People Wearing Pastels

You may remember me posting about just how good Damn Arms have gotten lately. It was here, and also, way back here. But that's not enough. I think they're really good. No, scratch that. They're great. Their debut disc, The Live Artex, only dropped down here in Australia about a month ago and has since been on heavy rotation. It's a brilliant and strong effort from the four boys, full of ambition and unexpected hooks which make each track unique over the ten song album. If that sounds like I'm bullshitting, just remember, the name is HYPERBOLE. When I get excited about something, I tend to get very excited about it (oh White Rose Movement, how you burned me by turning out to be shit!). It's about to clock over into December now, so that means I have to finalise my Best Of '07 list, and the more I think about it, the more likely it is that The Live Artex will be right up there. Yeah. I like it lots. And I'm officially rambling.

Fortunately though for both me and you I had the pleasure of interviewing Damn Arms' drummer extraordinaire, Simon Parkinson, recently to get the whole scoop on The Live Artex and other things Arms related. I cut this interview down after the last one with The Outrunners as I realise we kind of waffled on for ages. If anyone likes this enough that they feel like the need more, then let me know and I'll type up the rest. Now read on.

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D: You guys have certainly switched your sound up a bit in the last two years. It's very, starkly different. Why is that?

S: We had been doing the post-punk sound for so long. What were doing was this abrasive stuff, and I guess we just wanted a bit more melody. It's still pretty dark. But we're definitely going for a bigger sound now. We’re getting into a soundtrack kind of vibe; we’ve been listening to stuff like Giorgio Moroder and lots of Italo-Disco. We’ve changed quite a lot.

D: You can definitely hear that by listening to the Patterns EP and then to the new album; while there are still the noisier moments, but there are also these unexpected moments, like Edie and The Boss, I would never have expected songs sounding like that from you guys.

S: That's great because it surprised us too when we wrote them, especially The Boss. That song came so naturally. It just happened. We wrote and were like "Jesus this sounds like a pop song", to a certain extent. It's a pop song for us! And Edie is so prog, it's great.

D: Edie is a bit of a shock, especially as it leads off the album.

S: That's why it's the first track. We want to move on and wipe the slate clean.

D: Do you think the induction of Ben [Browning] into the band lead you guys to that newer direction?

S: Yes, completely. His guitar is a lot cleaner and since seeing Klaxons we're really going for harmony out there.

D: You guys recorded the album with Nick Littlemore, what was working with him for a while like?

S: He's a really interesting guy and he made us do a lot of weird studio in the studio. I think it's good to have someone like that present with you to get you to try new things. He got us to play live to tape and he just added effects while we were playing.

D: That's interesting because I guess I kind of know you guys as a live band, and the energy of the show comes across on record.

S: That's great because that was exactly what you were aiming for. I mean, the record's great, but to really get to know us you have to see us live. That's were we shine; we let loose a little, have a few beers and have a really good time.

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If you feel like getting to know the boys a bit better you can catch them on tour soon before they take a well deserved break for a while. The band also recently completed their support slot on the Cut Copy tour (who, now that I think of it, are remixing The Boss).

And if you like what you hear, pick up the fantastic album right here. Yessum.


Damn Arms - The Boss [HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION]

Damn Arms - Wooden Leg, Evil Claw [HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION]

Damn Arms - Test Pattern (Comets Remix)

PS: Isn't it just fate that the Futurama episode that Damn Arms got their name from is on tonight. Boo yah!