Canterbury Emo/Pop Punk revivalist Moose Blood have a simple concept; “songs about girls, coffee, knitwear and pop culture references” because that is what exactly their début EP, ‘Moving Home’ is about.
In there short time together, the quartet have played alongside Sharks and Apologies, I Have None and have received praise from the likes of BBC Radio One Rock Show host Daniel P Carter and Funeral For A Friend’s Matthew Kreye-Davies, and rightly so they should. Moose Blood’s sound is influenced by turn of the century Emo and Pop Punk with jangly guitars, duel harmonies and a subtly summery tone that instantly win you over. To put it bluntly ‘Moving Home’ is an EP that demands to be heard on repeat again and again.
With all this praise and hype surrounding Moose Blood, Already Heard thought it’d be ideal to find more out about the band. Drummer Glenn Harvey spoke to us to tell us how the band came together, dealing with the pressure from any expectations they already have, their future plans and more.
Already Heard: Hi Glenn. How are you today?
Moose Blood: I’m good, thanks!
AH: I understand Moose Blood is a fairly new band. Can you tell us how you got together?
MB: Eddy (Brewerton – vocalist/guitarist) wrote a few of the songs from our EP a while ago before we were a band. I think he just picked out who he wanted to be in the band and asked us all if we were up for it. We had our first practice over the Summer and things got going a little while after that.
AH: Am I right some of you used to be in another band together?
MB: Mark (Osborne – guitarist) and I were in a hardcore band called Take Courage, Mark and Eddy are currently both in Harbours too. Sam (Bradford – Bass) and I have been in a couple of bands together before. In Kent, pretty much everyone has been in a band with everyone.
<a href=“http://mooseblood.bandcamp.com/album/moving-home” data-mce-href=“http://mooseblood.bandcamp.com/album/moving-home”>Moving Home by Moose Blood</a>
AH: In January you’re releasing an EP called ‘Moving Home’ which has been described as “songs about girls, coffee, knitwear and pop culture references.” Care to expand on that?
MB: I’m the only non-coffee drinker in the band, the other guys LOVE their flat whites. I’m yet to be converted. The knitwear thing was kind of an in-joke early on and at some point I think it got carried away, I’m fine with it though. If Weezer can have a sweater song, then so can we. As for the pop-culture references in our lyrics, I love them. Come to any show we play and talk to us about movies, books or music, we’ll be there all night. Write about what you know, I guess.
AH: The track ‘Bukowski’ has already received a lot of attention. Why do you think people have responded so well to that track?
MB: ‘Bukowski’ was the first demo that Eddy sent me when he asked if I wanted to be in the band. It’s really catchy and he mentions some of my favourite bands in the lyrics so I was instantly hooked. Maybe that’s the same reason other people got into it so quickly, I’m not really sure.
AH: From hearing ‘Moving Home’ your sound has a circa 2000 Emo/Pop Punk feel to it. How would you describe Moose Blood’s sound and would you compare it to any bands, past or present?
MB: There’s always someone who disagrees or hears something completely different when you try to compare 2 different sounds but some bands we all love are: Tigers Jaw, Death Cab For Cutie, Brand New and American Football. We each listen to a ton of different stuff which helps when we’re writing songs. The best thing I’ve seen someone say about us is that we sound like Title Fight playing Death Cab songs really nicely. I’ll take that.
AH: You recently played a show with Sharks and Apologies I Have None. How did that go?
MB: That was our first London show, it was cool! A few people came out early specifically to see us which was really nice.
AH: With tracks like ‘Bukowski’ and ‘Evening Coffee’ receiving plenty of praise and playing shows with high-profile bands. Does the “hype” add expectations for the EP to succeed?
MB: That word has such terrible connotations. Our first show was around 2 months ago and we’ve been lucky enough to play some cool shows since then. I think we’ve all been equally surprised/stoked with every good opportunity that’s come our way, considering up until now we’ve really only had one song available online. Releasing this EP does in a way feel like our first real chance to prove ourselves I guess. I’m excited to see what people think of it.
AH: Besides the EP release, what else do Moose Blood have planned for the coming months?
MB: Things are still being arranged at the moment. Hopefully in the first few months of 2013 we’ll be getting out and playing shows across the UK, we’d love to make it over to Europe at some point too.
AH: Do you have any final words for the Already Heard readers?
MB: Emo is a gang.
‘Moving Home’ EP by Moose Blood is expected to be released on 7" in early February through Fist in the Air and Day By Day Records and on cassette through Guys With Beards Records.
Moose Blood links: Facebook|Twitter|Tumblr|Bandcamp
Words by Sean Reid (@SReidPortfolio)