‘IF WE END UP PLAYING BIG STADIUMS, THAT WOULD BE BRILLIANT’
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Prime movers
They’re on their way to conquering America, but The Dead 608 are still the unsung heroes on Deltasonic. Claire Sawers finds out why that’s about to change
hink ol‘ music from Liverpool and a certain
type of chirpy harmony springs to mind. If it
isn‘t the original Merseyheat sound of The Beatles. The Searchers or (ierry' and the l’aceinakers. then the second round of‘ new kids on the hlock — The (‘oral. The Xiitoiis. (‘andie l’ay'ne do a good line in honeyed. lttcllll‘ltititls pup.
‘Quite a lot ol‘ hands from Liverpool descrihe their
sound as “Dead Oils“. But we‘re a new generation with a new sound. so we thought. “Let‘s move on“.‘ Lead singer ol‘ aptly named The Dead ()()s. Matt .\lcl\lanamon. wanted his hand to sound like nothing Liverpool had ever produced hel'ore. Their sell-titled dehut alhum was a houncy‘. shouty‘ mix of reggae heats. ska and duh. well timed tor the mini ska revival that came with the summer of‘ 2005. Proudly wearing the lahel hcstowed by the NM]? as “the let century Specials‘. the hand spent two years touring in the States. where the crow ds were loving their punky' British noise. and supported Kasahian. The Stereophonics. Morrissey and (iarhage.
Now with a second alhum queued up for release. what has happened to the hooming duh and w ired-up. l‘ighty sound they used to have'.’ McManamon descrihes new alhutn. Time to lake Sit/cs. as 'gt‘ander. more epic. with more concentration on the melodies.‘
lndeed. it‘s a better hehaved. l‘ar poppier version of‘
what they were doing before. full of guitar anthems. tight chords and lyrics you can imagine muddy l‘estival crowds screaming hack at the hand. but .\lc;\lanamon says it doesn‘t mean they‘ve mellowed.
‘lt‘s definitely a big change. We‘ve all grown tip and
inusically' we‘ve developed as well. The new record is slightly harder. I wouldn‘t say rock; that‘s too strong. Btit the guitar is a hit more distorted.‘
Bcl‘ore. their ears were filled with The (‘lash. The Sex Pistols and Lee ‘Scratch‘ Perry. hut this time around Matt. Ben. (‘harlie and Bryan. were listening to 50s i‘ock‘n‘i'oll.
‘lt just happened: the songs came out very organically. Rather than creating songs otit ol‘yiams or grooves or whatever. this time we wanted songs that had more structure to them.‘
Their first alhum. released on l)cltasonic home to The (‘oral and The '/.utons. made a hig splash in America. but had less of an impact in the 1K. This next ol‘l‘ering. out in January. is likely to make slightly deeper ripples in the British pop pond.
'lt‘s prohahly more accessihle now. We didn‘t sit down and plan to write songs that would have a stadium sound. hut it‘ we end up playing hig stadiums. that would he hi‘illiant.‘
Their current tour ol' Britain and lirance has already sold out a numher of dates. and McManamon hopes fans will love the throhhing. singalong single. ‘Stand l‘p‘. when it comes out at the end of the summer.
'lt‘s really positive for its. We still love playing the old songs too. it‘s a major part of the set. I don‘t think we‘ll lose fans: I think we‘ll gain them. You‘ve gotta keep changing + you can‘t just pull out the same sounding record again and again. You‘ve got to mix it up a hit to keep it interesting.
King Tut’s, Glasgow, Sat 4 Aug.
Make Model, My Cousin, I Bid You Farewell and diAgusto A bill heavrng wrth acts. perhaps in an attempt to prowde something for everyone. Sample all shades of the indie and rock spectrum With headliners Make Model (pictured). a Glasgow sextet unafraid to throw in a bit of surly electronica or blissful pop influence into their tasty, indie schmindie mix. Barf/y, Glasgow, Fri 3 Aug. (Rock 8 Pop)
The Dead 6015 See preview, left. King Tut's, Glasgow, Sat 4 Aug. (Rock 8. Pop)
Sue McHugh Quartet Jazz standards done with considerable style from Linlithgow‘s most creditable export. Brel, Glasgow, Sat 4 Aug. (Jazz)
Hey You Get Off My Pavement! A day of fine food and fine music in the space outside Mono. See feature, page 6. Mono. Glasgow, Sun 5 Aug. (Rock & Pop)
Piping Live! Six days of sonorous puffing and panting culminating in the Scottish Pipe Band championships on the 11th. Various venues, Glasgow, Mon 6—Sun 72 Aug. (Folk)
Edinburgh Youth Orchestra With Julian Lloyd Webber The world- renowned cellist teams up with the aspirant stars of tomorrow to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Elgar's birth. See preview, page 38. Paisley Abbey, Tue 7 Aug. (Classical 8 Opera)
Municipal Waste and SSS We just read this week that thrash metal is hip again so its OK to flag up the music we've been listening to on the OT. The headliners are a mucky bunch of smoke hard, play fast wastrels from the wrong side of Virginia. King Tut's, Glasgow, Wed 8Aug. (Rock <9 Pop)
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