- Thu, 2008-10-23 01:36
Glasgow's Attic Lights have just released their debut album Friday Night Lights. Released through Isalnd Records their debut sees the 5 piece deliver a wonderfully formed nugget of indie-pop with harmonies and melodies perfectly interwoven with an edge of melancholy romance.
With string arrangements courtesy of Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn & John and remixes of their single Wendy by The Fratellis, Camera Obscura and The Vaselines, Attic Lights are sure to keep our attention. Currently on tour supporting Paul Heaton, we caught up with Kev Sherry (Vocals, Guitar) to chat about musical discovery and inspirations, and why it's not a bad idea to set your sights high.
I Like Music because...it changes my internal world and makes me feel things there are no words for!” Kev, Attic Lights
ILM: Can you describe the vibe of your album Friday Night Lights?
Kev: We were aiming for the mixture of uplift and melancholy that the Flaming Lips do so well, played in a Grandaddy/Weezer type style. I think we kind of nailed that and managed to put our own style and personality on it as well.
ILM: Do you have a favourite track on the album?
Kev: It changes all the time. My current favourite track is Late Night Sunshine, though I always have a soft spot for Send Those Dark Eyes This Way.
ILM: What is the Attic Lights process of making music? How do you all work together?
Kev: Generally we work up songs together in the studio. Colin or I will bring a melody, or maybe Jamie will bring a guitar riff, and we will all jam away at it until a song appears. Sometimes nothing happens. Then other times we will get a Wendy or a Late Night Sunshine. It's a great feeling when that happens. We grew up listening to bands like REM who share writing credit and responsibility equally. It's a philosopy we also share. Everything in Attic Lights is split equally.
ILM: Where do you get your inspirations?
Kev: I suppose the best way to look at it is a sort of mixture of two main things. Our parents all seemed to have the same records in their collections. When you are 11 or 12 you start getting interested in music and you browse through your folk's vinyl. Thus we discovered bands like The Beach Boys , The Beatles etc... That's where our love of melody comes from. Then as you hit your mid to late teens you start discovering stuff on your own. We all got into bands like Guided By Voices, Flaming Lips, Pixies, Grandaddy and the like who used raw, distorted, electric guitar sounds and came from the American alternative seen. When we started the band our aim was to fuse those influences with the melody and harmony of bands from the 1960's.
ILM: You have a number of live dates coming up, what do you look forward to about playing live?
Kev: It's where we are happiest. I love being on the road and getting to see towns and places all around the world. Now that we are getting well known it's fantastic that so many people are coming to see us play. We like to put on a show.
ILM: What can fans expect if they come to see you play?
Kev: They can expect high octane guitar action, killer melodies and me making a fool of myself as I dance about the stage.
ILM: What is the best live gig you've ever been to?
Kev: Hard question to answer. The Verve at Glasgow Barrowlands maybe? Just after Bitter Sweet Symphony had been released. It was transcendent!
ILM: What would be your ideal night out?
Kev: Going for a couple of early evening drinks with friends. Grabbing some dinner then catching a band or two as we get progressively drunk, till I end up at a banging house party in someone's flat who I've never met. Then stumbling home in the wee small hours listening to my iPod as the sun comes up on a new summers day.
ILM: What is in your CD player at the moment - what are you listening to for pleasure?
Kev: I am completely obsessed with the last British Sea Power album, Do You Like Rock Music. It's absolutely brilliant. They have such a great vibe about them. I can't stop listening to it. Also I've been digging the Bon Iver album, For Emma, Forever Ago. Beautiful.
ILM: Who would your dream musical collaboration be with?
Kev: These days, Santogold is a really exciting new artist. She really inspires me in my writing. Ultimately though, I'd have to say Robert Pollard from Guided By Voices or Dylan. Actually. It's Dylan. I worship Dylan.
ILM: What is your earliest musical memory?
Kev: Running around the living room table in circles getting faster and faster to the strange Greek style record my parents had.
ILM: What are the future plans for Attic Lights?
Kev: Tour the album. See the world. Get seriously into writing the second record and become one of the best bands around. You might as well aim high!
ILM: What was the last thing that made you laugh?
Kev: In our dressing room last week Colin jokingly called us all a bunch of f***king c**nts not realising that the door was open and the support band heard him and thought he was talking to them. He ran out to apologise with his face white as a sheet. I'm very childish but I couldn't speak for laughing.
