Uno Møller is undoubtedly a cool guy. For one thing he can look good wearing a headband in the same way that McEnroe could. If being cool isn’t enough, he is also a very talented chap and this record goes a long way to showcasing that talent.
If you know of Uno from his role in the excellent Team Me (who all look good in headbands), then you may be surprised at the intimacy of this record. Surprised – yes, disappointed – I very much doubt it!
The cover shows a view across a lake, the trees in the distance lost amongst the mist, and this image conjures a haunting fragility that is evident throughout the songs that make up the record. The greyness of the scene hints at a murky intensity and although this record is in parts intense, it is a textured, multi-layered and dare I say it multi-coloured listen.
Opener ‘Creature Days’ sets the scene with the intimate production giving the effect of putting you in the same room as Uno whilst he picks at and slides his fingers along the strings, the vocals raw and emotive, ‘What’s wrong with me….?’
Second up is ‘Down in the Ghost House’ and although it raises the tempo, you cannot fail to be pulled in by the choruses closing lament, ‘terrified from all the screaming’
I should probably state here that although this is the kind of record with which you have to make an effort to engage, I have never found it a difficult listen. This I think is one of the real successes of the record – it’s a fine balancing act between intensity and accessibility, which I believe is only carried off because of Uno’s expert lightness of touch with some of the vocal delivery and his ear for a gorgeous melody.
‘The Same Amount As Birds’ and ‘Riots’ are perfect examples of this balancing act, where the beauty of the tune and the vocal are ultimately an uplifting experience for the listener (Lucy Swann’s additional vocals on ‘Riots’ raise this tune to the standout recording on the album).
For me the other highlight is ‘What Your Running From’, the piano takes the lead on this tune and the performance puts me in mind of Ryan Adams at his best. I love the fact that at the song’s end the tape continues rolling and we are left with Uno at a silent piano; all of us reflecting on the song and the performance (if this isn’t what we hear then don’t tell me otherwise, as this is a perfect end for me!)
This is a very fine record and one that I would recommend to anyone looking to invest time in a musician. Uno is an artist of great potential and this record contains numerous examples of his talent. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Regular readers will know that Iceland Airwaves 2011 was part of the reason I started this blog. They will also know that Vicky were one of my favourite bands, having caught them playing both an intimate, ‘violin enhanced’ semi-acoustic set and an ‘outfit coordinated’ noisefest.
Their album ‘Cast A Light’ is a fun bundle of great guitar-riffs, angst ridden lyrics and shout-a-long choruses – a damn fine rock record. Don’t believe me? Then check out this review from Rolling Stone.
Taking all this into account, you can imagine I was very happy when the band agreed to have a chat on the eve of their upcoming hometown gig.
Hi Vicky – are you well? What are you up to at the moment?
Hi! We’re good thank you; just planning our release concert for the album Cast a Light, that we’re going to have in an old theatre (bæjarbíó) in our “hometown”, Hafnarfjörður.
I understand your name was originally ‘Vicky Pollard’ after the character from Little Britain. What TV shows are currently making you laugh?
Yes that´s right. Funny, that seems so long ago but still it isn´t more than five years ago. When we were ready with our first album, our name was still Vicky Pollard, but that changed during the artwork on the album because we didn´t want to take any chances in case of legal arguments! This name is better when we think about it… TV shows..? We all share these dark humour type of shows like Family Guy, Little Britain, South Park and so on.
Vicky 'lo-fi' @ Airwaves'11
At Airwaves ’11 I was lucky enough to see you play both an acoustic set and the full electric version. What is most nerve-racking?
The acoustics are always more intimidating because then you can´t hide behind the distortion pedal and the reverb and stuff like that. They are more up close and people ask for more intimacy. So yes the acoustic one for sure.
Having seen the acoustic show first, I was pretty taken aback by how full on the main show was – is being a rock band a dream come true?
Yes it is. We all share this dream and are very happy about doing what we do. This has been an amazing experience and hopefully it is just beginning!
My colleague at Airwaves, Victorsson, was very taken by Karlotta’s green hair – any hair experimentation going on in the band at the moment?
Hahaha… Lotta´s hair is always changing. Maybe it is tuned in with the weather in Iceland!?
Last minute preparations
Vicky know how to write a great chorus – please give us an insight into the song writing process in the band.
Well thank you… Most of our songs have been created as an instrumental song to begin with. We start with a guitar riff or a bass line and then we find the right groove for the song. Once we have the right tempo and the groove, Eygló brings her thing to it and then we just find out the length for each part and so on. But also, sometimes it just happens all at once somehow by jamming at practices.
How would you describe your music?
“If the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Foo Fighters would have a lovechild under a Volcano in Iceland….” That would be Vicky!
Are you pleased with the reception to ‘Cast A Light’?
Yes we could not be happier! All the comments we have heard are on the positive notes, so that must be a good thing! But then again I guess we don’t get the negative comments… Nobody dares to say something negative to us… haha.
With many great bands in Iceland, do you think there is a competitive environment that pushes the bands to new & better things?
Might be, with only 300,000 people living here and so many bands fighting for the attention, you have to be doing something new and different to stand out.
Who are your musical influences?
We all come from different musical backgrounds so naming some influence for the band is kind of hard, the list goes from Queen to Kiss to Pantera to Opera. So it´s complicated!
You finished 2011 on a high with a great write up in Rolling Stone – what are your hopes and aspirations for 2012?
Our main plans are the release concert this month and following it by playing all over Iceland this Summer. Hopefully we’ll do a tour abroad, but when and where is not confirmed at the moment.
What were your favourite records of last year?
Since we all have so different tastes in music the list is really wide, to name a few: In Flames – Sounds of a Playground Fading, Bon Iver – Bon Iver, PJ Harvey- Let England Shake..
What would be your dream Airwaves line-up?
Less indie folk stuff and more rock and roll!!
Any plans to join us in the UK for a few gigs?
Hopefully! Sadly we have never played in the UK, but we have planned little tours there before, but there’s always something that comes up… But it’s definitely in our plans.
Thanks to all of Vicky for taking the time to chat.
If you are in Iceland then do try and catch the live Vicky experience. The release concert will be on the 12th of April, in bæjarbíó (town theatre) in Hafnarfjörður, the Facebook event is here:http://www.facebook.com/events/234349256664453/
The House of Hats EP is one of my favourite records of the year so far. Hailing from Brighton, this is the band’s first release and it does an excellent job of capturing the great songwriting and beautiful voices that make the band special. Glorious harmonies put you in mind of Crosby, Stills & Nash, Fleet Foxes or another someofitistrue favourite The Staves.
After an exceptional in-store at Union Music Store they leapt to the top of the list for a profile at someofitistrue. Let me know what you think.
Where did the name House of Hats come from?
It was James’ observation of us as a collective, as a band as well as our social crowd, that created the name ‘House Of Hats.’ He said “when we are together, it’s pretty much like the mad hatters tea party. Everyone has such a strong character and we are all so different in so many ways, but somehow we all fit perfectly.” This is also helped by our insanity and a deep rooted passion for tea.
If you had to build a house out of Hats which types would you use?
Predominantly Flat caps, throw in a couple of Bowlers, a Top and something woollen with a lot of stretch to contain the phenomenon that is Noddy’s hair!
You have a beautiful blend of voices in the band. How did you find each other?
We’ve known one another for about 6 or 7 years and each of us were involved in individual projects previous to House Of Hats. At times we even shared the same stage in our separate bands. Over the years we have all written and worked together in some capacity or another and gained a mutual respect for each other’s strengths within music. It wasn’t until a chance encounter in early 2011 that we found ourselves together in a room and began jamming. Alex and Noddy experimented with sharing the lead vocal, James tied the voices together with a 3rd harmony and Rob glued it all together with a simplistic rhythm section made up of bass, a stomp box and a tambourine. It just felt right. From that moment on we haven’t looked back.
Do you write as a band, or individually?
Both. It could be a jam, where a melody starts to take shape that a couple of us then take further and develop. Or one of us might begin writing something alone, where the lyrics maybe more personal in nature. But whether it be of a group or solitary conception, we all tend to have an input into how all the songs develop, no matter how completed they are when they are brought to the table. It’s the entire creative process that is important to us, from a song’s conception to how it sounds live or recorded. It comes back to respecting each other’s strengths in music and learning from each other.
Do you plan for music domination a la U2 or are your aspirations for the band somewhat different?
Domination all the way! (HA HA HA!) Who knows where this will lead? Our main objective is to create honest music, from real experiences and to work hard for something we believe in. House Of Hats is a lifestyle for us and we hope to take this as far as we can, wherever that may be.
Tell us about your recent experience in a shed?
When people ask you, “What did you do at the weekend?” and your reply is, “I drove a 7 hour round trip to Somerset to play with the band in a garden shed for half an hour!”, you would be right in thinking you would get some funny looks. But I tell you it’s well worth it and a great experience. We were invited by the legend that is Jon Earl, the founder of www.songsfromtheshed.com to play 3 live tracks in his shed that were then uploaded onto the website.
We had such a great time there and recommend it to any band, as they generally have a genre free policy, but you must be able to play unplugged. We had a fantastic day and chatting with Jon was an honour.
We seem to have a thriving music scene here in Brighton – is it beneficial to be based here?
Yes, definitely! There is some great talent here, and as an arts and university city, it means there is a constant stream of new audiences and indeed new great music emerging year after year.
Who would support House of Hats on your dream tour?
Tough one … but the ultimate fantasy line up would have to be ‘Ella Fitzgerald’ or ‘Bob Dylan’ for Noddy, ‘Ray Lamontagne’ or ‘Donny Hathaway’ for James, ‘Neil Young’ for Rob and ‘Mason Jennings’ for Al. As you can see, our influences vary quite a bit!
As musicians, is there a venue that you would love to play?
Well we are already on the way with that one. We have a gig at ‘Ronnie Scotts’ in London on the 3rd April, which has definitely been an ambition of all of ours for a long time to play there. We can’t wait and it’s set to be a great night! Shepherds Bush Empire would be a great one, as would Union Music Chapel … one day man … one day!
‘Close to Me’ is probably my favourite tune of the year to date – it’s great all the way through, but the moment when all the voices come in is very special. How did this song come to be?
It was finished pretty quickly. We were messing around with a new bass line idea and the whole song stemmed from that 4 bar bass line. We listened to a lot of Fink and Fleetwood Mac at the time, so probably drew a little influence from them.
The House Of Hats EP is out now – what’s next in regards to recorded output?
Yes, the first EP is out now and you can download it from iTunes and all major digital distributors. Or if you are old-school, you can come and see us live and buy a hard copy with artwork from our Jimmy. We have have also just finished an animated music video for the first song on the EP, ‘This Love’, which again is in the process of being edited. We are continuously writing and recording; we currently have 6 tracks that are being mixed. Our next release is in the pipeline, so keep your eyes peeled and all will be revealed very soon. Exciting times!
What bands are House of Hats currently listening to? Do you all have similar tastes?
We listen to a wide scope of music and our tastes vary considerably, but one thing we are all in tune with is great song-writing with a double scoop of harmonies. For example ‘Crosby, Stills and Nash’, ‘Fleetwood Mac’, ‘The Civil Wars’ and ‘The Staves’. Great sounds!
House of Hats can book five bands for the Brighton Festival this year – who are they?
Probably some of the people we have gigged with recently: ‘Jake Morley’, ‘Conrad Vingoe’, ‘Luke Sital Singh’, ‘Louis Checkley’ and of course, ‘House Of Hats’. These are people to watch!
Where can people find out more about the band?
You can go to our Website www.houseofhatsmusic.com and from here you can access all our social media pages like ‘Facebook’, ‘Twitter’ and ‘Youtube’. From these you can check out our tour dates, get links to our music, free downloads and generally keep up to date with our progress. You just click a button and it’s all there.
At the beginning of the year, someofitistrue were very excited to hear that local heroes, Early Ghost were going to be supporting our Iceland Airwaves faves Team Me in Brighton. Therefore you can imagine our pleasure on hearing that Team Me man, Uno Møller would also be on the bill playing a solo set in support of his new album ‘Silent Riots’. We have been lucky enough to be granted a sneak preview of the album and we think it is an excellent piece of work. We have to wait until April for the album release, but we can share the first single, Riots
To celebrate this upcoming event we tracked down Uno and asked him a few questions.
Hi Uno, thanks for speaking with us. Where are you and how is the tour going?
Right now we’re in Berlin. Just played the first gig on our European leg of this tour.
Is this the biggest tour so far for Team Me?
We’ve been on a few tours, both in Norway and in the UK, as well as Europe. This is our first European headliner tour, so I guess this is our biggest tour yet. We’re also doing some showcases in the US on this tour, so yeah…definitely the biggest one yet.
I saw you at Airwaves ’11 playing Nordic House. It was an excellent show – can we expect more of the same in Brighton?
Thank you! I guess it’ll be more playful and loud, and more songs from our album – To The Treetops! At Nordic House we didn’t get to show our full set up really. Looking forward to playing in Brighton!
How is the reception to your solo work going down when you open the shows?
I’ve only done one - tonight, but the crowd actually payed attention. It was really nice. My solo stuff is far more quiet and whispery than Team Me, so it was a great experience. I haven’t played many solo shows at all, so this will be a new thing for me. Hopefully it’ll be a good thing in the end.
I’m loving Silent Riots and can’t wait to hear it live. What is your favourite track to play?
Thank you! I’m glad to hear that! I like playing Hola! and Silent Speakers, but I played a couple of new ones tonight, which I really love.
Been to Brighton before? How are the crowds
We’ve actually played in Brighton a couple of times before. We did two gigs at last year’s The Great Escape festival and we also opened for British Seapower in Brighton last February. The crowds were great!:)
Thanks Uno and Lazyacre. Listening to the record as I type this – it really is a lovely thing.
Amazing! Thank you so much!
Catch Uno, both solo and with Team Me at the Haunt in Brighton on the 8th March. If you can’t make this, then try to catch them elsewhere on tour http://teamme.no/
This is one triple-bill that someofitistrue do not plan to miss.
Silent Riots is out on April 5th through Lazy Acre Records
The team at someofoitistrue towers have to admit to being a bit daunted when the latest from Slow Down, Molasses arrived at our door. We weren’t familiar with either the band’s previous work, or really “remixing” as an art form. It therefore took us a few listens to really get into this record, but safe to say, it’s well worth the effort.
Whilst not being experts in the “remix”, one of our first records was the “Two Tribes” 12” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, which we still like to this day. One of our favourite records ever and always brings us back time after time, is “µ-Ziq Vs. The Auteurs” –a total classic in our opinion, where Mike Paradinas obliterates some of the tracks from the “Now I’m a Cowboy” record, creating something totally new and exciting. We remain fans of both groups, a love that Luke Haines and Mike Paradinas probably don’t share.
Not being familiar with the original versions, I can’t comment on how radical the “Bodies of Water: Remixes” are, but my thoughts are that they are probably not too different from the source material, certainly in keeping with the feel of a Slow Down, Molasses record – must admit I need to do some home work here. It’s certainly not a “Loaded” type set of remixes, where Andrew Weatherall totally changed “I’m Losing More Than I’ll Ever Have” by Primal Scream, but still produced something that was in keeping with what the band are all about. Whilst Bodies of Water isn’t so radical a remix work, it’s an interesting record that stands up to, actually requires, repeated listening.
Over eight tracks, including three versions each of “Walk Into The Sea” and “Light”, and at just 32 minutes – someofitistrue applauds bands who get to the point and don’t outstay their welcome – the team behind this record have produced a really diverse body of work that takes the listener on an interesting and varied musical journey. I understand that Slow Down, Molasses are a multi instrumental collective of up to nine members (possibly more) and there is a wealth of different instruments featured here, all sounding great together.
Favourite tracks for this listener include, “Bodies (Mehta’s Reduction)” which has a real Alice Coltrane feel about it, with the harp sound coming in and out over the driving sequenced background. “Light (Sebastian Reynolds Remix)” works really well, it starts with just vocals and the slightest of piano backgrounds, you feel that it’s the soundtrack to a leaf being blown in the breeze, slowly it builds and ends with repeat stabs of noise, the leaf is now being bashed repeatedly against a corrugated iron fence, excellent stuff. I also really like “Walk Into The Sea (Message to Bears Remix)” with its ripples of piano, cello, haunting vocals and, what sounds to me, like a looped Wurlitzer. “Late Night Radio (Foam Lake Remix)” is all hypnotic rhythm, crashing guitars and brass instrumentation and would work well in the type of club that Some Of It Is True wish they would get invited to more often.
When I finally “got” this record, I was cycling around the country lanes of Warwickshire on a sunny spring morning, this record was the perfect sound track; it contains light, shade, driving beats, quiet passages, vocal hooks, strange instruments / sounds and is always interesting. Ultimately, any remix record needs to work on two levels; as a body of work in its own right that stands up to repeated listening and also as an introduction to the listener to search out more music by the artists involved. “Bodies of Water: Remixes” is a record that I keep coming back to and I’m going to discover more music by Slow Down, Molasses, so for someofitistrue it is a total success.
4/5
Review by @tvermar
****You can download this album – name your price – at the following sites****
Do you like Folk? Do you like Rock? Do you like a band who exude a passion for their music? If so, Barricades Rise might be the band for you. This duo obviously love what they do and they do it very well, folk-rock that makes you sit up and take notice – at times it’s in your face snarling, at others it is a gentle but haunting lullaby. Read on for an introduction into the world of Barricades Rise and also a link to a FREE album download!
Hi Gentlemen, please tell us a little about Barricades Rise
Jonathan Coates – We are an acoustic duo from the Midlands and we describe our music as Acoustic/Folk/Rock. Michael and I have been making music together for around 15 years in various different bands spanning a few different genres, but found a love for the simplicity of two guitars and vocals.
Michael McEntee – Nailed it.
You have now written 2 LPs. Would you say Barricades Rise have found their sound?
JC – I think both albums captured the sound we wanted at the time. I would like to think that with each new album, our sound will continue to develop. That being said, I think you can listen to any of our songs and they do have a certain something that makes them a “Barricades Rise” song. Not sure what that is, but it’s there.
MM – I think Jonathan’s voice is the main factor to how we sound. It’s a very powerful tool.
Please tell us how the song-writing process works within the band?
JC – We tend to write apart mostly. Once we have the bones of a song we will then bring it to the table and let the other chap put his stamp on it. On occasion we have sat together and jammed on ideas, but we find it easier to work alone for the initial ideas and then once the idea is good enough, share it.
The passion of the performance virtually leaps out of the speakers – is this important for you?
JC – It is the passion and energy of our live performances that tends to set us apart from most people on the acoustic scene, therefore if we can get 50% of that coming “out of the speakers”, then we are happy. I think it’s quite hard to capture that on record, but the way we record seems to allow us to do just that. Everything is recorded, mixed and produced by us in my home studio and in a very unprofessional manner. There are no vocal booths, sound proofing or racks of equipment, it’s just the two of us banging out the tunes in a tiny spare bedroom with a one decent quality mic.
I assume this makes a live Barricades Rise experience pretty full on?
JC – Yeah, as I say, we do put a lot of energy in to our live performances. I believe a Barricades Rise show is as much about the visual impact of two guys stomping their feet and head banging, as it is the music. Obviously on the acoustic scene you get a lot of singer songwriters who are gentle players and give a lovely tender performance and then we come on and crank it up a little. It usually makes people turn and take note.
MM – We pride ourselves on being different. A very visual band. If we have not left the stage in sweat from really going for it, we consider the gig a bit of a let down.
That’s not to say you don’t do subtle well. ‘The Great White North is a lovely tune – please tell us about it.
MM – That song out of all the slower ones has more of a story. I recorded a solo album at the start of last year. It was a passion project based on the life of Chris McCandless. I wrote recorded and released the album in 3 days. This was one of the song off it. Jonathan really liked it so we rerecorded it and stuck it on the album. It’s my lead vocal debut too.
There seems a very raw honesty in both your music and lyrics, such as in ‘Nod & Smile’ & ‘If You Were Here’. Is this a fair statement and has this honesty ever garnered any feedback from those who inspired the songs?
JC – I think it’s a fair statement to make, as some of our songs are extremely personal to us. We have songs about people we have lost, people we love, our own friendship together and many life situations we have faced.
MM – We tend not to let people in on what our songs are about, or who they are about specifically. Sometimes we even keep it from each other. We like to let the listener decide for themselves as they could associate the song to their own life.
I loved your covers on the Xmas EP – do you play any covers live? What’s your favourite cover to play?
JC – We have always been about playing our own songs live. Even going back to the days of our very first band at secondary school (1996), we didn’t start the usual way - which is to play covers; we dove straight into writing our own songs from the first practice. We only know a handful of covers all the way through and one or two make the set every once in a while.
I can imagine Barricades Rise being a great festival band. If you could curate your own festival, what five acts would you have on the bill?
JC – It’s strange, but we have played on a main stage of a big festival and we felt lost. It didn’t feel right, however, stick us in a small acoustic tent and we will get the crowd going.
With regards to my dream festival line up, a festival should be about creating a party atmosphere and for that you want bands that are going to make you move and play all the classics so. . . . Picture this, it’s the last day of 3 day festival and the sun is setting for the final five acts, a few beers have been drunk and you are feeling good. You get to the front of the festival field and the following five bands come on and blow you away . . .
1) The Rasmus – this is not a joke, they write catchy pop rock tunes that I can’t help but throw my Rock moves around; 2) Muse – wouldn’t class myself as a massive Muse fan, but my brother and I saw them last year and they are amazing live; 3) Pulp – Playing the complete works of His and Hers, followed by Different Class and select other few singles; 4) The Pet Shop Boys – The singles collection of pure pop and 5) The Music – Dance rock perfection
MM – As usual Jonathan has got it wrong. I’d stick Muse, Mumford and Sons, My Chemical Romance, Pulp and of course, Barricades Rise
How cool is the Banjo?
JC – Not as cool as the Ukulele, but it is pretty sweet. We currently have at our disposal three Ukuleles, a banjo, a banjolele, a banjitar, a mandolin, our guitars and numerous percussion instruments. It’s great to have all these different sounds available to us, all we need to do now is learn how to play them all
MM – It’s very cool. I think the more songs we write, the more it appears too.
What is coming up for Barricades Rise in 2012?
JC- 2012 is going to be a strange year for Barricades Rise. Michael became a Dad in January and my first child is expected in April. This pretty much means we are not gigging for the first half of the year. Despite this, we will be releasing our second collection of rarities called Repertiore II: Covers, Live and Demo’s in February. We also have a collection of Remixes done by a chap who goes by the name of ‘Soundtrack’, which will be released around April/May time. We have some gigs booked for later in the year and hopefully we will start demoing new tunes as the year comes to a close, ready for a possible early/mid 2013 release of a new album. First of all though, we are going to enjoy being dads.
(between interview and publishing the BR boys have actually released ‘Repertoire II – Live, Covers and Demo’s’. Click on the album cover to download for FREE!)
You guys seem to have embraced Social Media – how has this benefited the band? Any negative sides?
JC– Social media is an unsigned band’s best friend. If used correctly, the possibilities are endless. It has enabled us to get close with fans, gain new fans, get gigs, make contacts and so much more.
MM- This interview would not have happened, nor would a host of others and our gig schedule would be sparse. We both use it daily (@barricadesrise – Michael and @jc_barricades – Jonathan)
Who are Barricades Rise listening to at the moment?
JC – I can’t stop listening to the Editors second and third album at the minute. Also, a little bit of The Devil Makes Three. Oh, Absolute 80′s radio when I’m washing up.
MM – I’ve just found a band called Vandaveer. Beautiful.
Thanks for taking the time guys. Finally, where can people find out more about Barricades Rise?
JC – In all the usually spots – Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Bandcamp and the most important place: www.barricadesrise.co.uk here you will find links to all the places mentioned above and this is where we blog. I think we averaged around a blog every 3 days last year and love doing it. We obviously blog about the band, but also about anything we find interesting.
When we are not stroking our chins to the latest tear jerker from some acoustic lovely, there is nothing more that we love than a bit of a racket. It thrills us to report that Internet Forever produce a glorious racket that brings a smile to the face and wipes years off our age.
We have to admit that Internet Forever were not a band that someofitistrue were familiar with before they came knocking at our drawbridge. A cursory check of the internet suggested that they were going to be all a bit ‘indie-pop’- no bad thing, as we like a jangle as much as the next pop kid. However, repeated listens suggests that this description sells the group a bit short. Internet Forever are what this reviewer would call, a classic pop band built on a Spector(ish) wall of sound. It’s all there – pop hooks, catchy choruses, sing-a-long verses and plenty of noise. You can trace their sound back through this style from 2012 back to the birth of rock and roll. There are bits of 60’s girl group, bits of Ramones, bits Jesus & Mary Chain, you get the aural picture, but its all got a nice 2012 punch to it.
Far from coming across all twee and shambling, Internet Forever positively crunch and there is even a bit of the epic / widescreen about their sound. To these ears there is even a bit of late 70’s E-Street Band in the percussion to ‘Centre of the Universe’, when Bruce Springsteen was trying to create his own wall of sound imitation on Born to Run. ‘Pages of Books’ also has that epic sweep and a great introduction to match.
Internet Forever could never claim to have the most original sound, but someofitistrue think that having an original sound in 2012 is pretty much a moot point anyway. We know most, if not all, things have been done before, probably before we were even born, but that’s not an issue for us. Despite acknowledging pop history in their sound, Internet Forever are a thoroughly modern band. They use typical ‘indie’ instruments, such as guitar and drums in a typical ‘indie’ style, but augment with current sounds, drum beats, percussion, dance club rhythms. Lyrics are a nice mix of girl falls out with boy, but with modern touches about message boards, etc.
Pretty much every song here has something going for it. ‘I Don’t Care’ starts at a pace and then builds, slows, then builds again, before finally it crashes over the listener in addictive waves of ‘whoo-hoos’. It then repeats this again and again to give the listener a manic pop thrill. If this isn’t a great catchy pop tune then I don’t know what is. ‘Happy New Year’ is another winner, starting with a fanfare and then shimmering along, backed by some neat drums and all over in two minutes.
I’m not sure what a modern group aspire to in this day and age, but in our dreams a tune as fine as ‘White Light Collision Course’ should be all over the radio for Spring and Summer of 2012. Inspiring people to both listen to Internet Forever, but to also form bands and create their own sound. For me it’s the highlight of the record and is a great mix of ‘up’ music and slightly sinister lyrics. ‘I’ll sleep when I’m alive’ starts off a bit too close the Vaccines, but rapidly mutates into something quite different, again it’s said all it needs to say in just two minutes. No messing around for Internet Forever; get to the point, get to the chorus and then move on.
Internet Forever should be commended for making a great modern pop record. Its prefect for the Itunes shuffle generation, who get bored after 2 minutes, but it also works well as an entire piece of work, having a beginning – the stately instrumental ‘3D’, a strong run of tunes in the middle – ‘Pages of Books’, ‘Centre of Your Universe’ and ‘White Light Collision Course’ and then an epic finish with ‘3M’.
Whilst we acknowledge that someofitistrue ‘s growing global reputation is due to our love of that perennial favourite- the solo troubadour / singer songwriter, we will freely admit that our musical taste is pretty much all encompassing. We are happy to give anything a blast and will champion all sorts of different bands over the coming months. We are obsessed by music and bands, which for us tend to fall into two categories: love or ignore. If we don’t like it, we won’t listen or comment further – no haters here, we love much more than we find snore-inducing.
Indie-pop is in safe hands with the emergence of ‘Foxes!’, who released their self-titled debut album earlier this year. The call & response girl/boy vocals, retro-synth sounds and sheer variety make this album a real pleasure to listen to. Luckily for us, Adam from the band was happy to have a chat with someofitistrue
Hello ‘Foxes!’ – I hope you are well. Please tell our readers about yourselves!
Hi, I am Adam Bell and I play guitar and sing in Foxes! My wife Kayla is the drummer and main singer and we are joined by Al Grice on bass guitar and keyboard and Matthew Twaites on guitar and keys. We all live in Brighton and just released our album on newly formed Brighton label Big Salad Records, which we are also running ourselves.
Why ‘Foxes!’
Foxes! is the cry of a rabbit as it runs to escape its potential doom. Hence the injured rabbit as our logo.
How has the album been received? Are you pleased?
Yes we’ve had some very good reviews, maybe some people weren’t so into the humour element, or slightly mistook that we can be tongue-in-cheek at times, but on the whole, I’m really pleased with how people are reacting to it.
I understand you have recently relocated from Oxford to Brighton – was this driven from a musical standpoint? How is Brighton treating you?
We started as a three piece in Oxford back in 2005 and moved to Brighton after the summer of 2007. Kayla and our original bass player Dan were studying in Oxford and finished their courses that Summer. We were drawn to Brighton by the past to some extent, as I had lived in Brighton during my teenage years, and Kayla had immediately loved it when she first moved over from Canada in 2001. It felt like coming home when we moved back, although Oxford was very good to us and we did love it there as well.
I’ve seen the term C-86 used in reference to your music. What does it mean? Is it a fair reference?
Well, I think it represents the idea of lo-fi music that isn’t punk. It implies directness and innocence and home recording without caring so much for high production values. For us, we wouldn’t ever listen to that tape and couldn’t really name any songs on it that we are passionate about. Although I do like ‘Velocity Girl’ by Primal Scream. I think it is a bit of a shorthand for a certain style and perhaps that has been an influence on us. I know that Dan, original member and contributor to the songwriting, was influenced by bands such as Beat Happening, and so we can’t deny that it has had some influence on the album. Moving forward, however, I don’t think that it is going to seem such an obvious reference point for the band, as we have so many other influences which are much more relevant to us.
Is that a Bontempi on ‘It’s Ridiculous, Adam’?
No, actually, it’s a Casio CT-310.
You may not be able to draw horses very well but your logo shows you have no problem with rabbits! As a new and upcoming band are you conscious of creating a ‘Foxes!’ style/brand or is it all pretty organic?
Kayla has a very distinctive art style and this is a big influence on how we present ourselves visually. The Oh Rosie video probably illustrates this best. We also have a kind of fun live video style explored on ‘Who Killed Rob?’ and ‘The Panda Bear Song’, which was conceived by myself and Kayla. I think we have managed to express our personalities quite well without overanalysing exactly what and why we are doing it. I’d like to continue that way really, I’m not really comfortable with the idea of the ‘Foxes! brand’, though that is quite an amusing concept.
‘6 O’Clock’ is a great tune – please tell us about how this came together
Ok that’s the first song written for the album by some time. I wrote it in St Andrews on an acoustic guitar when I was 19 years old in the year 2000, even before I had met Kayla. It has always been an important song to me because I feel that it has a universal appeal and just stands up against any other material written afterwards. It was composed quickly, the lyrics just fell together and I think it feels more serious when compared the rest of the album. Strangely, it feels connected to ‘A Letter To A Mine’ somehow, though the original idea for that song was composed in Cornwall four years later. The only thing that significantly changed over the years was the line ‘Where is the taxi man tonight?’, which I think we changed in 2006, as previously it had been ‘Where are all the voices in my head?’ which seemed a bit generic. I like the mystery of the taxi man and its specific reference to our lives in Oxford at that time.
The album is bursting with different sounds and ideas – was there anything you really loved but had to leave out, as it didn’t fit within the context of the album?
Well, we drew a line on songs for our first album in 2008. While we were still recording we were writing new songs, but they are going to appear on our second record, in particular a song called ‘Sailors’, which is on the Elefant Records release that came out in April last year, was almost included, and written just after the tracklist was decided. There’s a really nice video that someone has made on YouTube of the original version of ‘Sailors” and I love that song. I think we are going to re-record it this year. A song called ‘Wild Geese’ was very nearly included. We recorded a demo version of the song in 2007 and there is a video on YouTube made around that time featuring rolling about in Oxford. Otherwise, the tracklisting was clear to me fairly early on and I don’t think it really changed much, the intro to ‘Apples To Apples’ became ‘Aisle No. 3′ and I liked how the album bookends around the sentiment of that song. Although ’6′O Clock’, the main idea for ‘Descartes’ and ‘A Letter To A Mine’ were all written earlier, all other songs were written between 2005-8.
What records are ‘Foxes!’ listening to at the moment?
I am currently listening to… Aqualung by Jethro Tull, Write Your Own History by Field Music, reliving the back catalogue of Pavement and an album by Department of Eagles called The Cold Nose.
What’s coming up in terms of live dates? What can people expect from ‘Foxes!’ live?
We currently have three gigs scheduled. The first is a headline show at Pavilion Theatre in Brighton on 16th February. Then we are back in Oxford for the first time in a while at The Cellar on 10th March. We are also playing a London show for Odd Box Promotions at The Wilmington Arms on 16th March.
We shall be playing much of the album and a bunch of new stuff too, and hopefully having a nice relaxed fun evening so everyone should come along!!
Love the handclaps on ‘Art Girl’. Can you recommend another great song with handclaps?
“Disconnect The Dots” by of Montreal
Where can we find out some more about you and the record?
You can ask us anything on Twitter and we will be sure to get back to you… www.twitter.com/foxesfoxesfoxes
I can confirm that ‘Foxes!’ is a fun, spiky pop record which is well worth investing some time getting to know. Why not pop over to their myspace page to hear for yourself? http://www.myspace.com/foxesfoxesfoxes
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At @donnafullman album release gig tonight. Candles - check, Feathers on mic stand - check, Donna looking glam - check. Bring on the tunes! 17 hours ago
'Ambient Slave' by War on Drugs blasting out pre-gig. What an awesome record! #playloud17 hours ago
Super (2010) very watchable alternative take on the superhero genre. Funny, sad and brutal in parts. Great cast, Ellen Page excellent. 2 days ago
RT @Hatful_of_Rain: Our album is available nationally tomorrow :-) get it online anywhere but we would love you to buy it from an indepe ... 2 days ago
