INTRODUCING: Pleiades

Over the years artistic expression has continued to take many forms in the world of music which range far beyond just the instrumentation itself. Visual imagery has also become a highly beneficial tool which allows the artist to add further layers of intricacy and conceptual themes into their craft and evoke emotion from the listener as well as contemplation into the subject matter behind the music. If executed well, it can elevate live performances and build an immersive experience. This is what Manchester based outfit PLEIADES are hoping to achieve with their creative output and their band name is a perfect example of this.

“It was the first name we came up with and you see it with a lot of bands where they pick a name and wait and see if something else comes along” explains frontman Andy Calderbeck. “The more we read into it, it had a lot of different meanings such as constellations, mythology and religion which we felt it related well to how we represent ourselves as a band.”

The quintet do not fall into your typical blueprint for a band, one which is instantly distinguishable as an established genre. Whilst they draw their inspiration from the post-rock environment their sound encapsulates subtle melodies and peaceful ambience alongside rousing aggression and intense waves of energy to break the stereotypical mould of what a band is perceived to be. In the initial stages they set off on their journey as an instrumental band but as time progressed they felt it appropriate to put the wheels in motion to audition for a vocalist, one of the candidates being Andy. “With post rock and the kind of atmosphere it provides it can all kind of blend in to one and you can lose peoples attention very quickly, I think when they decided to have a vocalist it opened a lot of doors and more room for manoeuvring. It was a terribly uncomfortable experience to be honest!” jokes Andy. “It was a cold night in Stockport in an old abandoned mill. I’m from Lancaster so I worked myself up into a bit of a frenzy on the way there. Worrying about what the band would be like. Like if they lived the rock and roll lifestyle, leather jackets and sunglasses indoors. I got there and they were normal guys and we ran through covers, one being JIMMY EAT WORLD‘s Polaris which they used as a benchmark and I was a bit nervous but once they played their own stuff and they told me to let loose we tapped into the heavier side of things and everything started to click, we built some momentum. After that they pretty much turned to me and said ‘Yep, you’re our guy’.”

Lyrics can provide a platform to convey a multitude of themes and can provide a cathartic outlet to the musician as well as to the listener. Some touch on personal experiences and others can lead you down a conceptual narrative drawing you into a story or thought process. Some of the best lyrical content is that which can be left open to interpretation and allow the listener to construct their own opinion about what it entails and this is a process which Andy aspires to project into the PLEIADES soundscape. “A big influence for me is Aaron Weiss from MEWITHOUTYOU, he speaks a lot about mythology, religion and history and I enjoy the depth of his lyrics. I wanted to tap into that and make people want to go back into it and look into my choice of words and subject matter” explains Andy. “I didn’t want to stick to a generic lyrical structure. The ones that have the most ambiguity and can have multiple meanings allow you to connect with it on another level. I go on Genius to read further into songs and people post their own meanings and what it means to them. It gives the song an extra dimension and brings the music to life a little bit more than just a sound.”

PLEIADES are due to release their follow up to 2016’s Symptoms Of A Human Being entitled All At Your Mercy on May 31st which they are hoping will springboard them to new opportunities. Developing and constructing such diverse material is not an easy feat, especially when considerations need to be made where it is appropriate for vocals to make their presence felt and when time should be allowed to allow the songs to breathe. “Trying to find parts where I should bow out and not try to overpower the songs with vocals is essential as you want to elevate the songs not be a detriment” discusses Andy. “There is a real sense of reward when you find your place in a song. When you’re playing live the last thing you want to be doing is stood around on stage so you don’t have to wait around for songs to pick up and I was really conscious in how I was going to perform it. We want to feel like a whole unit rather than just vocal parts and instrumental parts. Recording music in general is a stressful, frustrating but gratifying experience which was a big deal for us and we really wanted to get right. It was a leap of faith working with people we’d never worked with before. There is people you have got to let into your circle and let them guide you. The theme for this release is really taking that step into the unknown and the artwork reflects that too. To grow as a person or as a band you need to take some courage, step out of your comfort zone and just embrace the results of that.” 

When piecing live events together consideration needs to be made with regards to the cohesion of the lineup. This element has been an interesting process for PLEIADES as they possess a rather niche sound. This can be a blessing as well as a curse. “Initially it was quite difficult to find our place, we had a lot of friends in pop punk bands and metalcore bands and when we were trying to find those first shows we weren’t sure who were appealed to and what our crowd was” Andy says. “We played with DEATH ENGINE from France and that was in the sludge metal territory and we felt at home there. We also played with FREE THROW and DRYJACKET and we weren’t sure how to find out sweet spot. It’s really been a selling point to be honest that we don’t have a specific place or have a scene where bands sound like us. It gives us a bit extra exposure as people have to try figure us out for themselves. We blend the genres and exist between them and we’ve become very comfortable in knowing that.” 

All At Your Mercy is set for release on May 31st via AWAL.

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