Glaswegian post rock / emo / indie band Verse Metrics are back with their first new material since 2012. We’ll Be Listening and Remembering Until We’re Old and Unsteady is a fine piece of work, set for release on December 2nd through Lonely Voyage Records, and we’ve got an exclusive listen to one of the tracks from it, ‘This Is Your Captain Speaking’, for you.
Ahead of that release, and in the first part of a new series, we asked singer / guitarist Bob to pick three records that have impacted his life and in some way and influenced him as a musician. Here’s what he has to say:
Death Cab For Cutie – We Have The Facts And We’re Voting Yes
At the time I first heard this album I was immersed in high energy bands (that I still love) like At The Drive In, The Get Up Kids and Refused, and there was a lot of bands I would listen to at this time and dismiss as sounding too slow and lethargic. This was the album that opened my ears to the slow American indie sound. Everything about We Have The Facts seems so considered, from the overall tone to the interplay between instruments and vocals, and it somehow seems to elicit different emotions at the same time. I think it shines through that the music really means something to them, and for that reason it really means something to me, and I think this is the key to all the music that I love and all the songs we write.
The Mars Volta – De-Loused In The Comatorium
This is just the perfect album for me – an absolute 10/10, love everything about it, never going to hear anything like it ever again. I remember going into town to buy this CD hoping it could match up to ATDI’s Relationship Of Command. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that it would be better.
One of the reviews on the cover states De-loused is “a blueprint for the future”, and I remember imagining at the time what it would be like to have a whole genre of music influenced by The Mars Volta. The first time I thought I would experience that was at the 2005 ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival, which was curated by TMV. We drove down through the night, and when we arrived I headed out just in time to catch the first band, who happened to be Battles. They were absolutely stunning, I had never heard or seen anything like it, but apart from Les Savy Fav and Hella most of the rest of the weekend was quite disappointing. Fortunately we now have Arctangent Festival, which has been everything I hoped that 2005 ATP would be!
Stapleton – On The Enjoyment Of Unpleasant Places
Stapleton are hands down my favourite Scottish band. They are one of those bands that only has fans that are into them in a big way. I think the reason for this lies in the subtle complexities in their songwriting, combining heartfelt lyrics with music that can be both irregular and flow at the same time. Stapleton have been a massive influence on my own approach to songwriting. They are a band that people who play in bands love – I was speaking to Ali and Steve from Dialects recently and when I mentioned Stapleton they both just lit up. The last Stapleton show I watched with Barry from Twin Atlantic. When we played with TTNG in Edinburgh Henry covered Our Returning Champion. With this in mind, 2017 is actually Stapleton’s 20th anniversary – I would like to officially propose a motion to demand a 20th anniversary tour. Who’s up for it? #stapleton2017
Verse Metrics play The Windmill in Brixton, London on December 17th.
