Syd Arthur - tour and new album news

[Paulrus]

Just got the latest news from Syd Arthur. They'll be back at SXSW this year, plus they've been invited to Coachella (which is apparently already sold out!) and are playing additional US dates on both coasts. They'll also be in Europe in April.

But the cool new surprise is the first song off the new album Sound Mirror. Here's a link.

I don't hear much change in the new one compared to the stuff off of On An On, which is just fine with me. Don't fix what ain't broke.

[JKL2000]

I listened to some camples from the first album, and it didn't sound at all Canterburyish to me - instead, it all sounded very minimalist and sort of plonky if you know what I mean. Was I wrong? DO they sound at all like a Canterbury band as we know them? I was really hoping for that sound and didn't hear it, so I guess I was a bit put off.

[NogbadTheBad]

I'm certainly up for this if they get somewhere close enough to travel.

[Toothyspook]

Very unique band, incredibly refreshing and excellent live.

For me, the only thing 'Canterbury' about them is geographical

[polmico]

Love this band.

[Paulrus]

I listened to some camples from the first album, and it didn't sound at all Canterburyish to me - instead, it all sounded very minimalist and sort of plonky if you know what I mean. Was I wrong? DO they sound at all like a Canterbury band as we know them? I was really hoping for that sound and didn't hear it, so I guess I was a bit put off.

If you're expecting them to sound just like Caravan or Soft Machine, then no -- they're not that kind of Canterbury band.

But there are far too many stylistic points of comparison to say there's nothing there. The ones that get tossed around the most are the odd time signatures, the use of eclectic instrumentation (violin and electric mandolin), the jazzy way some of their songs swing, and the occasional use of spacey or psychedelic textures.

But you don't get invited to SXSW or Coachella without having some measure of indie rock cred, which these guys definitely have. So they're seen by many -- myself included -- as modern day inheritors (or interpreters) of the Canterbury tradition.

[Grimjack]

^^This

[NogbadTheBad]

If you're expecting them to sound just like Caravan or Soft Machine, then no -- they're not that kind of Canterbury band.

But there are far too many stylistic points of comparison to say there's nothing there. The ones that get tossed around the most are the odd time signatures, the use of eclectic instrumentation (violin and electric mandolin), the jazzy way some of their songs swing, and the occasional use of spacey or psychedelic textures.

But you don't get invited to SXSW or Coachella without having some measure of indie rock cred, which these guys definitely have. So they're seen by many -- myself included -- as modern day inheritors (or interpreters) of the Canterbury tradition.

Very nicely put.

[polmico]

So . . .

What did y'all think of the new song?

A little bit more of the same in my book, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Safe single or signal of more safe to come?

[Paulrus]

So . . .

What did y'all think of the new song?

A little bit more of the same in my book, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Safe single or signal of more safe to come?

As I said, if it ain't broke...

It will be interesting to see if they decide to do any tweaking of their overall sound on the new album, but I'd be surprised if they did. That said they can't simply repeat themselves.

[NogbadTheBad]

So . . .

What did y'all think of the new song?

A little bit more of the same in my book, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Safe single or signal of more safe to come?

I like it, I wouldn't mind an album of stuff like that.