A GROUP of musicians from across Scotland who have toured with some of the industry’s biggest names have come together to form the country’s “most experienced new band”.
Night Caller, made up of members from Neon Waltz, The Stagger Rats and The Merrylees have recently released their first single with an EP expected to follow in the summer.
Individually, members have recorded with the likes of Paul Weller, The Coral and The Zombies and have branded their music as “gutter pop”.
Chatting with The National, the band’s singer Danny Paylor, who was part of The Stagger Rats, told how it was an idea which first originated in the midst of lockdown.
“We were all in bands a while back. I was on furlough during lockdown so I recorded some tunes and it's spiralled from there", he said.
Since forming, the band have played a few sold-out gigs at venues in Edinburgh and have released their first single – The Look Your Sister Gives Me.
Paylor continued: “We weren’t sure whether it was going to be a studio project or live performances or what but we just went along with it and the rest of the band fit together nicely.
“We’re calling the music ‘gutter pop’. We come from rock bands and the indie scene but these are more melodic tunes with a lot of pop sensibilities.
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“The main inspirations were girl groups along with 90s and 80s pop because we wanted to get the proper big melodies in there.
“Almost like Lana Del Rey songs with that mix of sweet and sour is what we’re aiming at in terms of a vibe so that’s where ‘gutter pop’ came from.
“I think a lot of the most interesting art exists in these weird grey areas where different approaches meet.”
The new single is a ballad about what Paylor describes as “semi-inappropriate crushes”.
“I wanted it to remind the listener about being 17 but be glad that they’re not. In our live performances as well as our music I think we mix the nice and the spicy in a way that’s a little unexpected.
“The idea of writing sugar-sweet pop melodies with sometimes subversive or silly performances is good for catching people offguard.”
Paylor hopes that the EP will be out in August and adds that work is already underway on recording a second one.
“We’re hoping to keep going and keep recording to get some label interest and take it as far as we can.”
Having so many “veterans” of the local music scene as Paylor puts it can only be a good thing – they’ve all been round the block and, although always unpredictable, they have a better idea of the twists and turns the music industry throws at new bands.
“We’re calling ourselves the most ‘experienced new band’ in Scotland”, he explains, laughing.
“We’ve done all the wrong things and know how to do the right ones by process of elimination.”
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