Charge of the Light Brigade
Like that old doomed cavalry charge, heroism in the face of insurmountable odds is the thing. The band’s vision pulls disparate elements into something expressive, ambiguous, polished and raw. Pin a label on it, call it rock’n'roll punk prog pop. We just do what we do, and damn the consequences.
2010 was a hectic year for the band. We put out our debut EP We Haven’t Been Properly Introduced, got some good notices and played around a fair bit, all while madly working on finishing a full-length album. Our drummer left just as we were wrapping up tracking for it, so we had to go through a grueling hunt for a replacement. (Our old drummer Zack left a big ol’ stool to fill… drum stool!) After much hunting, we hooked up with Owen Tennyson from Blue Peter, and that’s been working out great.
The new album’s called The Defiant Ones, and it’ll be coming out late January/early February 2011. The time’s sliding around a little as we’re tying up the last details around the release. It’s a solid collection of tunes, and a big step up from the EP. Collaborator and producer Marc Koecher has brought a lot of depth and complexity to the tracks, and my writing’s grown too. Jason Eagan’s added a lot in terms of melodic bottom-end on bass, and Zack really shaped the songs with some pretty original approaches to his drum parts. The songs themselves combine alternative, rock, punk, prog and pop, really drawing on a huge grab-bag of musical influences. We’ve been getting comparisons as diverse as The Pixies, Spoon, Joe Jackson, Archers of Loaf, Green Day, Psychedelic Furs and Elvis Costello. Crazy.
We’re just getting dates set-up to support the release now. With the band settling in together so well now, we’re excited. I’m hoping to squeeze out a few more single releases as we go. All in all, 2011 should be a wicked year.
website: http://www.cotlb.com/
