Hard Drive
The Sorry Kisses
| Formats | Tracks | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Download Album (MP3) | 12 tracks | £7.99 | |
| Download Album () | 12 tracks | £7.99 |
Description
The Sorry Kisses - Hard Drive
The Sorry Kisses are a rock band formed in 2006 around the core duo of singer-songwriter Hayley Hutchinson and Sam Forrest of Nine Black Alps. The project was started as an outlet for a handful of songs from Hayley that didn't fit the acoustic style she is usually known for.
And so they spent the next year recording on a laptop computer in a variety of locations from their base in a spare bedroom in York, England to a haunted mansion in the Hollywood Hills, to a surf shack nestled beneath the Pacific Coast Highway in California.
Whilst recording in America, The Sorry Kisses enlisted the help of a number of guest musicians to flesh out their home-made sound. Micah Calabrese, formerly of Giant Drag, plays drums on three tracks, including 'Think Twice' which also features the noise guitar of David Jones of Nine Black Alps. Other instrumentation on 'Hard Drive' comes in the form of de-tuned banjos, backwards double-tracked vocals, cement mixer guitars, the street sounds of Sunset Boulevard and a shambolic drum machine that forms the backbone of these recordings.
However, the focus of 'Hard Drive' falls on a sound that hints towards the melodic urgency of Teenage Fanclub combined with the vocal expressiveness of the Breeders and the breezy harmonies of The Byrds on tracks such as 'Living A Lie'. Whereas songs like 'In Your Car' and 'Running Out' illustrate a driving power and reckless atmosphere that recalls 'Goo' era Sonic Youth and the desert rock of Queens Of The Stone Age.
Please note that each album purchased will be individually handmade by a member of the Sorry Kisses!
And so they spent the next year recording on a laptop computer in a variety of locations from their base in a spare bedroom in York, England to a haunted mansion in the Hollywood Hills, to a surf shack nestled beneath the Pacific Coast Highway in California.
Whilst recording in America, The Sorry Kisses enlisted the help of a number of guest musicians to flesh out their home-made sound. Micah Calabrese, formerly of Giant Drag, plays drums on three tracks, including 'Think Twice' which also features the noise guitar of David Jones of Nine Black Alps. Other instrumentation on 'Hard Drive' comes in the form of de-tuned banjos, backwards double-tracked vocals, cement mixer guitars, the street sounds of Sunset Boulevard and a shambolic drum machine that forms the backbone of these recordings.
However, the focus of 'Hard Drive' falls on a sound that hints towards the melodic urgency of Teenage Fanclub combined with the vocal expressiveness of the Breeders and the breezy harmonies of The Byrds on tracks such as 'Living A Lie'. Whereas songs like 'In Your Car' and 'Running Out' illustrate a driving power and reckless atmosphere that recalls 'Goo' era Sonic Youth and the desert rock of Queens Of The Stone Age.
Please note that each album purchased will be individually handmade by a member of the Sorry Kisses!
Reviews
Manchester Music Online...review by JAALBUM OF THE WEEK
The Sorry Kisses are Hayley Hutchinson and Sam Forrest and at this moment in time they have to be one of Manchester’s best kept secrets. Last year’s “Hard Drive” was an exceptional album and this self produced, self recorded follow up is a fair attempt at going one better. “Um And Ah” is a collection of perfectly formed tunes, each of which appear to be hewn from both the early 4AD and Californian rock movements, tinged with the dreamy, but pure toned vocal talents of Ms Hutchinson. “Ventura Sunset” and “My Friend” begin the album as two, bright shining songs, where the guitars ring out and the melody is underpinned by distant, yet effective harmonies. When the themes become slower, “Abandon Ship” has the added romantic zest of strings and a folkish, reflective flair and throughout the chord changes and song structures seem beyond impeccable and perfectly designed. The wick gets turned up for “Fake” which is a ground out, alternative rock tune with its simple riffs well placed to underpin the tag line. There are countrified jangles as the LP progresses and when Sam Forrest takes to the vocals on “Merry Go Round”, it’s proof enough of a definite change of flavour. Then the glorious off kilter moves of “The Way We Were” supply just another notch on the hit-o-meter, allowing the sanguine slow motion pulse of “Emilie” to almost slips us into a world of pretty shoegaze. “Good Time” is a wonderfully raucous clash of chords and melodics, with more of that peevish guitar tilt and before you know it, the drifting “Step Into The Light” takes us on the closing, candlelit journey.
Whilst there are respective careers for each of the two players that make up The Sorry Kisses, coming up with two mind blowing albums in two years is normally beyond the bounds of most artists, not least those in Manchester. It’s a blissful form that just can’t be ignored.
MMMM ½