Dundee Quartet Model Aeroplanes mark the release of their debut EP with their largest UK tour to date.
Photo courtesy Island Records
Not only did Friday mark the band's first Glaswegian headline in just under a year but also the official release of their debut EP entitled Something Like Heaven. This four track compilation takes listeners on a journey of the band's evolution, featuring tracks old and new, this is the musical equivalent to a coming of age show. Twelve minutes worth of celestial psychedelia, this EP showcases the progression their sound has made. Lyricism throughout highlights a striking vulnerability that has been missing from previous singles, this may be a band synonymous with sun drenched reverie but it's reassuring to hear material with more of an established sound.
The differences between this and the last single are pretty stark and could be put down to a variation in experimentation during the production process: "it’s just not being scared to try anymore. Having a direction is possibly the worst thing you can do because you know where you’re going." With a progressive mind-set the EP was in it's final stages towards the end of last year: "half of the EP we recorded in London in November and then we finished the other half in Nottingham at the start of December with Rob from D.I.D and a guy called Guy, so we’ve been sitting on it for a few months."
The EP features two nearly unrecognisable tracks that have been part of the set-list for a while: Whatever Dress Suits You Better and Toothache. Both of which have clearly seen major adaptations before making it on to the track-list: "It seemed like the most natural thing to do, I (Rory) don’t think it would have been fair if we never released some of the songs. We were quite excited just to fire out a load of new stuff but we had to take a step back and go, people are gonna want these songs and if we don’t record them now then we never will and they’ll just die."
It has been a while since the boys have been on the radar with new material, considering the last tour and single happened a year ago: "It was quite a good transition period, becoming a signed band and finishing what we had from that point, it’s like you’re in the middle of the ocean and you don’t really know where you’re going until people come to you one day and tell you they want you to do this and that."
EP TRACK BY TRACK
Something Like Heaven:
"Written in September, It came out of nowhere I (Grant) have some early voice recordings of when we first started jamming it and it sounded dead organic. We had all of the EP tracks finalised, so we knew what it was going to be and then we went in to the studio that day and there was something about it musically and we thought this just had to go on. We had two versions of this, (Kieran) so two different songs to begin with but there was a bit of conflict so we decided to merge them. It’s about taking a big step in life, so for other people this could mean something different, but whether you’re going to regret it or not you don’t really care you’re just going to do it anyway."
The Wild:
"A big R&B song, in our style. (Benjamin and Grant) The first track that sounded like how we sound now, especially with the type of chords we were using, our eyes and ears and minds had been opened up to a different way of writing. With chords and note choice and stepping out our zone with keys and things. This will always be our turning point, we’re settling into our sound with this one. With R&B drums and bass going more to the psychedelic and it’s where we like being."
Whatever Dress Suits You Better:
"We wrote the song about two and a half years ago, but we wanted to put a song that people already knew on the EP but we didn’t want it to sound recycled so I (Rory) wanted to work on the song from where I am now so it sounded like it had been thought about and not thrown on for the sake of it. It was like a poodle before but we shaved it, stuck some sellotape on to it and threw it into a bowl of skittles and this is what the finished product looks like."
Toothache:
"Kind of old school, from the start of last year. It’s been through a lot of changes. We recorded it without a structure, parts of the song without the instrumental bits and just made it up in the studio, sometimes you should leave room for improvisation. It’s about realising you’re a piece of sh*t. It’s a pessimistic song, in an optimistic way. No really, I’d say It’s about change and realisation."
Fat Sams, Dundee *GIG REVIEW*
Third Eye Fever
Electricity
The Wild
Deep in the Pool
Kali Yuga
Whatever Dress
Innocent Love
Club Low
Toothache
Something like Heaven
The main support for this night was local four piece Sahara, fresh faced but more than headline worthy already. Integrating an underlying riotous sound which at times reaches orchestral levels along with the youth they possess both in appearance and word makes for an achingly climactic performance that does nothing but draw you in and within the space of the first song crave more. An intriguing set that honestly made me scrounge every social media for upcoming dates while the band were still on stage, epitomising the importance of a worthy support act. Epiphany driven and worth raving about.
The classic buzz of a home-town show could without a doubt be felt in this already packed crowd, adding Snoop & Dre into the mix in the form of the band's walk on music is a positively electric experience to witness. The band walk on in complete darkness and delve straight into the first song in the set being a completely new one entitled Third Eye Fever. This introduced the crowd to a step up in production that visually allowed for the sound to be the focal point. Smoke eclipsing the stage for the duration of each song, leaving nothing but the technicolour blur of in-time movement from band members to focus on. Two new songs had been added to the set as well as the EP tracks however the real showstoppers for this night were the greatest hits: Electricity, Club Low, Innocent Love, nostalgia filled and crowd singing-a plenty. There were points throughout that I'm sure I saw a do-see-doing mosh pit form but I can't be too sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. Vocally, instrumentally, morally the strongest I've seen this band to date.
As the band now embark on the the rest of tour...
It could be easy for artists that have been away for a length of time to become complacent or lose track but it looks like this lot are going to be back on the scene for the foreseeable future as guitarist Grant adds: "You can get bored doing the same thing over again, writing is great fun but it’s nice to go away on tour for a bit and come back. Being away makes you so hungry to get back and write again and writing gets you hungry to go out on tour so we’re buzzing to be away." With consecutive gigs every night this week it could be thought that pressure would be all consuming yet it seems to be greeted with open arms: "It’s good territory and territory we know from tours with Little Comets and Prides so they're places we’ve played." A positive way to begin a confidently explosive new year for the band.
Band Recommendations:
"Vladimir, old school sounding, rocky and all psychedelic purrs, Sahara are legends with some class tunes and every time you go and see them they get better and better. There are bands that we've grown up with and been on the same line-up as like The Mirror Trap and Our Future Glory."
Find Model Aeroplanes nationwide this week or via the sound of their new EP available now.
Twitter: @modelaeroplanes
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