PREMIERE: No Show – Soeur
Distorted Sound is delighted to premiere the brand new EP from SOEUR!
Titled No Show, the brand new EP from the Bristol-based three piece is scheduled to be released this Monday (September 23rd), but ahead of the release of their new album, we here at Distorted Sound are delighted to give the EP its official premiere!
As with all previously released singles and EP, No Show is again a 100% fully DIY venture from the band, allowing them complete creative freedom over all aspects of their musical output. The new EP was recorded over three/four days across both Silk Mill Studios in Stoke and Seamus Wong Studios in Leicester, No Show is filled with smart, pop and soul infused, twisted rock music. Utilising stunning production and the bands duel melodic vocal, SOEUR create a thoroughly modern take on the alternative.
Listen to No Show exclusively here:
Alongside our premiere of the brand new EP, our Maria Tricker spoke to vocalist/guitarist Tina Maynard and drummer James Collins to get a further insight into the sound of the band, including their dynamics and influences as well as they are spear-heading the grunge revival.
Do you think the band’s dynamic gives SOEUR a boost?
James: I think it’s the contrast of how we appear and the music that we write which throws people off at times. We’ve played in pubs before where afterwards people have come up to us and said they did not expect that from us.
Tina: That in itself is a good thing. If you come out and defy expectations, even if people don’t like it, at least they didn’t expect it.
James: You can usually tell by looking at a band if they’re going to be indie or metal. Our Facebook at the minute is very pop with all the colours and what we’re wearing, we don’t look like a band who releases heavy songs. We’re not in the position where we’re tied down to anything, so we’ve got the freedom to do what we want and be whoever we want to be.
As the band is dual-fronted, are there any differences between how your lyrics are interpreted?
Tina: Yeah, all the time. We come from very different places me and Anya [Pulver, vocals/guitars]. A lot of the time we can’t relate to each other. We are two different people. We sound different and you can tell it’s two separate voices. It’s two instruments. Lyrics can be quite vague sometimes and we like it to not be so specific, so that more than yourself can relate to it. A lot of the time I’m asking Anya “what is this about?” and if Anya is writing about depression…I’ve not fully experienced depression like Anya has so I can’t write my experience of it, because I don’t have it. So I will write from the other perspective. Like someone else trying to help someone with depression if that makes sense.
You incorporate a lot of sounds and styles in your songs. Who do you draw influence from?
James: I listen to a wide range of music, but I guess when I’m actually playing drums or when we’re playing in the practise room, it’s kind of just going off what flows out of me naturally. I’ve always been a fan of Dave Grohl as a kid, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, that sort of thing. So there’s that heavy rock element when I’m playing drums. Recently I’ve been really into GRIZZLY BEAR as well so that balances out the softer parts. Everyday life influences you.
Tina: When I write on my own I don’t think it sounds like anyone in particular. So for me I listen to a lot of pop music, country, I listen to techno, all sorts. I don’t think I’ve got one genre of music that I really listen to.
James: If we wanted to write a really heavy rock song, we could sit down and write a really heavy rock song. But when we’re writing music with SOEUR we’re not necessarily trying to shoehorn a genre in there as such, we kind of…
Tina: …take in all the influences. Anya is definitely influenced by PJ HARVEY and NIRVANA. She likes the chaotic vocal like BJORK. She likes good pop music, you can hear it more in her solo stuff but when it comes to the band it’s really cool because then we can all add to it and change it up slightly.
You’re often pigeonholed as a grunge band, do you see SOEUR as a grunge revival band?
James: If that’s what people enjoy from what we’re doing then that’s great. I guess somewhere along the line there’s subconscious grunge coming out from what we’re doing.
Tina: Grunge is just heavy pop isn’t it and that is in essence what we’re doing. We just try and make things interesting as well.
James: What was our tagline? Pop songs with a grunge edge?
Tina: Grunge heavy with math-rock seeping through. We like interesting time signatures, we like interesting vocals, melodies that go round and round.
James: It’s being a bit nerdy isn’t it? We’re all music fans so it’s better to challenge yourself with what you’re writing sometimes and push the boundaries to what you normally do.
What advice would you give girls or women who want to start a band?
Tina: I don’t know if my advice to women would be different to the advice I would give anyone to be honest. I would say you’ve just got to work hard.
James: I think sometimes the industry can be full of quite eccentric people in some way anyway. It’s not always about your gender as to how you’re going to find your way through that scene.
Tina: I think if I was to give women and young girls advice it would just be know your worth and surround yourself with people that are willing to protect you but who also encourage you to protect yourself.
No Show is set for release on September 23rd via self-release.
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