The USA has had a pretty friendly relationship with Great Britain. But all good things must come to an end. For The FADER/Fred Perry Series, we are matching one American band with one British band to prove once and for all who is best at playing rock songs. It will either end in blood or, more likely, everyone hugging and becoming internet pen pals, but until then, you get to watch some great music.
New Yorkers braved a 70% chance of precipitation and apocalyptic heat only to watch the heavens open as they found shelter inside the Mercury Lounge for the FADER/Fred Perry party. And jamming through it all - through the cats and dogs and fallen branches and spewing fire hydrants - were These New Puritans and Shy Child. One cloaked in Shakespearean armor, and the other rocking a keytar and alto-sax. Maybe it was the free beer talking, but people were looking good. And wet.
Shy Child
Having peddled their dirtied-up electropop in the States for years to little fanfare, Shy Child is now seeing their star rise with the US release of Noise Won’t Stop. They are an exercise in propulsive simplicity - Pete Cafarella’s shout-along vocals are accompanied by Nate Smith’s gonzo live drumming and his own analog synth blasts, delivered courtesy of that most maligned of instruments - the keytar. Shy Child recently racked up tours with psych-synthmongers Klaxons, played every conceivable Euro festival, opened shows for Muse (as the first US band to ever play the new Wembley Stadium) and turned in a memorable Later…With Jools Holland taping alongside Björk and Sir Paul McCartney. After an eight-month stint living in London, the two are now back in New York and plan to spend the better part of 2008 touring domestically in support of Noise Won’t Stop’s stateside release.
These New Puritans
What could be more British than playing shows in blazingly hot Austin, Texas wearing a gilded metal vest? Sir Galahad never even did that, but These New Puritans' lead singer Jack Barnett has, and now the band is swinging through the rest of America in support of their clangorous new album Beat Pyramid. On the other hand, they could just as easily hang out in cold, industrial American cities, wearing black and smoking inside (where it's illegal but they don't care because they are cool) because, at least on some level, they are involved in some other art project, whether it's making clothes with Hedi Slimane or participating in "art/dance performances."
Swords Of Truth (These New Puritans)
Numbers (These New Puritans)
Noise Won't Stop (Shy Child)
