Pure Grief release new single and announce debut Album release,
Single ‘Electric Gold” is available via all the usual digital platforms
‘Electric Gold’ is the first single to be released from the band’s upcoming debut album, ‘Loyal to No-one, Local to Nowhere’. The album is due to be released in July and we’ve been given a chance to have a listen ahead of the release.
The single is a breezy few minutes of power pop that bring to mind bands like Weezer and the album continues on in a similar vein. It’s an easy and enjoyable listen that will be popular with those of us looking for something brighter in amongst the gloom. The Weezer comparisons are hard to avoid and ‘100% an influence’ according to lead singer and guitarist Peter. That’s really no bad thing when you delve into the quality of production and song-writing throughout the album. The harmonies, catchy hooks and choruses are prevalent from start to finish and it’s a very strong debut from the band. There’s a playfulness around the whole record too, it positively exudes happy summer vibes. ‘Zooey Deschanel’, in which the protagonist pines after the New Girl and Elf star, is a particular highlight and could slot into the Fountains of Wayne back catalogue – think ‘Stacey’s Mom’ and you’ll be on the right track.
I asked Peter from the band about the recording process and whether lockdown presented any particular challenges for the final release:
The recording quality on the album is excellent, can you give us a bit of info on how you went about the recording process? Did the lockdown present any particular challenges?
Thank you for saying so, we are very proud of the way everything came out. At the end of the day, the recording quality is down to the work of our producer, James Reid. We started prepping the songs for recording more than a year in advance to hitting the studio, so by the time the final performances came, we felt everything was as refined as we could have it. We feel this approach ultimately contributed to sound of the album. The lockdown didn’t affect the actual recording of the album, as the bulk of that took place across March of 2019. But the pandemic prevention measures did cause the cancellation of our planned photo/video shoots, which was disappointing at the time, but completely understandable. A smart businessman would hold off on the album release, but we are going for the “better out than in” approach!
Are there any festivals or venues that you have your eye on for gigs post-lockdown? And was there anything that you missed that you’d like the chance to go and see again?
Personally, I’m finding it really difficult even considering when gigs/shows/festivals etc might return to some semblance of reality. The prospect of playing live in 2020 is pretty much non-existent, in my mind, at the moment. As much as it pains me to say so.
Saying that, I would love for the band to be invited back to Belladrum Festival. We played the Seedlings Stage in our first year as a band, which was great and it went well, but I feel like we are a much better band now, almost four years later. In terms of written material and live performance.
Gear freak question – would you mind telling us what instruments and effects you use?
You’ve opened a can of worms here! Here is my (ever-changing) live rig, to keep things brief:
Guitars: 2 different Fender Telecasters, 1 for D Standard and 1 for E Standard
Strings: D Standard – D’addario EXL116 (11-52), E Standard – D’addario EXL110 (10-46)
Amp: Marshall JVM410H
Cab: Zilla Fatboy 2×12″ w/ Celestion V30’s.
Pedals on the Board: TC Electronic Polytune2 Mini Noir – Electro Harmonic Attack/Decay – TC Electronic Sub N Up – MXR Analog Chorus – Seymour Duncan Shapeshifter Tremolo – DOD Rubberneck Analog Delay. Powered by an MXR Iso Brick.
Pedals in the loop: Mooer Graphic G EQ – TC Electronic Sentry. Powered by a Virtual Sound 1Spot.
Cables: Planet Waves instrument/speaker cables. MXR/Planet Waves patch leads.
Picks: Jim Dunlop Tortex III .73mm.
Darren:
Shells – Gretsch 22, 12, 16.
Snares – DW Custom 14×7 & Mapex Black Panther 14×5.5.
Cymbals – Zildjian New Beat 14″ Hi-hats, Zildjian K and Avedis Crashes/Rides.
Marc:
Guitars – Fender Aerodyne, Fender P-Bass.
Amp – TC Electronic BH800 head
Cab: TC Electronic K410
Pedals: TC Electronic Polytune 3, Fulltone OCD, Sansamp.
The band themselves are completely independent and take care of their own management and PR. In their own words there is, ‘no secret conglomerate of bankers funding our operations’. Although if I’m honest, it would be nice to be bank-rolled by super rich bankers if it meant spending the whole day playing and writing music!
2020 is shaping up to be a very grim year for the industry but little gems like ‘Loyal to No One, Local to Nowhere’ are bringing the little sparks of light in an otherwise dark tunnel.
Electric Gold is available now on all streaming services. Debut album ‘Loyal to No One, Local To Nowhere’ is out on July 10th and merch per-order bundles can be ordered from Big Cartel.
