Rip It Up - Get in the van:
Sandpit - the tyranny of creeps
Melbourne indie band Sandpit is heading our way to showcase material from its second CD, The Tyranny of Creeps. Having been sought after by major labels following their debut disc, Lessons In Posture, the trio signed to Fellaheen and settled back down to their music. RIU spoke to bassist Stephanie Ashworth about the band's direction.
Sandpit made the trip back to Sydney's Charing Cross Studio to record its second album in the same place as the first, again produced by Greg Wales. I ask Stephanie if this was for continuity's sake.
"Not firstly for continuity's sake, mostly because Charing Cross is the only studio in the country with a working valve desk. You manage to get a really nice, warm valve sound through that desk. Greg Wales was really great to work with and he had a really similar music taste to us and was really sensitive to our needs. Mostly just because it worked well there."
Singer and guitarist Brendan Webb uses Orange valve amps and winds his Jaguar guitar into all sorts of unique tunings to help Sandpit obtain an original sound. He, Stephanie and drummer Paul Sciacca are starting to tire of the Sonic Youth comparison they once found flattering.
"We're very, very anti the Sonic Youth references and sick of it. That's something that I heartily disagree with. Brendan and I listen to a lot similar stuff, mostly stuff like Tortoise and Sebadoh; a fair bit of Archers Of Loaf and Eric's Trip from Canada. I work in a record store and we tend to listen to a lot of stuff on the Merge label, and Touch And Go and Matador."
Get along to Sandpit this weekend and sample some of the spacious but tasty tones. Sandpit play at Adelaide Uni on Sat Feb 22 w/- Jebediah, Miltons and Flat Stanley, and again with Jebediah and Thrive at the Madlove Bar on Sun Feb 23. See you there.
Chalmers