So, who are The Earlies?
Following their recent gig at Fibbers, Sara Sayeed talks to The Earlies about groupies, the Arctic Monkeys and the problem of making music over different sides of the Atlantic
The Earlies seem to have stumbled into something of an identity crisis. As it turns out, Transatlanticism is not just an affected title for a wistfully meditative Death Cab for Cutie album, but an uncomfortable predicament suffered by the band. Critics have wrestled with the bi-continental make-up of the band, reflecting on the line, “Take me home”, which punctuates the majority of their lyrics. Two Texans plus two Mancunians making music together seem to have caused more bafflement than the rapid spread of bird flu.
The Earlies’ unique cultural amalgam is not something that they themselves find particularly revolutionary. “I didn’t really think that it was that big a deal, but it’s been really talked about… I mean we’re all into the same sort of thing” is Brandon’s wandering response. Charlie makes a more successful attempt at coherence, remarking on the nature of Texan and English audiences; “I think that people from Texas and people from the north of England are quite similar”. However unlikely that appears, it seems true for the Earlies; “We just get on really well, there aren’t any cultural issues”.
If anything, it is this lackadaisical attitude which defines the band’s personality. They are a self-confessed “pretty normal bunch of lads” who “drive back to Manchester every night, and all have girlfriends and mortgages and kids and stuff like that”. Indeed, when I walked into Fibbers I was directed to “that kinda hairy guy with the beer in his hand”. Even the production process is surprisingly unaffected for a band whose music is so intricately layered; they live and breathe the internet. “We couldn’t live without it. We use X-drive, this online hard-drive system. That’s how we do records; it’s crucial.” The reason for this unusual procedure is more practical than avant-garde hippyish. Essentially, they “can’t afford to have everyone together”. All of the Earlies’ initial releases were entirely self-funded, and it wasn’t until they were signed to a label that they began constructing a cohesive album. Their attitude to their lack of money is jovially indignant, even student-esque. “Thing is, when you’re in an eleven piece band, you just don’t make that much money!”
Yet, this is only one side of Brandon and Charlie’s personalities. When asked about contemporary music they subtly change from the amiable, laddish selves to more discerning musicians. Brandon’s verdict on the Arctic Monkeys, seems superficially congenial. “Well, you know, I don’t really mind it so much. I, er… I haven’t really heard much of their stuff, I mean I respect… well stuff gets played on the radio, like pop music, regardless of whether or not you like it; there are certain things like catchy hooks, well written little pop songs, and there is a skill in that”. However, on closer inspection, references to their “well written little pop songs” and his satisfaction that “the pendulum has really swung back to the band thing and not the boy band thing” betrays a more quietly critical attitude. Charlie is a little more forthcoming; “I think that there are a lot of bands, especially last year, that probably didn’t deserve the amount of hype that they got”. But just when I’m getting all geared up for a pleasingly acerbic proclamation on the over-venerated, well-coiffured participants of the contemporary musical scene, Charlie reverts to diplomacy, declaring that he “won’t name names” and that the Arctic Monkeys are “a very good band” who “would probably be quite embarrassed about the hype they got if you were to interview them”. Arrogant band bashers the Earlies clearly are not. In terms of contemporary bands, what seems to irk them more than anything is their effect on the Earlies’ own “groupie action”. After being quite cool and blasé so far, Brandon gets a little ruffled. “You know, I don’t understand this at all. Well, I’m married so I can’t do anything, but I mean I don’t even get propositioned! All these other bands… it’s crazy, I mean I don’t get it. I mean, I don’t think we’re absolutely disgusting…” Poor guy, it’s been a long tour. Flitting between the personas of ‘too cool for school’ progressive musicians and piqued schoolboys, the Earlies are definitely not easy to pin down. On top of that, one of their core members, John Mark Lapham just ‘doesn’t do’ touring. When asked why he’s not around, Brandon and Charlie have a little chuckle and say, “No, no he’s not here, he’s a very, very mysterious, brooding studio genius”. Charlie then cuts in: “he’s an avant-garde svengali!” When I respond with a slightly baffled look, he explains, “He’s the Simon Cowell of the Avant-garde - he auditioned us all, I mean he put us all together”.
Even more difficult to define is their music itself. That’s not to say many haven’t had a valiant go at it: “A work of baroque detail, crossing between Mercury Rev’s psychedelic Americana and The Beta Band’s bucolic electronica” (Q. Magazine); “This music is the electronic, Warp-inspired answer to Brian Wilson’s ‘Smile’.” (New Musical Express); and my personal favourite, “Imagine the Beach Boys getting strung out in a field on cider midmorning in some alternative universe Texas, surrounded by retro-sounding DIY synths, a raggedy brass section, and a hippy cello player” (PopMatters). So, I went for the contentious (or exasperating) route of asking Brandon himself to define their music. “Umm… it’s mainly psychedelic stuff: psychedelic pop is what it all boils down to”. Charlie has a jab at clarifying; “We set out really to make an accessible pop album. When we were making it we were listening to the Beach Boys and all ’60s sort of pop stuff. And we just figured that nobody was doing it anymore, so we thought we would”. Well, if the Earlies see themselves as a psychedelic, Beach Boys influenced, eleven piece orchestral ensemble with a Simon Cowell figure at the helm, it is no wonder that they have caused a little confusion.
Granted, the title of the debut album, These were the Earlies does prompt the question “What are they going to be?” According to Brandon, “Most of the stuff on the first album is not even tapping into a tenth of the stuff that [we] could do. But with the second album, we’re getting pretty wacky”. The additional wackiness could prompt another wave of critical contention, but, if they manage even a couple of tenths of what “they could do”, September, when the new album will be released, should be a pretty exciting month.
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