SPYGENIUS

‘Spygenius’s music is somehow familiar yet at the same time hard to place exactly – kind of like meeting a cousin you never knew you had.  So who is this guy?  Well on the one hand, he looks a lot like your groovy grandparents: all those 60s ‘B’ bands – Beatles, Byrds, Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield.  On the other, he seems right at home with all those intelligent college-radio popsters of a later generation – guys like XTC, the Smiths, Robyn Hitchcock, REM.  But then again, he’s clearly travelled the world – souvenirs from surf and psych, folk and exotica, lounge and blues, rock and even roll are pinned, fairly tastefully, on his sleeves.

And on his travels he’s really learned his craft: memorable melodies, heavenly harmonies, gorgeous guitars, perfect percussion, bitchin’ bass and, erm, kinky(?) keyboards abound.  One thing you can say, though – this guy is definitely English.  And he’s definitely quirky.  Sometimes he’s really happy, and funny too.  But then sometimes he’s just as sad.  And sometimes he just doesn’t make any sense at all!  So he’s a little bit intense, maybe – but interesting and definitely worth taking the trouble to get to know.

Back in the land of facts, Spygenius is a four piece pop-combo based in Canterbury in the UK, and their main songwriter is Peter Watts.  Not the guy from Mott the Hoople, a different Peter Watts. Their debut album ‘Songs from the Devil’s Typist’ was released in 2008 and the Powerpopaholic people loved it, giving it 9 out of 10 [www.powerpopaholic.com/2009/07/spygenius-songs-from-devils-typist.html].  This was followed up by ‘Red Lounge’ in 2010 which the guys at Not Lame described as “hypnotic, intoxicating and wonderfully disconnected … Very Highly Recommended”.  They also said that “Spygenius come from a committed creative space few artists have the disposition, balls and gumption to explore”, which was very sweet of them. [www.notlame.com/APRIL_-_New_Releases/SPYGENIUS/Page_6/CDSPYGENIUS2.html]

The track included here – ‘Giving Way to Trains’ is taken from Spygenius’s recently released third album ‘The Comforting Suture’. All three albums are available through CD Baby and i-tunes.  To keep up to date with the latest goings on in Spygeniusland, follow these links [www.spygenius.co.uk or www.facebook.com/spygeniusband].’

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DOWNLOAD – “Giving Way To Trains” – HERE

“Girl Who’s Everywhere”