Get some strange – Late of the Pier

Words by Scenewave Australia - Published on May 16, 2010

Everything about Late of the Pier is wicked weird.

From their description of the band on their Myspace page, you would think they were a team of fictional crime fighters talking about their superpowers…

Samuel Dust “sings, strums, scribbles”

Francis Dudley Dance “plucks, wobbles shelves”

Red Dog Consuela “batterie soundscape”

Jack Paradise “electronic battle tapping”

Late of the Pier

Their eccentric on-stage antics and wildly energetic (often topless) dancing aside, what is really great about LOTP is the huge variety of sounds they produce.

“I heard a fact today,” reports frontman Samuel Dust (or Samuel Potter off-stage). “That our single [Bathroom Gurgle] has been compared to 64 different bands… Mad!” [BBC interview, October 2007]

Indeed, as I listen to their 2008 album, Fantasy Black Channel, I hear erratic-synth pieces reminiscent of Klaxons or Metronomy, off-kilter pop hits like the glam sounds of Gary Newman or Devo, even songs that would sound at home on a Franz Ferdinand album.

Potter considers their music a reaction to “mediocre, complacent indie-schmindie bands who find a sound and stick to it; whose songs sound exactly the same…” [BBC interview, October 2008] The boys define themselves as ‘scientists of music’ – alchemists, working to tear music apart and do something original with the pieces. Some of their tunes are broad and have general appeal, while others are a little more erratic (the kind that sound like mess and white-noise until you’ve had a few listens and can hear the method in the madness). At the end of the day, their music is original, exciting and definitely worth a listen.

Sadly, following the release of their two latest tracks in March (Blueberry and Best In Class – see below) the LOTP boys are now taking a hiatus to pursue their individual side projects. We at Scenewave hope to see more interesting things from these talented young 20 year olds in the not to distant future!