Wednesday 22 October 2014
£13.50 (+BF)
Support:
Pixel Fix
14+
NUS/Public
Doors: 7.30pm
Club
A clean slate. That's where Leeds band The Sunshine Underground found themselves after parting ways with their management and bass player. Any walls of expectation or stereotype built over the course of two albums had dissolved, and the optimistic trio of Craig, Stu and Matt saw that the space for creativity was bigger than ever. "Musically, there were no limits, and it forced us to write songs in a different way", explains frontman Craig, "We were excited by the idea of moving things around."
It's been eight years since explosive 2006 debut Raise The Alarm - a dance-punk record described by The Guardian as "every bit as jerkily compulsive as The Rapture's House of Jealous Lovers" - and another four from 2010's 'Nobody Is Coming To Save You'. Their trademark explosiveness was still evident, but this was a more rhythmic and patient affair. Another four years down the line, the band are back. And it's like nothing you've ever heard from TSU.
"We wanted to make an electronic sounding record" recalls Craig. But, to achieve this, they had to change everything. "We had always expressed ourselves in a band format: two guitars, a bass and everyone writing songs around the drum kit. It was time to get our heads around production and beat programming. Nobody had set roles in the band anymore." Guitarist Stu adds, "it felt like the weapons in our musical arsenal had grown massively in recent years and it was exciting to start applying them."
At the live shows, this new formation is evident, Craig has pads and keys and drummer Matt Gwilt adds the same on top of his live lit. But one of the main role changes involved band member Stu transforming himself from guitarist to producer/programmer. "This is the area that has developed most for us" he explains, "over these last few years, we've really homed-in on the electronic sounds that we feel work best. The tracks were written around a drum machine and Roland's TR series (606, 808, 909) featured heavily. Slowly but surely, our hardware synth collection built up nicely."
The overall result is an album nobody would have expected. Self-titled purposefully to hit home this feeling of identity, the hard beats and glittering synths mix with The Sunshine Underground's original dance-punk origins to create an almighty collection of contemporary club-pop. It's a dilemma every band face at some point in their career: keep writing the same songs for the same people, or take a risk and change everything? For a band that derive their name from a Chemical Brothers track, moving ever further towards dance music seemed a perfect fit.
Don't miss this reinvigorated band showcasing a bold and gutsy new sound, whilst putting a refreshing spin on classics like 'Borders' and 'Commercial breakdown'.
Oxford bright young things Pixel Fix support: a dance-tinged�indie�band with thoroughly modern production and razor sharp melodies. Be sure to check out their hugely exciting sounds.