When a studio burns down, it can really make the dancing stop and bring out the rock from within.
These guys were originally a dance-oriented band until the studio that was recording and producing their work burned down. At which point the band shifted on to an alt rock format.
Their chance in sound was met warmly at a time when their musical progress was heading for the one-hit-wonder stop.
The band now have gone from burnt studios and new sounds, to barnyard jam sessions about their teenage years.
Their upcoming fourth album was largely made in a makeshift studio in a farm, and sees the band return to their more youthful roots according to vocalist Jez Williams, ‘when we were 12 or 13 years old we would record live onto old cassette decks and ghetto blasters. I listened back to some stuff and it sounded amazing. So we started doing that again and some of those recordings have been fed into the mixes. We’ve used rough demos and unpolished first takes that had a character as starting points for some things, just to keep pushing- to find a new edge to what we do’.
Who are they
The band was formed in the mid 1980’s when the William Brothers and current bassist, Jimi Goodwin jammed through a series of bands while they were still in school.
Goodwin and the Williams collaborated on a dance anthem called Sub Sub which spawned the hit Ain’t No Love Ain’t No Use in the 90’s which reached number 3 on the UK singles chart. And the collaborative trend ultimately resulted in a debut album in 2000, where the band began to flaunt the new alt rock sound they left their dance babies for. The band’s second album, The Last Broadcast, gave the band their first charttopping moments, reaching number 1 on the UK album chart, a trend followed by subsequent albums, including 2005’s Some Cities (which was the only album not recorded in a city but rather in the countryside)
The band is now out with music for their fourth album, which is to be released in April, titled Kingdom of Rust.
On the 12 bouts of brand new music in the album, Jez Williams said, the songs are ‘schizophrenic but also strangely cohesive’.
Influences
Well, if you like New Order and unpretentious electronica-rock bands, you’ll love these guys too!
Band
Jez Williams
Andy Williams
Jimi Goodwin
Kingdom of Rust
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There Goes the Fear
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Black and White Town
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Pounding
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Sky Starts Falling
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Here it Comes
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Catch the Sun
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The Cedar Room
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The Man Who Told Everything
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Snowden
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