17/10/2012, Micachu & The Shapes @ Islington Mill, really got me thinking. Here is a band who season avant-garde sonic explorations of detuned guitars and circuit-bent synths with whimsical indie-pop sensibilities, the result of which is something truly unique and identifiable. Performed with an impish vitality, Micachu’s music appears to function as pop whilst refusing to cater for the exigencies or audience of your standard pop music.
With regards to genre, in smudging together influences as far afield as Harry Partch, The Velvet Underground, Timbaland and Joy Division, there is a certain analogous difficulty in locating a category in which one could place the group. Indeed, much better is it to compare what Micachu is to music with what Andy Warhol was to fine art. Through alternatively recontextualising prevalent cultural reference points – say for example, the backbeat in pop music and the image of the Coca Cola can as a symbol of American consumer culture – both artists can be seen to play on the connotations attached to each artwork’s respective nominal subject (sound/image). Thus, rather than limiting herself to sound-worlds commonly connoted with the indie-pop scene, Micachu is able to simultaneously pay homage to and yet distance herself from the pop idiom. Mucking about as she does instrumentally, texturally and structurally (and therefore with the presumptive cultural frameworks attached to pop music), Micachu’s tunes seem to both serve as a satirical response to the banality of the ever-homogenising palette of the contemporary pop world, and equally as a celebration of the universal appeal of ‘four-to-the-floor’ beats and catchy refrains.
Her songs also adhere to the sense of disposability many of Warhol’s pop-art pieces took on. Indeed, Micachu writes about very ordinary, easy-to-relate-to subjects, and the tracks are delivered in an apparently punk-esque, throwaway manner. 5 out of 14 tracks on the new album are under two minutes long, which means that whilst intensely creative (and far from many of the utterly vacuous, musical abortions which find their way onto Radio 1), Micachu’s music doesn’t come across, nor is it meant to interpreted as particular profound. In short, these quaint, twisted approximations of pop song illustrate the need to identify the fine but distinct line that there is to be drawn between the sincere and the serious. It is just lots of fun.
“We’ve been on tour for a third of our lives now. It’s become so fundamental for us,” reflects Ryan Jarman. He’s speaking to The Mancunion, along with twin brother Gary, backstage at the Apollo, in the thick of a lengthy UK tour that takes in, I suggest, more towns than the average band might strive to reach over the course of an average live run.
“The reason why we do tour a little bit more in-depth than some other people is because we genuinely believe that playing live is the most accurate way for people to understand what we’re about,” says Gary. “You can be written about in magazines or be played on the radio, but that’s still other people’s interpretations of what you’re doing. That’s why we did well on the second record; we didn’t really have much money behind us, or much of the industry’s infrastructure, but those singles did well because people remembered that we came to their town.”
May saw the release of the band’s fifth record, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull, a little over eighteen months since they announced a hiatus in the wake of appearances on the main stage at Reading and Leeds in 2010. Johnny Marr left the band in the interim, bringing an end to a three-year period of using the onstage introduction “We’re The Cribs from Wakefield, and Manchester,” and Gary claims that the former Smiths man’s departure provided the impetus to return to the studio sooner than originally expected. “It would’ve been weird if the last thing that people had heard of The Cribs was that Johnny had left. It just mobilised us. It was that kick of inspiration that we needed, because we found ourselves in a situation where we felt influenced to start working again.” On the reasons for the split, he claims that both parties simply “wanted different things. We did think about the future, and Johnny spoke a lot about making a second record, but at the same time we wanted time off, and we didn’t want to make it so that he couldn’t do what he wanted to.”
The sessions for Brazen Bull saw the band recording with a host of producers, including the legendary Steve Albini, who produced first single ‘Chi-Town’. Despite his intimidating pedigree – Nirvana’s In Utero, Pixies’ Surfer Rosa and Page and Plant’s Walking Into Clarksdale are all counted among his engineering back catalogue – Ryan reveals that getting into the studio with Albini was a straightforward process. “I just called him and told him we wanted to do about four tracks with him and that was it; his way of working is just first come, first served, really. We’d wanted to work with Steve since we were teenagers really; we were supposed to work with him on our first album but we’d already started recording it elsewhere.” Gary adds that Albini’s business ethics were particularly attractive to the band; “he doesn’t record bands based on profile or money, or anything like that; he’ll go from recording Page and Plant at Abbey Road for the same amount he’s charging an unsigned local band from Chicago. He’s managed to maintain that way of working even though he’s been successful, and I think that’s really commendable.”
The band also coaxed Queen producer David Richards out of semi-retirement, although those tracks ultimately didn’t make it onto the record. Gary attributes the decision to work with Richards to his love of Queen’s Innuendo, and remains hopeful that the material will eventually see the light of day. “Put it next to the Albini stuff, or the [Dave] Fridmann stuff, he did most of the record, and they just don’t match. I’m still psyched that we did it, but you wouldn’t think it was us so much if you heard it – I think it’s gonna trip people out.”
Alongside more traditional merch stand fare as t-shirts and posters, the band are selling copies of The City Is Ablaze on this tour, a compilation of ten years’ worth of the post-punk fanzine Ablaze, for which Gary has penned the epilogue. It’s yet another reminder that The Cribs are far closer, in terms of approach and philosophy, to the punk scene than to the ‘indie’ scene that they found themselves wrapped up in after headlining the NME tour in 2008. It’s a misunderstanding that’s a little sad at times – a particularly unsavoury incident in 2009 saw The Slits bottled and heckled throughout their support slot to the band in Doncaster by a section of the Cribs fanbase with an attitude completely at odds with that of the Jarmans themselves. Do they consider themselves a punk band?
“Yeah, absolutely,” says Gary, “and I think that book, which isn’t really anything to do with us, is indicative of our state of mind; we just want to spread the word about things we like. We thought some of our fans would dig it too, and I think that’s the essence of punk really, that communal sense of everyone helping each other out, and a lot of people involved with that fanzine is very much in tandem with the way we like to consider ourselves to operate, that DIY sort of thing. That’s what punk means to us really, much more than the aesthetic of the spikes and the leather and that sort of thing. Huggy Bear sound nothing like the Sex Pistols, and they sound nothing like Sonic Youth, who are totally a punk band…I think it’s just a state of mind thing really. That’s what makes it exciting for a band like us, being in control of what you do, and having things be as much about the culture and the ethic as the songs and everything else.”
Between the geographical closeness of their native West Yorkshire and the impact of having a genuinely legendary Mancunian in the band for a time, The Cribs acknowledge that Manchester is a city that’s been particularly kind to them over the years. “It sort of adopted us, Manchester,” says Gary. “To have a city sort of take you as their own like that has made for some really great memories. We played two nights at the Ritz when Johnny first joined, and that was pretty special because that’s where The Smiths played their first gig.” Ryan, on the other hand, is especially fond of the art deco surroundings of tonight’s venue; “you never fail to be amazed by the size of the place when you’re loading your gear in to the Apollo. There’s always such a good sense of occasion.”
The Cribs are set for a trip to some less typical tour spots in the coming weeks, with shows in Greece, Turkey and Hungary booked before they take some time off; with Brazen Bull having proven a grandly-conceived, jaggedly-executed triumph, and their live shows as incendiary as ever, we can only hope that this next break is as short as the last; if there’s one thing The Cribs struggle with, it’s keeping quiet.
The recording of this interview can be found on SoundCloud here.
Only an hour away on the train yet easily forgotten when you’re looking for a way to spend your weekend other than hungover, Liverpool is an essential visit. Like a smaller, less daunting version of Manchester, the same football- bar- shopping culture one may associate with the glam northern cities is rife, only it’s a little less mortal and a little more boss.
The city centre is easy to cover if you dedicate an afternoon to explore; head to the bombed out church on the corner of Berry Street, often open for exhibitions and the perfect starting point for wandering tangents. West is Chinatown, with its spectacular gate guarding the oldest Chinese community in Europe, as is the vast Anglican Cathedral. Directly opposite is Bold Street, hub of the Liverpool Ropewalks area, where bars and boutiques nestle aplenty. There’s a smaller, more accessible version of Manchester Northern Quarter’s own junk jungle; Ryan Vintage with neat rails, more reworked garments and naturally, less character. Claudia Pink is a boutique quickly becoming a household name in Liverpool. Claudia began making her own jewellery in the Scouse version of Affleck’s Palace and now does business, pride of place, in Bold Street selling glamorous head dresses belly chains and bindhis amongst other unusual costume jewellery.
Markets and fairs are an increasingly popular past time in Liverpool; ‘Some Student Fair’ next on at Bumper (Hardman Street) on 10th and 24th November are magnets for cheap, up-and-coming collections. Handcrafted jewellery from local student entrepreneurs Flower Children is a regular stall secured for their glitz and glam accessories and a huge hit with jewellery fanatics.
Food wise, lunch at Lucha Libre, Liverpool’s most hyped Mexican street food restaurant, is a must. If Mexican isn’t for you, head to Bazaar for some middle eastern tapas in a stylish setting, with everything from mirrors to mosaics available for sale. A further 15 minutes walking will take you to the Albert Dock, which is delightful on a sunny day, offering spectacular views of the Wirral and ferry rides for those wanting the real maritime experience.
After dark, Friday and Saturday nights are booming in Liverpool when locals and students alike come out to play. Santa Chutpitos is an intimate cocktail bar whipping up poisons such as the ‘hand grenade’ to spark up your evening. Similarly sister bars El Bandito and Salt Dog Slims give that same grimy, cellar party feel you’ll have no choice but to end your night in since they’re open til 5am and beyond. Bar Bodega is another continuing the latest Latino fad sweeping Liverpool, catering to a niche clientele with chorizo tequila, sangria martinis and noughties RnB. Fantastic.
For an experience alternative to a night at Deansgate Locks, head to Palm Sugar on Liverpool One, or for indie tunes Bumper and Magnet do the trick. You also can’t go wrong with Heebie Jeebies and La’go for cheap bevvies and a heart warming combo of soul, swing and hip hop. All in all, you’ll find that no matter where you end up knocking back shots, everywhere has that warm fuzzy feeling of being a sound northern city where you’ll be bezzies with at least one barman and have told the taxi driver your life story by the end of the night. It’s just that kind of place.
Defining what exactly it is that Frisky and Mannish do is not an easy task. But this is what makes them so great. On their website, Frisky and Mannish themselves describe what they do as ‘titting around with pop songs’. I prefer to think of them as pop educators. They basically take pop songs and take the mick out of them, mix them up with other songs and create new lyrics. Their fourth UK tour came to the Lowry last week for one very outrageous evening.
‘But so what?’ I hear you cry, ‘That doesn’t sound anything special. Whilst on its own, the idea of pop parodying sounds doesn’t sound anything too inspiring, it is the personalities of the two, particularly Frisky that make audiences fall completely in love with them over and over again. Frisky’s persona: sexy, cheeky, incredibly posh (not to mention spectacularly buxom) coupled with an incredible belter of a voice that can impersonate any artist you might care to mention simply steals the show. This is not, however a failing of a double act but more of an intention. Their personalities complement each other perfectly: Frisky being the outrageous one that Mannish needs to control. Mannish too is not without his lovability: he is camp, mischievous and sexy too.
A particular favourite number was a rap version of Karen Carpenter’s Top of the World, proof that any song can be performed in the style of Graaahm (sorry, Grime). Another moment of brilliance was a compilation of angry heartbreak songs ‘the way they were supposed to be sung’ (in other words songs like ‘Someone Like You’ coupled with creepy stalker tones and sinister stares).
I could sit here all day describing and praising each and every song Frisky and Mannish performed. In short, go see it. You’ll sing, you’ll dance, you’ll laugh, you might even start to see the beauty of pop music.
