FEATURED INTERVIEWS

Sonic Youth, 2009

Grizzly Bear, 2009

Yo La Tengo, 2009

Michael Stipe, 2008

Stephen Malkmus, 2008

Conor Oberst, 2007

The Long Blondes, 2006



FEATURED REVIEWS

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, 2008

Beach House, 2008

The Clientele, 2007

Frida Hyvönen, 2006

Ladybug Transistor, 2006

Hidden Cameras, 2006

The Long Blondes
+ Big Takeover magazine, Fall 2006 +

Formed in Sheffield England in 2003, The Long Blondes have emerged as purveyors of eminently tuneful pop songs delivered with a visceral kick. A salvo of brilliant singles quickly followed their inception, released on a host of labels in Europe, and on the fine What’s Your Rupture in the US; gloriously incongruous confections that are equal parts Roxy Music preen, Wire circa Chairs Missing angularity, and Delta 5 raw pop instincts.

The band seem poised to take things to another level with the release of their debut full length, Someone To Drive You Home, on Rough Trade in the UK (US release has yet to be determined as of press time). While we’ve yet to hear the LP, the preceding singles and their B-Sides they already have in their pocket certainly give us some idea of what to expect.

The sinewy bombast of “Separated by Motorways” is a pure pop delight, veering recklessly over serrated jangle riffs and invigorated yelps that recall Bikini Kill, while the woozy, chugging swoon of “Appropriation (By Any Other Means)” assumes a more serious, evocative timbre, intimating the vicarious identity-conflict psychodrama at the heart of Hitchcock’s Vertigo.

It’s the raucous, hyper-driven cacophony of “Lust in the Movies” that’s most pivotal, best capturing the band’s elusive appeal. It finds singer Kate Jackson intoning what could be considered The Long Blondes’ manifesto: “I know all about fear and desire, I know all about lust, etc.,” over razor-sharp squalls of Dorian Cox’s guitar. The sentiment’s promptly blasted into oblivion by the volcanic swell of the chorus, which dutifully name checks art damaged feminist icons Anna Karina, Arlene Dahl and Edie Sedwig, culminating with the fervent confession, “I just want to be a sweetheart!” Damn impressive. We caught up with the band over an email exchange.

JR: We’ve often been told that the most exciting time to be in a band is right when you get signed for the first time and hit the studio to finally record the dream: the debut LP. Are emotions riding high right now? What’s it like in the group at present?
Reenie: It’s peachy. We’re not used to being content though, we are far more used to bitching and whinging.
Kate: We can still bitch and whinge for England though! We used to bitch and whinge about not being signed and not having time to do gigs because of our day jobs, now we bitch and whinge about not having time to do any washing because we’re too busy doing gigs and recording!
Screech: It’s exciting to be able to finally document all these songs that we’ve had for ages, and the recording has been a really enjoyable process. Great takeaways near the studio as well, we’ve been eating like kings and queens. I assume kings and queens like thai green curry and crayfish salads?

JR: Along those lines, how did you come about signing with Rough Trade? We imagine you must have had every label in Britain making wild offers after you opened for Franz Ferdinand at that big show last December, and you got the NME Philip Hall Radar Award. Was it their legacy? (We go back to the days of Young Marble Giants, Spizzenergi, The Fall, Stiff Little Fingers, etc. and eventually The Smiths at this magazine!!!) Did you just want to stay independent?
Screech: We definitely signed Rough Trade ‘cause off all the bands you’ve just listed above. You can’t ignore a pedigree like that. Just the whole history and aesthetic of the label is exactly the same place where we’re coming from. Incidentally, you’d be surprised what little major label interest we had...
Kate: Yes, it wasn’t a case of wild offers and expensive dinners...although we had a couple! I think Rough Trade got in there first, recognised exactly what we are trying to do, genuinely loved us and knew how to proceed with us. It was very business like. Whereas larger labels promise the world but really just count the cash they think they can make out of a debut album... which in our case was apparently not enough!

JR: What can we expect soundwise from your work with Steve Mackey on the LP? We imagine that “Weekend Without Makeup” might be a harbinger (i.e. a slightly fuller sound, but no departure in style), but we’ll let you tell us. Also, how many of the other, previous singles’ tracks will make the LP? (It was great to hear many of the fine b-sides at Knitting Factory)
Screech: There’s a few of the older singles and b-sides on there, but there’s one or two newies as well. I think you’ve hit the nail on the head with your description of the sound of the album. We want it to sound like us but with higher production values. I was hoping Steve would be using some of the hard ragga beats he used on MIA with us, but it hasn’t happened yet. Actually I don’t think that record is vastly different from what we’re trying to do though, it’s just pop music with an edge
Kate: I agree, I think Steve has bought a higher production level to the older songs without losing any of the character that they’ve always had and brought that same character to the newer songs, some of which weren’t fully formed when we went into the studio... I’m so happy with how the album has turned out.

JR: True or false: Whispers reach us that you might be supporting a large/popular band in North America this fall.
Reenie: Not true, I’m afraid! We are flat out in England, recording our album, then releasing our next single, then it’s time to start the Xmas shopping. It never ends.
Kate: Any offers for next year would certainly be welcome!

JR: Did you notice how much of a groundswell of extra buzz/support has been growing here, judging from the difference in your two trips here to date, and from the rather generous press blurbs that presaged your recent shows?
Screech: Yeah, it’s kinda crazy! We were utterly shocked last time we came over (June ‘05) that people even knew who we were, let alone the words to the tracks, and it was the same state of affairs this time. I think we’re at the stage that wherever we go, be it home or abroad, we’re still amazed if people know the songs and what to jump around and sing to them
Kate:The Knitting Factory show this year was absolutely amazing. The crowd reaction was beyond our wildest expectations and I was told afterwards that New York audiences can sometimes be tough. Not the case.

JR: We know Kate was working at a vintage clothing shop selling clothes on eBay. What have the other members been doing for a living, and has signing the deal meant that you can (or have) all finally quit these jobs? And if so, how odd/good does that feel!!!!
Reenie: I worked in education, and I actually quite enjoyed my job! It was a huge relief to be able to quit and do the band full time though. It felt like we were living a double life. My collegues and he students were starting to ask for autographs, so I knew it was time to leave.
Screech: What I did is no longer important, I left that life behind a long time ago.

JR: To that end (Kate’s job), a lot of other interviews ask you about the way Kate dresses, the whole style of presentation that seems fair enough since she has a unique slant on the whole live look and personality. Usually the “look” of a band doesn’t matter much to us at The Big Takeover, because we’re so focused on the music, but in your case, it seems so complimentary. I was thinking about 1920s silent films heroines like Louise Brooks (especially!), Clara Bow, Tallulah Bankhead, and Norma Talmadge when I was watching the Knit show (I love those old movies/actresses).
Kate: Oh bless you! I think I stole my look from Faye Dunawaye in Bonnie and Clyde but no one ever notices cos i’m not blonde! I love Anna Karina in the Goddard movies and Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep. And then there’s Jarvis Cocker...but no one ever comments on that either cos i’m not a boy.

JR: I’m actually an acquaintance of Stephen Fellows of The Comsat Angels, the greatest Sheffield band ever before yours (see their first three art rock/post-punk LPs 1980-1982 for Polydor, and their last two as well in the early ‘90s—they did a bunch of OK synth pop in between), and have visited him in Sheffield there in his studio a few times while the band was recording (very cool town!) in the later ‘80s. How versed are you in Sheffield’s post-punk history of this sort? (Human League, Clock DVA, Cabaret Voltaire, Comsats, etc.)
Screech: I’ve watched ‘Made In Sheffield’, if that’s what you mean? We’re more then aware of Sheffield’s fantastic musical heritage, and are more the willing to be added to the list. You may notice the ‘nag nag nag’ reference in ‘Lust In The Movies’? The Human League are one of the best escapist pop bands ever, and if you watch any footage of Artery from the late 70’s it’s intense.

JR: To wit, John mentioned he was at the same Sparklehorse show Kate was at in Sheffield in 1998 the one time he’s been there. What were some of the gigs there (Leadmill, etc.) that made you want to pursue your own band?
Screech: When I first moved there I saw Pink Grease a lot and they were always fantastic to watch, just completely unhinged and over the top. Kinda what I imagined the New York Dolls to be like. I do remember us all going to see the Libertines just after we’d formed as well, which was pretty cool. Just the fact that they had no musical ability, but more then made up for it with wit and imagination. I think though we were more influenced by all the shitty gigs we want to then the good ones! We saw loads of terrible, run-of-the-mill garage rock bands and just thought ‘we can do better’.
Kate: I used to DJ at the Barfly when it was open and I definitely sat through a lot of terrible bands. There wasn’t a British band around at the time with women in either and no one really dressing up onstage so I felt there wasn’t a band that was catering for what I wanted to go and see. I would go and see us by the way!

JR: You say you’re not influenced by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Hendrix, Dylan, Doors, etc, which is fair enough. But you remind me quite pleasantly of bands I liked when I was in college, such as Delta Five, Girls at Our Best, Glaxo Babies, Modettes, Pauline Murray (after Penetration split), Mekons, Au Pairs (remember seeing them with Gang of Four and Mekons one New Years Eve in New York 25 years ago), and, in the later mid-90s post-punk revival, a little (but much less) Salad, Echobelly, Elastica, Sleeper, etc.). Do you think that’s fair, and you’re part of an ongoing evolution?
Screech: Certainly for me when we started, those bands were a big influence on my drumming. I much prefer female to male drummers, people like Lindy Morrison have such a great sense of rythmn, it’s so subtle. Because the mainstream is so male driven, all those bands had to exist outside that and as a result they were able to develope something different to generic male rock. Reading about people like The Slits is always inspiring. They had no preconceptions about what they were doing or how to sound, so they just came up with something totally original.

JR: If you weren’t singing (wonderfully frankly and with rather amusing innuendo, bless you!!!) about the intrigue surrounding romantic relationships, what would you feel comfortable singing about?
Kate: Formula One. I seriously once wrote a song called The Things I Like About Michael about Michael Schumacher.