Eric Bachmann- vocals, guitar
Matt Gentling- bass
Eric Johnson- guitar
Mark Price- drums
Life has been good to Chapel Hill, North
Carolina's Archers of Loaf. In the five years and four full lengths that the
band has been in existence, the fellas have managed to record some dazzling
music, travel the world with other similarly gifted musicians and have a helluva
lot of fun. Besides enjoying themselves, the band has garnered the kind of widespread
critical acclaim usually reserved for artists with a longer track record. They
have become one of the most critically acclaimed indie rock bands of the 90's
. The Archers have set themselves apart from the masses musically by displaying
a distinctive style in their songwriting; they maintain their unmistakable sound
while continually exploring new territory, especially with their last release
"White Trash Heroes". With this release the band has clearly succeeded in keeping
their listeners off guard and expanding on their sound with a whole new sophistication.
Here's a brief chronological history of each release and some comments about
various records from the main songwriter Eric Bachmann, for those who want more
detail and those who may not know about this amazing band...
The first record: "Icky Mettle". College radio,
the public and the press ate the album up. "Icky Mettle" set the standard for
indie rock from 1993 on. The release was tagged as "The Best Indie Rock Album
of the Year" by Interview and "a near perfect guitar rock album" by Spin. The
first single "Web In Front" gained measurable play on the early Alternative
radio format and College Radio. CMJ (A College Radio magazine) had the record
on the charts for 22 weeks. The band starts the constant touring (over 200 dates
a year) that doesn't end for a quite a long time and that they become well known
for...
The EP: "Archers of Loaf vs. the Greatest of All Time" or "G.O.A.T" for short,
merited the band even more College radio play and much admiration. For some
this EP is the greatest Archers release of all time - it's one of Eric Bachmann's
favorite. It's definitely the shortest and best concept album ever released.
The Archers head out across the U.S. and Europe for another year; an appearance
at England's Reading Festival helps to build the profile of the band considerably.
With that, the guys went back in the studio.
The Sophomore release: "Vee Vee" A week long
stop at Steve Albini's studio in Chicago to record with Bob Weston, is where
the stage is set for recording their biggest record yet. "Vee Vee" goes Top
5 on the College Radio charts. The critics catch "Archers fever" with reviews,
features, previews, live reviews, and MTV interviews. Details Magazine noted:
"The Archers combine cheerfully dazed guitars with those sulky vocals for an
irresistible pop effect..." and Pulse! called their music "enriched, unbleached
pop". On "Vee Vee" the song content is suggestive, with a certain element of
mystery. Eric Bachmann explains: "I don't like to hit people over the head with
stuff; that's not as interesting. If I have something I want to write about,
I almost avoid doing it so the song can mean many different things. Each time
you listen to it you can get something else out of it." With the touring reaching
a record level, the band heads out on National support slots with the Flaming
Lips and Weezer before heading back over to Europe and back to yet another headlining
US tour.
The "there's too many great songs on 7"s and
various Comps that need to be collected" record: "The Speed of Cattle" A Collection
of B-sides, 7" singles, alternate versions, extra tracks, live moments and John
Peel sessions from '94. Somehow, this "collection" record sounded like it was
always supposed to be an album. Cohesive, brilliant. Like the band had a secret
plot to release the record one single at a time. "The Speed of Cattle" hit #2
on the CMJ charts and held in the Top 50 for over two months. Spin observed
that the album is "a picture of the Archer's at their trashiest." Precisely.
Third time's another charm: "All the Nations
Airports" - For this record the band chose to add a more textured, hard edged
tone to their songs - as well as a more eccentric sound overall. They chose
to work with a new Producer, Brian Paulson (Superchunk, Son Volt, Dinosaur Jr.,
Jayhawks, Wilco) for "All the Nations Airports" a record that practically implodes
with washes of guitars and complex layers. The Archers also included some of
their quietest songs to date with the poignant "Chumming the Oceans" and the
murky, dreamy lament "Form and File". The development of the band was obvious
to fans and critics with "All the Nations Airports". Musician said of "Airports"
- "The guitars of Eric Johnson and Eric Bachmann tryst at dissonant intervals,
their riffs entering songs like a drunk entering the freeway". Spin noted "The
Archers are champions of the day after R.E.M. and Sonic Youth's tomorrow...they
play folk-noise punk that's a relief from the secondhand doom, tissue paper
sexiness, and wooden rage all around them." A great band was growing and changing
within their own sound. An amazing band was getting even better.
The Live EP: "Vitus Tinnitus" 10" only Live
recordings of your favorite songs as performed by one of the greatest live bands
on the planet today. It was recorded live at Middle East Cafe in Boston, MA
on October 20, 1996. This out take from the hardest working band today includes
"Harnessed in Slums", "Greatest of All Time", "Form and File", "Nostalgia",
"Audio Whore", "Underdogs of Nipomo", as well as re-mixes of "Vocal Shrapnel",
and "Scenic Pastures".
"White Trash Heroes" - The band chose Ardent
Studios (Memphis, TN) and Sound of Music (Richmond, VA) to record album number
four, "White Trash Heroes". They again wanted to work with Brian Paulson with
additional mixing by Mitch Easter. The Archer's added new textures to their
sound including synth keyboards, vocoder and varied samples. "We allowed for
more sonic space in the songs, while in the past we'd cram all kinds of noise
into any spaces, " explains Eric Bachmann. Eric B's voice also explores new
terrain and at times you may think that it's someone else singing. Eric explained
"My vocals have changed quite a bit because I don't scream like I used to. You
change the way you go about doing things in order to keep yourself interested."
Once again the Archers had grown and changed for the better.
"White Trash Heroes" documents the fearless
germination and introspective exploration we've come to expect from this band
without losing their penchant for strange amalgams of styles. There are such
diverse tracks as the guitar driven, hooky "Fashion Bleeds, " the quietly haunting
"Dead Red Eyes" and the distortion laden impending doom of "One Slight Wrong
Move" (inspired by the idea of total armageddon and robots taking over the world,"
according to Bachmann). "Slick Tricks and Bright Lights" is notable for its
restraint and poignant vocals, where Eric sings: "Can't call for help when nobody's
at home/Had a premonition, and icy cold superstiton...I don't understand how
you got the upper hand on me." "White Trash Heroes" takes a turn with the instrumental
"Smokers in Love" which Bachmann says was inspired by a story about "young people
in Rome smoking and making out on the grass." It's a surreal, bizarre image.
The disc closes with the title track, which invokes images of corn mash whiskey,
state fairs and video arcades. Unique songs are diced up by a caustic wit and
blasting sessions that peel away at indie rock's cocoon and blossom into a totally
new genera. It's 13 new songs that are totally new yet completely Archers of
Loaf. Enjoy and explore for yourself. And Finally: The Name, The Sound: Archers
of What???? Why are they called the Archers of Loaf? Well they didn't want to
discuss their band name in every interview so they made up the most non-sense
name they could. Of course it's the first question on every interviewer's list.
The Archers credit their Southern upbringing for their distinctive sound. "In
terms of being from North Carolina as part of the bigger picture--being from
the South and taking life a little slower that everybody else--I'm really proud
to be from here, " Bachmann says. "It affects the way we write music and do
everything else, even it it's watered down...it's not as rustic as the old South.
It's newer, but elements [of Southern culture] do survive that have to do with
the way you think about things. North Carolina seems to hold a little more of
the good than the bad in terms of the old gentleman, Andy Griffith-type character."
Well just like the four friends who got together to do what they love, you never
know what's going to happen. And now five years later they are still doing what
they always wanted to as Eric so tactfully puts it, "I think I want to do this
for as long as it's fun."
Very collectible Limited Edition Screen PrintAOL
poster From Spaceland show in Los Angeles California,
1996.
$16.00
In a band? Check out Band Special.com
Seconds
Before The Accident
1. Dead Red
Eyes
2. Fabricoh
3. Vocal Shrapnel
4. Web In Front
5. Let The Loser Melt
6. Strangled By The Stereo...
7. Fashion Bleeds
8. You And Me
9. Might
10. Revenge
11. South Carolina
12. Lowest Part Is Free
13. Plumbline
14. Wrong
15. White Trash Heroes
16. Chumming The Oceans
1. Fashion
Bleeds
2. Dead Red
Eyes
3. I.N.S
4. Perfect Time
5. Slick Tricks and Bright Lights
6. One Slight Wrong Move
7. Banging On A Dead Drum
8. Smokers In Love
9. After The Last Laugh
10. White Trash Heroes
1. Strangled By
The Stereo...
2. All The
Nations Airports
3. Scenic
Pastures
4. Worst Defense
5. Attack Of The Killer Bees
6. Rental Sting
7. AssAss I Nation On X-Mas...
8. Chumming The Ocean
9. Vocal Shrapnel
10. Bones Of Her Hands
11. Bumpo
12. Form And File
13. Acromegaly
14. Distance Comes In...
1. Wrong
2. South Carolina
3. Web In Front
4. Bathroom
5. Tatyana
6. What Did You Expect?
7. Ethel Merman
8. Funnelhead
9. Quinn Beast
10. Telepathic Traffic
11. Don't Belive In The Good...
12. Smokin' Pot In The City
13. Mutes In The Steeple
14. Revenge
15. Bacteria
16. Freezing Point
17. Powerwalker
18. Backwash
1. Web in Front
2. Last Word
3. Wrong
4. You and Me
5. Might
6. Hate Pasle
7. Fat
8. Plumb Line
9. Learo, You're a Hole
10. Sickfile
11. Toast
12. Backwash
13. Slowworm
1. Step Into The
Light
2. Harnessed
in Slums
3. Nevermind
the Enemy
4. Greatest of All Time
5. Underdogs of Nipomo
6. Floating Freinds
7. 1985
8. Fabricoh
9. Nostalgia
10. Let the Loser Melt
11. Death in the Park
12. The Worst has yet to Come
13. Underachievers March
14. And Fight Song