| A Genuine Freakshow | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Reading, UK |
| Genres | Art Rock Baroque Pop Post Rock |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Peartree Records |
| Associated acts | Cats and Cats and Cats, Dry The River, Hope Of The States, Lightspeed Champion, Worship, Vienna Ditto, The Wutars, Yearner Babies |
| Website | Official Website |
| Members | |
| Timothy Sutcliffe Jack Bryant Marianne Casey Canning Melanie Dickson John Dunstan Simon Evans John Szmidt |
|
A Genuine Freakshow (sometimes shortened to "AGF") are a baroque pop band originating from Reading in the United Kingdom. They were formed in 2005, settling on their current 7-piece permanent line-up in 2008. After several EP and single releases from 2007 to 2009 the band released their full length debut album Oftentimes in November 2010 on their Peartree Records label.[1]
Contents |
The origins of A Genuine Freakshow can be traced back to September 2003. At this time both Simon Evans and Tim Sutcliffe were studying at the Buckinghamshire New University. Their first show was at The Roundhouse pub in High Wycombe during an unplugged night. In late 2004 Natalie Sharp joined on violin, bringing along her friend Melanie Dickson (cello), after the Evans and Sutcliffe had seen her card in a music store. Late in 2005, “EP” was recorded live in one night in Beaconsfield with new bassist Matthew Taylor (now of Dry The River) and drummer Dominic Bell.
2006 saw a change in musical direction for AGF: moving away from the acoustic/folk act they were, they embraced a more Post-Rock sound; they also had a drastic shift in personnel. Natalie left, Dominic was replaced with Jon Burgess on drums, whilst Evans and Sutcliffe relocated from High Wycombe to Reading. By the beginning of 2007 the EP “0.008%” was recorded with the help of Mike Siddell (Hope Of The States, The Leisure Society, Lightspeed Champion) on violin and trumpet player John Dunstan of Cats and Cats and Cats, whom the band had met supporting them on tour. After continued involvement with AGF's live performances, Dunstan formally joined the band in 2008.
The group's first single "We are the Undercurrents" was released in March 2008, with second single "Holding Hearts" following in July. Both of these singles featured new and current bassist John Szmidt, and a guest appearance by Will Harvey (also now of Dry The River) on violin, as no permanent replacement for Natalie had been found. By October 2008, Marianne Casey Canning was recruited to fill the role, and Jack Bryant arrived late in preparation for an impending tour to become the band's full-time drummer.
Throughout 2009 the band continued to tour and began recording new material; the debut album Oftentimes was finished in April 2010, and was released in November 2010. The band played at several major UK festivals in the summer preceding the release of Oftentimes, including Bestival, Summer Sundae and Two Thousand Trees Festival.
The second single from Oftentimes, 'Hopscotch Machine Gun Madness', was released on 14 March 2011 via Peartree Records/PIAS. The b-side is a remix of 'Our Bodies' by Bright Light Bright Light, with 'Luckmore Drive (Live)' available exclusively from iTunes.[2]
In July 2011, A Genuine Freakshow were chosen by BBC Introducing to play the BBC Introducing Stage at Reading and Leeds festivals. [3]
The focal point of the band's musical style has been a self described "pop-infused post-rock cannonade",[4] utilising the rich sounds of the cello, trumpet and violin, as well as more traditional rock instruments. On top of this, Timothy Sutcliffe's falsetto vocals are interwoven with orchestral arrangements, the like of which are more commonly seen in post-rock acts such as Godspeed You! Black Emperor. In later releases, however -- in particular the debut album Oftentimes -- the band's sound has become more pop orientated. Mark Ellen of The Word describes the band as "A thrilling Reading-based seven-piece... String section, sheets of Pink Floyd and Sigur Rós fed through the Radiohead filter"[5]
The band cites the following as artists they are inspired by: The National, Elbow, Radiohead, Mew, Sigur Rós, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Pink Floyd and The Beatles.
A Genuine Freakshow's debut studio album Oftentimes was produced by Jordan Fish (Worship), Michael Hunter (Marillion, Mew, Echo & The Bunnymen, Mansun, The Coral, Alfie) as well as the band themselves, recorded in procuder Jordan Fish's Studio 91, and mixed at The Racket Club.[6] The album was released on 8 November 2010 on Peartree Records in a variety of formats: a standard CD edition, MP3 edition, and a Deluxe CD package that features the bonus album Pastimes.[7]
Four of the tracks on Oftentimes are re-recordings of tracks previously featured on the band's various EPs. Oftentimes was made available for pre-order on 16 August 2010 exclusively from the band's official website, and "I Can Feel His Heartbeats" and "Hopscotch Machine Gun Madness" are to be released as singles.
Pastimes is a bonus album that was given away exclusively to customers that pre-ordered the Oftentimes deluxe edition. The CD features a mixture of past singles, former EP tracks, radio edits and several remixes. Pastimes essentially acts as a condensed history, allowing new listeners to hear songs from EPs that are now long out of print. The original recordings of the four tracks that were previously released as singles and on EPs are also featured on Pastimes, enabling the listener to hear how the songs have evolved.