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"I don't know where we are. Somewhere west of London." Calling from a service station somewhere in the UK, Manchester's Everything Everything had better get the GPS fixed soon as they’re going places. En route to Brighton (apparently), HV catch up with Jeremy from the band to talk about SXSW, the joy of not telling the truth and being the new Beastie Boys...
For the uninitiated, Everything Everything might just be the most thrillingly original thing to happen to British music for some time. Descending on Manchester from various corners of the UK, Jeremy, Jonathan, Mike and Alex play some of the most fantastically off-kilter pop songs never to make it onto a Destiny's Child remix album. Boasting three-plus-part harmonies, a capella breaks, R'n'B basslines and songs about Photoshop, this isn't your run-of-the-mill indie band. "We try to avoid clichés" says Jeremy, straight-forwardly, and the range of comparisons dreamt up by the press suggests this has been more than achieved. "We've been likened to We Are Scientists simply as we are wearing lab coats in one photo. That's just lazy. If that’s the way it works we're just as much the Beastie Boys. Actually quote me on that – ‘We are the next Beastie Boys”. Feel that? That’s a blast of fresh air from a new band not taking the hyperbole too seriously.
The year started on a high with an appearance on the BBC's Sound of 2010 shortlist, and tonight is Everything Everything’s final warm-up gig before flying to this year's South By Southwest festival where they are playing a finger-shredding 6 shows in 4 days. Considering the airmiles and the workload, Jeremy is remarkably nonplussed; "I think the entire British music industry will be there so I don’t know how many Americans we’re even going to meet! But it’s the experience.” (A day later the band post online that “it’s like Anchorman” and that they’ve bumped into Bill Murray, so an experience is certainly what they’re getting.) On their return it's straight off on this year's NME Radar tour with co-headliners and fellow Manchester residents Hurts...but don’t go thinking that this is a ‘Manchester’ tour. "The great thing about the so-called Manchester 'scene' at the moment – and I use the term carefully – is that everybody is totally different but totally cooperative of one another; what’s good for Delphic, is good for Egyptian Hip-Hop, Hurts, Run Toto Run, Dutch Uncles, and for us. All are different but mutually beneficial to one another. It’s a really good thing”. And on the prospect of touring with their near-neighbours? “Everyone has heard so much about Hurts and yet they haven't played many gigs; we’ve heard rumours about their big production values, but we don't really know them yet." Previous alumni of the Radar tour include La Roux, The Rakes and The Cribs so they’re certainly in good company.
Somewhere on the other side of this packed touring schedule is the release of their currently-being-mixed debut album, pencilled in for an August release. Set to include "half older songs and half newer" and "at least 2 of the 3" singles (‘MY KZ UR BF’, ‘Suffragette Suffragette’, ‘Photoshop Handsome’) it's already setting up to be a belter; “we’re really pleased with what we’ve laid down, so now we’re just sifting through it”. If you stumble across to the EE MySpace you'll see the percussion for 'Weights' being recorded in woodland on various pieces of metalwork including a step ladder and an oil drum ("I was playing the van" says Jeremy proudly, "it means a lot to us, but won't survive much longer"). It’s this kind of sideways approach that make Everything Everything such a compelling prospect, especially as the quirkiness (a word I use reluctantly and certainly not disparagingly) is transferred live through their arrangements. But it also makes it difficult to unwrap the truth from the less-than-true. "The label says we need to keep up our online presence, but there isn’t always much in the way of crazy gossip. It’s hard to convey sarcasm in 140 characters...but we try anyway!" Perhaps this explains the published assertion that they're using a sample from Pammy and Tommy Lee's sex tape on the record? "We're happy to leave that unconfirmed" says Jeremy, providing hours of tooth-comb listening for the lawyers. “We can deny that the album is called 'Urinal Cake', though". Well, that’s another layer unwrapped at least.
Any final words before setting back out on the road? “Well, High Voltage gave us our first gig, so everything we amassed after has stemmed from that: the Night and Day gig on November 5th 2007. We played ‘Suffragette Suffragette’ that night, and probably every night since.” Don’t say we didn’t warn you when these four take over the planet.
Everything Everything visit Manchester Academy 3 with Hurts as part of the NME Radar Tour on 28th April 2010, Live at Leeds and Dot to Dot. Before that they’ll be DJing the HV Birthday Party at Islington Mill on 4th April. TAGS: Everything Everything Words by: Harry Garne
Links:
Everything Everything - Myspace
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