed On The Moon!?

Stephen actually said it sarcastically to us when we were coming up with a whole bunch of names that were obviously taken. We just kind of laughed and said, “see if the websit’s available”. Make sure and include the exclamation point on it We Landed On The Moon! or he will flip though, haha.

If you could be a planet, which one would you be and why?

I’d be Mars so I could eat more candy bars…

How do you think the Internet has helped promote We Landed On The Moon!?

Well, it has definitely given us some awareness that we never could have gotten just ten years ago. I mean, we’re in Louisiana and you’re in England. How cool is that? I never thought when we were writing these songs that people in England might be cruising down the street trying not to get pulled over by Bobbies while listening to our music. Or maybe on a iPod or something on one of those cool double decker buses. Sorry, I’ve never been to England so I’m just in love with all the cool “only in England” stuff.

We’ll get there eventually. It is amazing when we have people from Sweden and France and other parts of the United States telling us how much they like us. And iTunes is just amazing.

What's your favourite song on the album?

I know it sounds like such a cliché, but I like them all I really do. I have a couple of ones that I have stronger connection to. I like “Without a Sound”, the song that closes the album because we really tried to do something different with it. I also really like the punk feel in “Mourning Dance”. I really get to let loose in that song. “Rabbit Hole” has some sentimental lyrics for me too.

If you could have any guest star alive or dead to perform at one of your shows for one song, who would it be, what song would they guest on, and what would they play?

I think it would be cool if Joni Mitchell came and played “Before the Lights Come Up” with us. My mom listened to a lot of folk music, and Joni’s got the most beautiful voice. We’d do like an acoustic version of “Before the Lights….” with a piano instead of the synth and Joni fingerpicking the guitar part and singing. I’d just try to not to mess it up, haha.

What do you think you'd be doing if you weren't making great music?

I’d be teaching dance or choreographing. I still do it quite a bit now. I’ve been taking dance lessons as long as I’ve been singing. I’d also would be home loving my cats, Bobek and Aja.

What was the first album you bought, and what was the first album you really liked?

I think the first album I bought was the Little Mermaid soundtrack. I really thought I was Ariel. I was very disappointed I couldn’t make my legs turn into a fish tail.

The first album that I really liked? I can’t remember because I’ve always such a big fan of music. The first album I kind of obsessed over was Ok, Computer. Radiohead is a band that I can say that I got into before anyone else in my circle or before it became so critically acclaimed. Now it’s weird because you say you like Radiohead to a music fan, and everyone rolls their eyes and says, “Oh yeah. who doesn’t.”

Melissa, the Internet's certainly had a lot to say about your voice and your own bio talks about the 'powerful yet vulnerable vocals of sultry lead singer Melissa Eccles'... How do you react to comments like that?

Usually, I try not to. It’s always really nice to hear. The reviews and bio, it’s just funny because I just think of me as me. And by that I mean, powerful yet vulnerable me.

Influences are first and foremost when discussing almost any music, but which modern day band do you reckon you could offer some tips to (style, technique or in just writing some bloody songs)? or are you waiting for your tenth album before making any grandiose statements of superiority?

Where do I start?

I’m just kidding, I like a lot of the new music coming out now. Not the mainstream stuff necessarily. I thought there was a lull for a bit in the early 2000s, but then I realized I just wasn’t exposing myself to as much of the music as I should. I recently started really searching for things, reading a lot, and I’ve found a lot of stuff that’s new and good to me.

I would probably tell a lot of bands to stop trying to sound like other bands. I’m not that huge a fan of emo music, but I mean, the kids are out there playing what they feel and know how to play. I’d tell most bands to broaden their horizons and start listening to more music that’s older than five to fifteen years old.

Some songs, such as Mourning Dance and Lovely, are very much reminiscent of Blondie, but others have a more 'modern' feel, for example in Everything is Fine. How would you describe yourselves to someone who hasn't heard you before?

Ah, the million dollar question. We waffled on that for a long time, and finally we just settled on what people we told us we sounded like. I think our sound really varies from song to song, and I like that. I think it keeps the listener interested. I mean, we kind of had an idea of what we didn’t want to sound like, but we never set out to sound like Blondie or synth new wave in the case of “Everything is Fine”. We just kind of wrote each song with the ideas and sounds we heard in our heads and went with it.

But, yeah, Blondie is really what we get all the time. I guess the girl in a dress comparison is too hard to resist. Blondie was amazing. Heck, Debra Harry is still amazing. Just a few months ago in Houston, I had a guy approach the stage and say, “Has anybody ever told you that you look and sound like a young Debra Harry?” I mean, if you get comparisons to a legend like that you kind of have to just say thank you for the compliment and own it.

But to answer your question, if anybody asks you what we sound like, you tell them we sound “like a sexy party”.

What's next for you guys?

Well, we’re going to start touring more and more. We’re going to try to do an Eastern US tour in early 2007. Promotion of this CD starts in earnest this September. We’re doing the College Radio Station thing here in the States. Should be fun to see what type of response we get.

Um… what else? We’re working on songs for the new album already. We probably have about 3–5 that are in some semblance of arrangement, and 3 or 4 more that we’re playing with. We’re going to have about 30 when we go into the studio, so that will give us a lot of material to choose from.

What we really want is Virgin UK or some cool English label to sign us for distribution so we get an excuse to come play around in England for a few months. A friend of ours just toured with a band who basically just uses their band as an excuse to travel the world. That would be fun.

So all of you kiddies buy our CD so we can come and visit. I want to eat fish n chips!

Buy

A big thanks to Melissa for the interview and good luck on promoting the album, we hope you guys come to the UK soon :) Make it happen by buying their fantastic album NOW.

iTunes
AwareStore
CD Baby

Links

Website
MySpace

Mathew Mannion : 23 Aug 2006 11:50 |  Tags: Interview Music New Wave Post Punk Rock We Landed On The Moon |  Comments (3) |  Close comments |  Report a problem