The Earlies

When you hear that The Earlies consist of members in Texas, USA (Mark Lapham and Brandon Carr) and Burnley, Lancashire (Christian Madden and Giles Hatton) it’s hard not to be impressed that they’ve produced an epic monster of an album, The Enemy Chorus. What’s more impressive is that their on-stage band consists of 10 people (who all played on the album) and an array of musical instruments including tuba, trombone, trumpet, saxophone, cello, bass, melodica, bass harmonica, harmonium AND a triangle.

The beauty of this multi-layered and complex set-up is that it’s a wonder to see live. You could safely define The Earlies as an orchestra – you’re watching a crowd of focussed and talented musicians who aren’t afraid say ‘Ya-boo-sucks’ to the radio edit and take a song to its outer-limits.

The band open with the title track, 'The Enemy Chorus', the slow and heavy intro sucks you into a hypnotic trance. Many of the tracks on 'Enemy Chorus' are like this – mid-way through the gig I begin to feel as though someone had dumped me in the Nevada desert with nothing but a barrel of spiked Electric Kool Aid, though to label The Earlies as a psychedelic band doesn’t really do them justice. Between the visions of drug-induced nights, there are elements of Groove Armada beach tunes and electro-rock.

The band create a blend of delicate melodies and vocals that belie the darker synth and brass subtexts. One moment you’re deep in your darkest thoughts, the next you’re floating above the throng. 'The Ground We Walk On' is so uplifting it feels as though Christmas has come early – its floaty-light Mercury Rev-esque tones is what has probably led the band to refer to it as “the one for t’ ladies”. 'Burn The Liars; is short and jaunty and could have easily have danced off XTC’s 'Apple Venus'. Its catchy chorus is probably why the band have nominated it as their preferred first single. In addition to the showcase of new songs, a few tracks from 'These Were The Earlies' (their 2004 debut album) creep in, including 'One Of Us Is Dead' whose roots lie firmly in Pet Sounds.

Whilst the range of songs and musical styles is vast, the combination of plodding drum beats and the jingle-jangle of various percussion instruments carries through many of the tracks. What this means in a live setting is that there’s no beginning, middle or end. The experience is a continuous pathway. The Earlies are not a band that lean on on-stage hi-jinks and pyrotechnics to buffer their show. The music IS the fireworks.

Maybe the geographical split is what works so well for them. If the artists are coming from different locations, perhaps they’re also coming from different musical directions. If you see The Earlies live, don’t expect them to take you down a straight and narrow path. Their roadmap has so many twists, turns and alleyways it would be easy for us mere mortals to get lost, though I think you’ll be all right as long as The Earlies are driving.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.