Sunderland four-piece The Futureheads are both an intriguing and powerful mass of contradictions. They are a band who - like all the best bands - look and feel like a gang, but who, in this instance, can rarely agree on anything at all. A band who have deliberately set themselves only short-term, low-key goals, but are, realistically, on the verge of going all the way. A band who recognize and salute the DIY ethic, while simultaneously detesting its implicit under-achievement. A band who can accurately cite Devo, Queen, Fugazi and Kate Bush as influences, but who have carved out their own instantly identifiable sonic niche.
Maybe it's a result of the four of them being a reasonably well-functioning democracy. And maybe that's a result of them each having a microphone and, therefore, four separate voices on stage. And possibly that came about because, having no PA, they had to have first a music and then a vocal rehearsal, and so decided they might as well each have a bash at singing. Some things about The Futureheads, you see, make straightforward sense...
The critically acclaimed debut album was recorded with former Gang Of Four guitarist Andy Gill in the producer's chair. The 14 songs are drawn from their entire history, including 'Stupid And Shallow' and 'Robot' from that first EP. Recording has been largely live in the studio, which is really the only way to capture The Futureheads.
"This is a body of work, a piece of art. There's a message in the lyrics and a message in the music," says guitarist Ross Millard. "We are trying to be as straightforward as possible. We don't want to be a clich?in any way."
Source: http://www.thefutureheads.com/
