Shoegazer épico com trejeitos sonhados, o HVG muda um pouca em relação ao ultimo See The Moon e vem mais rápido e shoegazer do que nunca, mais com momentos mais pos punks, na realidade com toques mais modernos e pegajosos que remetem meio que imediatamente ao Joy Formidable, o que de fato é excitante, porque o TBTCI adoraria e torce para os amigos Charlie e Nance sejam finalmente reconhecidos pelos serviços prestados desde 1991.
Uma mini entrevista rapida e rasteira com o HVG para explicar Star-Crossed e quais os proximos passos de casal que inspira o TBTCI.
***** Interview with Her Vanished Grace ****
1. How was the process of recording the new album?
It was a lot of fun but complicated. Nancy and I started late last summer. It was kind of informal as we sketched out ideas in Logic and included some contributions from musical friends; LG from Dead Leaf Echo, Daniel Cousins aka The Invisible Kid and Andee Blacksugar from Blacksugar Transmission. Then the rest of HVG, Maria and Billy, added their contributions in the fall and winter. We also wrote several songs with them in rehearsals as they worked out their parts to the material we'd started.
The sessions were all over the place; at home in HVG Studios, in our rehearsal space, Astoria Soundworks, and in the Greenpoint studio where we usually do our albums, Capture Sound. Lots of different vibes and layers were stirred in. We knew that the Mesa Boogie Rectifier stack at our rehearsal spot was perfect for feedback with Nancy's Jazzmaster. That sound became a character an a bunch of the tracks. I got hooked on my Danelectro Baritone guitar and that colored a lot of the record too. The drum session was challenging as usual, with Billy's explosive unorthodox style filling the big room at Capture Sound. We loved doing Maria's bass afterward, the way The Beatles tracked Paul. It gave her freedom to explore and find great counterpoint. As always it was pleasure to work on the vocals with Nancy. She was loose but focused and we had a great time whether things came together really quickly or not so much.
The music came from a lot of different places and it was an interesting engineering job to polish all those layers. By the end it became really cohesive. You can view sessions with all of the members of HVG on our YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1DE7E632ACF41138&feature=edit_ok).
2. Tell us if there are some differences between Star Crossed and the other albums.
STAR-CROSSED is still the melodic pop that we love but in a more abrasive setting. Our previous albums were, with some exceptions, tracked mostly as a group in order to capture the chemistry of HVG as a unit. This time we wanted to extend the scope of our sound with more aggressive textures. We left some space so the songs could breathe and course with noise. The sketches that Nancy and I started with actually evolved into the band versions so if we liked something from the beginning, it stayed in. That's how these tracks became so dense. A lot of sculpting went on in the mixing process to bring out the dynamics. In "Break Down" you're hearing an avalanche of guitars from different parts of the process coming in on the bridge and the last chorus to get that bruised blossoming. "Fade Away" is a classic HVG ballad enveloped in sheet after sheet of cacophony.
We think STAR-CROSSED is very cinematic. The songs mirror the joy, confusion and waves of emotion we've all been experiencing. We took risks by simplifying our writing and sometimes letting noise tell the story. This was evident in "Bridge Of Sighs" which absolutely boils with sound. This track is also the first time we used lyrics from outside HVG. Nancy loved the poetry of the chapter titles of the novel BRIDGE OF SIGHS by Richard Russo and used all of them as the lyrics of the song. We obtained the permission of Mr. Russo and he is now the co writer of an HVG track.
We also used electronic drum textures alongside Billy's drums in songs like "Hungry" and especially in the closing track "Earth Stood Still", which features some really cool rhythmic and synth elements courtesy of The Invisible Kid. It's almost like film score with an eerie chill wave tension that comes to a glorious crescendo.
3. What´s the future plans?
We'll be playing the STAR-CROSSED material out and writing new stuff with Maria and Billy. But we also have a side project that's an acoustic/ambient hybrid. Nancy, Maria and I will be working on it this fall so we can hopefully have an EP ready by year's end.
4. Any parting words
We so appreciate all of the kindness and support of all the old and new friends and fans. Our dream is to keep making our music and we want to show our gratitude to all those who make it possible. Thank you.
*
*
*
Thanks Charlie & Nance
http://hervanishedgrace.com/
https://www.facebook.com/her.v.grace
http://hervanishedgrace.bandcamp.com/
We'll be playing the STAR-CROSSED material out and writing new stuff with Maria and Billy. But we also have a side project that's an acoustic/ambient hybrid. Nancy, Maria and I will be working on it this fall so we can hopefully have an EP ready by year's end.
4. Any parting words
We so appreciate all of the kindness and support of all the old and new friends and fans. Our dream is to keep making our music and we want to show our gratitude to all those who make it possible. Thank you.
*
*
*
Thanks Charlie & Nance
http://hervanishedgrace.com/
https://www.facebook.com/her.v.grace
http://hervanishedgrace.bandcamp.com/
