Formed in the early part of 05, Van She is a band from Sydney fresh on ideas, fresher than Flavor Flav, fresh like coriander, fresher than the Fresh Prince.
Unashamedly taking bits and bobs from 80’s post punk, funk and synth pop, 90’s grunge, French house, film scores, 70’s Krautrock and the latest collection of innovative artists like Tom Vek and M83, Van She are that unique beast that one was beginning to believe no longer existed – a band that takes all these influences from days gone but makes them sound unique, modern, and…. fresh. A lazy pastiche this isn’t.
Van She are Nick Routledge [vocals, guitar], Matt Van Schie [bass], Michael Di Francesco [synths] and Tomek Archer [drums]. Since they hooked up in early ’05, they have been playing out and about around Sydney, headlining their own shows and supporting the likes of The Presets, Gerling, Wolf & Cub, Expatriate, Faker and Norwegian pop princess Annie.
V, their debut album, is a boldly adventurous, thrillingly modern trip into the barren landscapes of moonrock, thoroughly danceable guitar pop, and even brushing on (gasp!) prog rock. It’s the sound of a band taking what they’ve done before and pushing it off the edge, of a band that’s leaping at the stars and been caught mid-leap, an act that’s made a record with everything and nothing to do with any notions of trends or currency. Above all, V is, on the surface, simply fun, catchy pop songs, while below, the album is full of secrets, signs and symbols. Sticking two fingers up at the detractors and aiming to set the imaginations of fans alight, Van She have crafted the record no one expected them to make but everyone’s been waiting for.
V is a record for which the seeds were sown some time ago, following the release of the Van She EP in 2005. That EP spawned a couple of minor hits in the shape of Kelly and Sex City, saw release in not only Australia, but the UK and US, led to the band touring all three territories extensively and saw them develop the Van She Tech remix and production side of the band. 2005 and 2006 saw the band on the kind of touring schedule that’s to be expected of a hotly tipped new band in Australia, and writing new material was confined to small bouts here and there in between remixes, national and international tours, and the barely retained day jobs. In short, it wasn’t working.
Come 2007 and it was time to get serious about pulling together this debut album, and the band packed up their Surry Hills studio and relocated it and themselves to a small farm house a couple of hours south of Sydney in Berry. Two weeks were spent short circuiting the old country properties power, pretending to be sponges and almost losing their mind on acid, teasing their blue haired engineer, haunting the whole of kangaroo valley with their late-night jamming and actually writing a bulk of the songs that were to make up V.
Now comes their time to shine with this breakthrough debut LP that will be revered by one and all. Unashamedly wearing their influences of French pop and shoegazer on their sleeves, Van She's music is oh-so-sexy future vintage at it’s best.
Unashamedly taking bits and bobs from 80’s post punk, funk and synth pop, 90’s grunge, French house, film scores, 70’s Krautrock and the latest collection of innovative artists like Tom Vek and M83, Van She are that unique beast that one was beginning to believe no longer existed – a band that takes all these influences from days gone but makes them sound unique, modern, and…. fresh. A lazy pastiche this isn’t.
Van She are Nick Routledge [vocals, guitar], Matt Van Schie [bass], Michael Di Francesco [synths] and Tomek Archer [drums]. Since they hooked up in early ’05, they have been playing out and about around Sydney, headlining their own shows and supporting the likes of The Presets, Gerling, Wolf & Cub, Expatriate, Faker and Norwegian pop princess Annie.
V, their debut album, is a boldly adventurous, thrillingly modern trip into the barren landscapes of moonrock, thoroughly danceable guitar pop, and even brushing on (gasp!) prog rock. It’s the sound of a band taking what they’ve done before and pushing it off the edge, of a band that’s leaping at the stars and been caught mid-leap, an act that’s made a record with everything and nothing to do with any notions of trends or currency. Above all, V is, on the surface, simply fun, catchy pop songs, while below, the album is full of secrets, signs and symbols. Sticking two fingers up at the detractors and aiming to set the imaginations of fans alight, Van She have crafted the record no one expected them to make but everyone’s been waiting for.
V is a record for which the seeds were sown some time ago, following the release of the Van She EP in 2005. That EP spawned a couple of minor hits in the shape of Kelly and Sex City, saw release in not only Australia, but the UK and US, led to the band touring all three territories extensively and saw them develop the Van She Tech remix and production side of the band. 2005 and 2006 saw the band on the kind of touring schedule that’s to be expected of a hotly tipped new band in Australia, and writing new material was confined to small bouts here and there in between remixes, national and international tours, and the barely retained day jobs. In short, it wasn’t working.
Come 2007 and it was time to get serious about pulling together this debut album, and the band packed up their Surry Hills studio and relocated it and themselves to a small farm house a couple of hours south of Sydney in Berry. Two weeks were spent short circuiting the old country properties power, pretending to be sponges and almost losing their mind on acid, teasing their blue haired engineer, haunting the whole of kangaroo valley with their late-night jamming and actually writing a bulk of the songs that were to make up V.
Now comes their time to shine with this breakthrough debut LP that will be revered by one and all. Unashamedly wearing their influences of French pop and shoegazer on their sleeves, Van She's music is oh-so-sexy future vintage at it’s best.
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