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Join the Purr Mailing List: Happy to be part of the Independent Promoters Network Also part of
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amy
linton - the aislers set Listening to the Aislers Set second album, "The Last Match" will transport you back to the world of perfect melodies, big arrangements and wistful bubblegum pop sounds that somehow got lost and obscured beneath all the bland, yet perfectly credible guitar groups that have emerged over the last thirty years. The new single "The Red Door" combines the energy of every good punk band with the effortless cool of the Shangri-las - a speedy celebration of sparkly vocals, crunching organs and twinkling guitars, sugar coated and sweet, but with a hard bite that is far from innocent. The Aislers Set are currently embarking upon their first tour of Europe, without any equipment of their own, venturing into England's most provincial towns that remain largely indifferent to their incandescent and nostalgic charm. The gig tonight is almost flawless - the lo-fi sound of the record coming to life on stage as these five slightly non descript, nervous and angry looking Americans race through their back catalogue, increasingly bemused by the ecstatic reaction of the crowd. The critical acclaim lauded upon them by the press is also a puzzle to lead singer/songwriter Amy Linton - "I honestly have no idea why people like us - I've been playing in bands for so long, and nobody ever really cared before maybe it's just more timely than anything else. What do you think?" What I think doesn't go down particularly well with Amy... The Aislers Set have achieved something that hasn't been touched upon since Phil Spector created his wall of sound in the sixties. However, this is something that Amy is fed up of justifying - "he's definitely one of my heroes, but personally I don't hear it as much as everyone else does. At certain points it has been the biggest influence". Denying the sixties influence on the single 'Hey Lover' would require skills in deception that James Bond could only dream of, and Amy admits that the mono, retro sound was done "on purpose". However, to suggest that this extends to the album, touches a sore nerve - to "sound sixties" is evidently an undesirable thing for a post millennial band. Yet, the success of the Aislers Set, lies in the fact that they draw upon all that was great about sixties girl groups, without sounding at all dated or faded. Amy Linton is the driving force behind the band - she writes and records songs in her garage, and the other four members are relatively recent additions to the creative process - a step that she admits "turned out really well. The way I used to do things was that everything would be worked out before anyone else heard it, and that would be easier for me, as I had an idea of how I wanted it to sound. But as it turned out, they're four completely competent musicians and capable of making everything better". The Aislers Set may sound effortlessly cool and upbeat, but Amy is decidedly ill at ease when discussing her music, despite having been in bands since she was eleven. Tellingly, she cites The Smiths and The Dead Kennedys as the bands that were most important to her, growing up in the middle of nowhere. Now, San Francisco provides most of the inspiration for her songs. There seems to be no long term aim for the Aislers Set, another album will inevitably be written and recorded, but right now they are ambling along, quietly wooing people in an understated way, marvelling at the luck of recording a John Peel session ("a dream come true"). Beneath all this apparent modesty, there is a sense that they do have the utmost confidence that what they are doing is unique, utterly brilliant and completely timeless. louisa thomson back to interviews>>> |
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