World's Fair

MTVU chats with British Sea Power on Backstage Pass about conquering the British rock scene.. check it out and get tips on how NOT to stage dive!

British Sea Power is en route to the East Coast. They had a warm welcome last weekend at the Norman Music Festival, which also featured Colourmusic and the Polyphonic Spree, previewed in The Oklahoman as “the U.K.’s latest great gift to the eccentric side of lush, cerebral pop.”

photo courtesy of QRO Magazine @ Norman Music Fest

May 1 Columbia, MO @ Mojo’s w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 2 Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 3 Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 4 Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 6 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 7 Charlottesville, VA @ Satelite Ballroom w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 8 Washington, DC @ Black Cat w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 9 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 10 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis (sold out)
May 11 Brooklyn @ Music Hall of Williamsburg w/The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 13 Boston, MA @ Paradise w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 15 Montreal, QUE @ La Sala Rossa w/ The Rosebuds
May 16 Toronto, ONT @ Lee’s Palace w/ The Rosebuds
May 17 Buffalo, NY @ The Tralf w/ The Rosebuds
May 18 Pittsburgh, Pa @ Mr Smalls Theatre w/ The Rosebuds
May 19 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s

On The Road Tour EP featuring British Sea Power, Film School, Jeffrey Lewis and Colourmusic [download for FREE here]

Artist: British Sea Power
Album: Do You Like Rock Music?
Label: Rough Trade / World’s Fair
Street Date: Feb. 12th, 2008
CD: Amazon | Newbury Comics | Insound
MP3: iTunes | eMusic | Amazon
2xLP: Insound

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace

British Sea Power needs your answers! Click here for a crafty exercise where you can choose between ROCK and NON-ROCK, and if you choose rightly, you will be rewarded…[check it out and pass it along!]

If you haven’t grabbed BSP’s FREE On The Road Tour EP (Split 4 Ways), featuring British Sea Power, Film School, Jeffrey Lewis and Colourmusic, then you best get to it [download here]

The guys continue to work audiences into a frenzy with their raucous energy and onstage antics… here are PHOTOS c/o AUSTINIST.

“If Arcade Fire merely teases, British Sea Power hits you in the mouth; Rock Music is moody but lacks debilitating melodrama. Similar bands such as Doves and Arcade Fire seem to be playing from some higher plane, but British Sea Power’s sound rises from a subterranean morass of soil, blood and distortion, enabling them to connect with their audience on a truly visceral level.” - [read more @ Dallas Observer]

“For the first time catching them live, I was immediately surprised and ultimately pleased with their throwback look. I knew they were an intelligent, literate group but to carry on with such an outward aesthetic really warmed my heart… British Sea Power showed up and performed with a zest mine eyes hadn’t seen in quite some time…” [see the full recap @ TheTripwire.com]

Artist: British Sea Power
Album: Do You Like Rock Music?
Label: Rough Trade / World’s Fair
Street Date: Feb. 12th, 2008
CD: Amazon | Newbury Comics | Insound
MP3: iTunes | eMusic | Amazon
2xLP: Insound

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace

What’s better then more of something? Well more FREE something of course. Especially if that FREE something is music. And if timing is everything as they say, then we guess the only thing more perfect then something FREE is something FREE right now! Please download the complimentary On The Road Tour EP (Split 4 Ways), featuring British Sea Power, Film School, Jeffrey Lewis and Colourmusic! [CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE EP]

This also means… more British Sea Power live goodness… the next leg kicks off this Friday 4/11 in Dallas! Colourmusic joins them for the first few. See below for dates!

BRITISH SEA POWER TOUR DATES:
April 11 Dallas, TX @ The Loft w/ Film School, Colourmusic
Apr 12 Austin, TX @ Club Deville w/ Film School, Colourmusic
Apr 13 Houston, TX @ Numbers w/ Film School, Colourmusic
Apr 15 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon w/ Film School
Apr 16 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks w/ Film School
Apr 17 Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder/ FSU w/ Film School
Apr 18 Orlando, FL @ The Social w/ Film School
Apr 19 Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits w/ Film School
Apr 21 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl w/ Film School
Apr 22 Birmingham, AB @ Bottletree w/ Film School
Apr 23 Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone w/ Film School
Apr 26 Norman, OK @ Norman Music Festival w/ The Polyphonic Spree
May 1 Columbia, MO @ Mojo’s w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 2 Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 3 Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 4 Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 6 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 7 Charlottesville, VA @ Satelite Ballroom w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 8 Washington, DC @ Black Cat w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 9 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 10 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 11 Brooklyn @ Music Hall of Williamsburg w/The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 13 Boston, MA @ Paradise w/ The Rosebuds, Jeffrey Lewis
May 15 Montreal, QUE @ La Sala Rossa w/ The Rosebuds
May 16 Toronto, ONT @ Lee’s Palace w/ The Rosebuds
May 17 Buffalo, NY @ The Tralf w/ The Rosebuds
May 18 Pittsburgh, Pa @ Mr Smalls Theatre w/ The Rosebuds
May 19 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s

Artist: British Sea Power
Album: Do You Like Rock Music?
Label: Rough Trade / World’s Fair
Street Date: Feb. 12th, 2008
CD: Amazon | Newbury Comics | Insound
MP3: iTunes | eMusic | Amazon
2xLP: Insound

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace

Stay tuned for more news on Stillwater, OK’s Colourmusic’s debut release coming out on Great Society later this year!

CONNECT: Website | Myspace | World’s Fair

BSP throw in Shostakovich, CCR, Sigur Ros and a Pedro Almadovar soundtrack into a Rhapsody mixtape for NylonMag [READ MORE]

Catch up with all the recent interviews below..!

QRO: Right before SXSW, you played Late Night with David Letterman. What was that like?
Yan: It was quite relaxed, really. It was quite weird: we flew out to South-by-Southwest that day, and we were on the telly on the plane, and we watched it on there. A quite weird but funny thing to do. It’s just, you know, you do your song… You don’t really think about it too much. You maybe dress up – Martin was trying to get some jokes in there. You know how people walk out of the restroom, and they’ve got like toilet roll going off their foot? He did that one, and left his fly down. He was very disappointed, ‘cause they never showed it on the edits. - Yan @ QRO Mag [READ MORE]

“We had a bit of spring cleaning,” Wilkinson says. “We kind of got associated with having trees and plastic animals onstage, and lots of natural, symbolic things, and just having lots of funny props around, but we decided that four years of that is enough. We don’t need that anymore. So, we took that all down and slowly developed new things. We’ve been using nautical flags, which are actually quite pretty. You can spell out funny words, or send different messages like, ‘My engine has failed.’ We’ve also been using pictures of animals on bed sheets. Stages aren’t really attractive places. Without the lights, they’re quite ugly. A lot of it is just trying to make it more interesting for the audience.” - Yan interviewed @ Jambase [READ MORE]

“It’s the sort of anarcho-noise ending to a show every rock band wishes they could pull off. Few do it like British Sea Power does tonight. Either you put everything you have into — there’s no half measures on this sort of freak-out — or you look like a total jerk. Nobody who left the club will remember British Sea Power as a gang of visiting jerkbags… “You’ve got to risk looking like a jerk!” Yan chuckles. “Really! I don’t think there’s anything wrong with looking like a jerk if you mean it, if you’re genuinely just having a laugh. Sometimes the best thing you can do is the stupidest thing you can think of.” - Yan @ Aversion [READ MORE]

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace

“Ruling airwaves (in a just world)… The title’s question may be cheeky, but the answer in this case is: Definitely.” - U.S.A. Today [READ MORE]

“This is an incredibly good album that should cement the band’s place as one of the best the UK currently has to offer.” - Exclaim

“I’m sure that I wasn’t alone in the critical world when I originally found myself wanting to write a one-word review that simply stated `yes,’ as a response to the album’s query. I’m equally as sure that after hearing the record, that single word would have to be followed by several exclamation marks…” - Treblezine [READ MORE]

“Even the more meandering pieces like “Atom” and the instrumental “Great Skua” feel like steampunk soundtracks for polar exploration, a notion that looks weird in print but makes a whole lot of sense through a pair of headphones, a set of vintage basement speakers, or the inside of a freighter as it disappears into the bowels of the Arctic Ocean…” - AllMusic, 4.5 Stars [READ MORE]

“Do You Like Rock Music? is a highly memorable, deeply appealing album that will satisfy not only the most discerning intellectual alt-rock fan, but will also draw in all lovers of atmospheric and experimental music…” - Soundcheck Magazine [READ MORE]

“Do You Like Rock Music? is a large, unabashed attempt at greatness, and where other bands might diffuse into a chaotic mess in the process (ahem, Broken Social Scene), British Sea Power remain, skillfully intact. That’s something impressive from a compositional standpoint - regardless of whether or not they’ve rewritten the template for rock music…” - Lost At Sea [READ MORE]

“Do You Like Rock Music? gives you exactly what you might expect from British Sea Power: a lot of rock, some surprising turns of events, and the desire to hear more from the band… unlike a lot of the bands spawned from the turn of the century, British Sea Power does not seem like a one-trick pony, which is what most music fans want to find in a band in the first place…” - Three Imaginary Girls [READ MORE]

“Still, the success of the record on some level depends on irony and detachment. Any band that sets out to make an over-the-top rock record like this needs to either have their tongues in cheek or end up in a wash of sincerity and schmaltz (the Arcade Fire, U2, and Bruce Springsteen immediately come to mind). It’s not so much the heavy guitars or huge drums that makes tracks like “Atom” and “No Lucifer” so strong. It’s that Yan and Hamilton manage to capture old clichés in new ways and that, filtered through their weirdness and idiosyncrasies, the sentiments seem new (or at least more original). Doing that in the midst record that gently tweaks the musical clichés of rock music is a neat little accomplishment. Managing to make the whole thing enjoyable and more than a bit compelling is a feat…” - Coke Machine Glow [READ MORE]

… and last for now, definitely not the least, and definitely not the last, the glorious Moleskin review for Do You Like Rock Music? c/o Tha Bomb Shelter

… Moleskin review continues on several sheets of moleskin here - click

The rock still don’t stop!

Mar 26 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop (1900’s support)
Mar 27 Columbus, OH @ The Basement (1900’s support)
Mar 28 Louisville, KY @ Phoenix Hill Tavern (1900’s support)
Mar 29 St. Louis, MO @ Billiken Club (1900’s support)

Apr 11 Dallas, TX @ The Loft (Coulourmusic & Film School support)
Apr 12 Austin, TX @ Club Deville (Colourmusic & Film School support)
Apr 13 Houston, TX @ Numbers (Colourmusic & Film School support)
Apr 15 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon (Film School support)
Apr 16 New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks (Film School support)
Apr 17 Tallahassee, FL @ Club Downunder - Florida State University (Film School support)
Apr 18 Orlando, FL @ The Social (Film School support)
Apr 19 Jacksonville, FL @ Jack Rabbits (Film School support)
Apr 20 Mount Pleasant, SC @ CANCELLED
Apr 21 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl (Film School support)
Apr 22 Birmingham, AB @ Bottletree (Film School support)
Apr 23 Memphis, TN @ Hi Tone (Film School support)
Apr 26 Norman, OK @ Norman Music Festival w/The Polyphonic Spree

May 1 Columbia, MO @ Mojo’s (Rosebuds support)
May 2 Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s (Rosebuds support)
May 3 Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge (Rosebuds support)
May 4 Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle (Rosebuds support)
May 6 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle (Rosebuds support)
May 7 Charlottesville, VA @ Satelite Ballroom (Rosebuds support)
May 8 Washington, DC @ Black Cat (Rosebuds support)
May 9 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s (Rosebuds support)
May 10 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom (Rosebuds support)
May 11 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg (Rosebuds support)
May 13 Boston, MA @ Paradise (Rosebuds support)
May 15 Montreal, QUE @ La Sala Rossa (Rosebuds support)
May 16 Toronto, ONT @ Lee’s Palace (Rosebuds support)
May 17 Buffalo, NY @ The Tralf (Rosebuds support)
May 18 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre (Rosebuds support)
May 19 Hoboken, NJ @ Maxwell’s

Artist: British Sea Power
Album: Do You Like Rock Music?
Label: Rough Trade / World’s Fair
Street Date: Feb. 12th, 2008
CD: Amazon | Newbury Comics | Insound
MP3: iTunes | eMusic | Amazon
2xLP: Insound

British Sea Power - “Waving Flags” [DOWNLOAD]

British Sea Power - “Atom” edit [DOWNLOAD]

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace

Photos c/o How Was The Show & More Cowbell:

Up,…

Up,…

& Away!

“During the last 15 minutes, the show entered onto the list of the best shows I have ever seen… As British Sea Power started into their final song, the train came off the rails. Rolls of crepe paper came flying into the crowd and just kept coming (there were easily 50 of them, probably more), courtesy of Colourmusic. All of the band members commandeered instruments and started playing, bashing and assaulting them… This was what all rock shows could be, but luckily they don’t all unfold like this way—when things like this happen you feel lucky to have been there. Maybe this happens at every stop along the way for the bands, but one thing was certain: British Sea Power left everyone present feeling like the slump was over and that they are in it for the long haul…” - How Was The Show [READ MORE]

The crew found some time to stop by MPR / The Current for an in-studio performance:

British Sea Power - Live @ The Current [LISTEN]

Then again in Urbana, IL, Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good witnessed the marvel and proclaimed, “I’m of the opinion that British Sea Power’s recent album Do You Like Rock Music? is the best rock album of the year and I’ve only heard good things about the band’s live show, so you can imagine how excited I was going into Saturday’s Canopy Club show… The audience was clearly in shock after they left the stage at what we just witnessed. So in summation, go see British Sea Power and stay for the encore. They will rock your face off…” - Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good [READ MORE]

Another voice in Urbana spoke up… “Staying in the same place for the majority of the performance and looking extremely unassuming in his black pants with matching red piping to the spandex-y shirt he had on and a lack of facial expressions, out of nowhere, this guitarist began playing with his face. Then…He crowdsurfed the Void room… He proceeded to mount a pole upside down, and was so close to falling that people in the audience had to help him to ensure that he wouldn’t bust his head open. He seemed possessed, which left me wondering if he was wasted, tripping on drugs or just downright crazy…” - The 217 / Awkward City [READ MORE]

photos c/o The 217 / Awkward City

British Sea Power continues American tour - don’t miss your chance to rock!

More live photos from across the web - click on for credit

British Sea Power - “Waving Flags” [DOWNLOAD]

British Sea Power - “Atom” edit [DOWNLOAD]

Artist: British Sea Power
Album: Do You Like Rock Music?
Label: Rough Trade / World’s Fair
Street Date: Feb. 12th, 2008
CD: Amazon | Newbury Comics | Insound
MP3: iTunes | eMusic | Amazon
2xLP: Insound

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace

“… There was a lineup outside of Maggie Mae’s Patio to see British Sea Power… and there was manic energy both on stage and in the crowd right from the beginning. They’re a much better live band now than when I first saw them after their The Decline Of British Sea Power debut came out in 2003, and their new Do You Like Rock Music? album is exemplary… The audience repeatedly chanted “Easy” to introduce “No Lucifer,” while “Canvey Island” and “Lights Out For Darker Skies” were both striking… It turned into a free-for-all at the end, with friends of the band jumping on stage and people riding on each other’s shoulders, play-wrestling and falling over. It definitely made the fourth night of SXSW end on a high note…” - Chart Attack [READ MORE]

Enjoy the chaotic climax (almost like you were really there!)

Photos @ Maggie Mae’s c/o UGO

“I really like BSP’s new album, so this made a pretty good finish to the fest…Things got terribly and perhaps dangerously uncomfortable on the rooftop venue, though, which was way overpacked. The third-story floor was shaking harder with each of the band’s bursting songs. We had to get outta there.” - Pop Life / Minneapolis Star Tribune [READ MORE]

“..YES. Amid band upon band of yanks who don’t know a good rock performance from a beard trimmer, Brighton, England, band British Sea Power, shooting sparks behind its latest, Do You Like Rock Music, delivered the guitar-oriented goods Saturday night at 1 a.m.” - Kansas City pitch / Wayward Blog [READ MORE]

Artist: British Sea Power
Album: Do You Like Rock Music?
Label: Rough Trade / World’s Fair
Street Date: Feb. 12th, 2008
CD: Amazon | Newbury Comics | Insound
MP3: iTunes | eMusic | Amazon
2xLP: Insound

British Sea Power - “Waving Flags” [DOWNLOAD]

British Sea Power - “Atom” edit [DOWNLOAD]

British Sea Power continues American tour!

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace

@ Rhapsody day party @ Mohawk - photos c/o Prefix Mag

Rhapsody folks pulled Yan aside for a quick audio interview recalling his last “Drunk Dialing” experience [LISTEN]

BSP then trooped over for a video interview with Phil Gallo of Variety.com [WATCH]

@ Hot Freaks day party @ Mohawk - photos c/o You Aint No Picasso

Live reviews:

“British Sea Power played a rousing afternoon set in the Texas sun this afternoon… A good crowd had turned out to see the Brighton band perform, many tackling the heat by chomping on ice lollies which were handed out to the audience free…” - NME [READ MORE]

“Most of the crowd’s reactions–and mine, too–were positive. British Sea Power has an interesting sound; it’s very influenced across the board, but at it’s core,it’s tought not to hear a hint of the ’90s American alternative rock scene. Somehow that’s not a bad thing, though; the crowd of people watching through the slits off the fence surrounding the Mohawk’s outdoor stage was proof of this…” - DC9 At Night / Dallas Observer [READ MORE]

“Dropping in old fan favorites like “Carrion” got the audience pumped, and towards the end of the set I had ceased taking notes in favor of furiously drumming my pen against my notebook….” - NY Press [READ MORE]

Artist: British Sea Power
Album: Do You Like Rock Music?
Label: Rough Trade / World’s Fair
Street Date: Feb. 12th, 2008
CD: Amazon | Newbury Comics | Insound
MP3: iTunes | eMusic | Amazon
2xLP: Insound

British Sea Power - “Waving Flags” [DOWNLOAD]

British Sea Power - “Atom” edit [DOWNLOAD]

British Sea Power continues American tour!

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace

Is it called “irony” or “a propos” or just totally ROCK that the BBC’s The Culture Show recently got BSP to play a historic gig at Canvey Island, dressed in the jerseys of the Canvey Island Football Club… the very one lyricized in BSP’s song “Canvey Island” on DYLRM… Watch it all below:

Watch more video interviews @ 99 Matters, (where Yan discusses a topic that matters most to him - “Drinking!”) and @ The Palestra (where the band picks up their favorite topic of pigeon poop in abandones silos…)

Before, we continue: a reminder - have you done your part for the polar bears yet?

In other recent media coverage: The Modern Ovens’ Jonathan Richman cover band, Hannah Montana and the theme behind DYLRM…

“About two years ago, Hamilton and I from British Sea Power were at the pub with a couple of friends from other Brighton-based bands: Darren Moon from the Tenderfoot and Matt Eaton from Actress Hands. Somehow, talk got around to Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, and we discovered we were all massive Richman fans. So we decided that, one day, we would form a covers band. I’m pleased to say that the Modern Ovens finally made their live debut on New Year’s Eve in Brighton….” - The Guardian UK [READ MORE]

“British Sea Power has now successfully merged their angst-ridden, tense, bombastic live performances with the more deliberately, less spontaneous studio aesthetic, though, and seeing proof of this at the Echo was relieving. British Sea Power takes the energy and rebelliousness of true punk rock and submerges it in a wall-of-sound that’s moving and unifying (there was a sort of energy at the Echo that’s unusual: the crowd seemed on the verge of singing along with the band… something you’ll more likely find at a Hannah Montana production). These guys are good, and you all ought to rush to their next show..!” - Anthem Magazine [READ MORE]

Scenestar Webzine: How does the band figure out the theme for each album?
Yan: It kind of develops. We don’t have a fully finished idea or concept. We kind of develop it as we go through it really. I think going to new places, Montreal, and having longer on it, and the different places we went to, allows that to develop a lot better. I think there are a few themes on [Rock]. It has a lot more current topics involved, like modern-day events, things you might read in the paper and end up talking about down in the pub with your mates. It was meant to come from this time, and to sound like it comes from a particular place. - The Scenestar [READ MORE]

Artist: British Sea Power
Album: Do You Like Rock Music?
Label: Rough Trade / World’s Fair
Street Date: Feb. 12th, 2008
CD: Amazon | Newbury Comics | Insound
MP3: iTunes | eMusic | Amazon
2xLP: Insound

British Sea Power - “Waving Flags” [DOWNLOAD]

British Sea Power - “Atom” edit [DOWNLOAD]

British Sea Power continues American tour!

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace

A devastating rendition of “No Lucifer” on the CBS late night line-up [WATCH]

CONNECT: Website | World’s Fair | Myspace