| ac
acoustics |
| Origin |
Glasgow,
Scotland |
| Years active |
1990–present |
| Genres |
Alternative rock |
| Labels |
Elemental
Yoyo Recordings
Cooking
Vinyl |
| Members |
Paul Campion
Caz Riley
Dave Gormley
Mark Raine |
| Past members |
Roger Ward
A.N.Other (roadie turned keyboardist) |
ac acoustics are a critically acclaimed Scottish indie rock
band from Glasgow,
formed in 1990.
|
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 2 Critical
acclaim and quotes
- 3 Discography
- 4 Notes
|
Biography
Arguably now a spent force, ac acoustics briefly flirted with
a breakthrough in the mid-late 1990s. They were widely championed by
the music press and by peers such as Placebo.
At their peak they combined dense, fuzz-heavy riffage with cryptic,
poetic lyrics,
before later introducing keyboards and moving into a sparser, more
repetition-based direction. Initially, they owed a debt to The Jesus and Mary Chain
— blending furious white-noise with early Pavement-style
experimentation and augmenting their two guitar, bass and drums
instrumentation with saxophones and violins.
Their first release was the 1992 five track Wrist Eye
demo, notable also for featuring Gerard Love from Teenage
Fanclub on backing vocals. The demo gained them a recording
contract with the independent label Elemental Records, who
released their debut single, Sweatlodge/MV, in 1993.
At this time, despite their relative obscurity, they displayed an
aptitude for getting on the bill at relatively high profile gigs and
opened for PJ Harvey, Spacemen
3 and The Jesus Lizard, amongst others.
In 1994, the band's debut album, Able Treasury,
was released. Demonstrating a tighter sound, it was also notable for
its unusual song titles.
Shortly after this release, Mark Raine replaced Roger Ward on
guitar and the band began to move in a rockier, less feedback-drenched
direction. This culminated in the 1997 release of the band's
masterpiece, Victory Parts
and gigs with Embrace, Stereophonics,
dEUS, as well
as a couple of tours with Placebo.
The band's acumen and wall-of-noise approach garnered them sponsorship
from Marshall amplifiers.
Despite the accolades for Victory Parts in
the music press, ac acoustics remained a cult act. They left Elemental
and signed with Yoyo Recordings, releasing the EPs Like
Ribbons and She's With Stars. They parted
with Yoyo in 2000 and moved to Cooking Vinyl, releasing a further EP Crush
(continuing the Placebo connection thanks to backing vocal
contributions from Brian Molko).
The band's line-up was augmented by a keyboardist (who had
joined the band as a roadie) and two further albums, Understanding
Music and O
followed, the latter being completed in a mere ten days.
The band have always preferred to be referred to in lower case
typography.
They have featured twice in John Peel's annual Festive 50
chart, both tracks featuring on the Victory Parts
album:
- Stunt Girl (Number 26 in 1996)
- I Messiah Am Jailer (Number 19 in 1997)
Prior to ac acoustics, Dave Gormley played drums for fellow
Glaswegian band Thrum.
Critical acclaim and quotes
- Melody Maker
review of Sweatlodge/MV — "two helpings of genius
on one platter"
- Mojo review
of Victory
Parts — "this is rock as art, and Victory Parts is a near masterpiece"
- One of the frequent enthusiastic NME live reviews included the phrase "...ac
acoustics' favourite colour is nuclear white"
- Having played their début session three times, John Peel
was moved to say "...am I hallucinating, or are this band truly
brilliant?"
Discography
Albums
- Able Treasury
(1994)
- Victory Parts
(1997)
- Understanding Music
(2000)
- O
(2002)
Singles
- Wrist Eye (five-track demo UK 1992)
- Sweatlodge/MV (7" blue vinyl UK 1993)
- Hand Passes Plenty
(CD EP UK 199?)
- I Messiah Am Jailer (single-sided 7" UK
1997)
- Stunt Girl (CD EP UK 1999)
- Like Ribbons (CD EP UK 1999)
- She's With Stars (CD EP UK 1999)
- Crush (CD EP UK 2000)
Notes
-
Example (taken from Hammerhead): In this
light/I wear my hammerhead high/On a big stick/With an ice cream float
-
the single was recorded for a paltry £340
-
for example, Mother Head Sander, Oregon
Pine Washback and future live favourite Sister Grab
Operator
-
Brian
Molko was a relentless champion of the band and often wore a Stunt
Girl T-shirt, including on Placebo's Top
of the Pops appearance for Nancy Boy