Purplene
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About Purplene from
Purplene Licenced in Australia/NZ by Big Dipper/Spunk
Matt Blackman - Guitar Left/Singing
Dave Ledlin - Guitar Right/Bass Guitar on 2/Keys/Singing on 6 and 8
Adam Jesson - Bass Guitar/Guitar Right on 2/Singing on 8
Matt Rossetti - Drums/Guitar Right & Singing on 8
(Spunk Records biography)
PURPLENE have attitude. Well, maybe not to the extremities of say Kathleen Hanna, Sleater-Kinney or Fugazi. But after one listen to their new self-titled release you can feel a real sense of opinion in their songs. Take, for example, the powerful first lines of track 1, Love: Western. 'Background checks on best friends / Surveillance, nose-high from rooftops.' Then check out Cahoots = 1, the record's grandiose central masterpiece, where they spit, 'They're harbouring something or someone / But I'm watching out for number one.'
And what's all this opinion about Each of the eight PURPLENE songs are abstract, clever and insightful snapshots peering into the frailty of the human condition, yet the band don't give too much away. Can you trust your best friends and those who ask of your respect Where does honesty and goodwill end, and politics start Make up your own mind!
Thematic issues aside, Steve Albini has not only a similar challenging ethic as the PURPLENE boys - an issue of 'Maximum Rock & Roll' quoted him as saying, 'Signing to a major label is like putting a gun to your head' - but he's also one of the most uncompromising musicians in the world. He was once the force behind Big Black, and since the 1990s he's been steering the ship of abrasive indie legends Shellac.
As an engineer (don't call him a 'producer', leave that title for lame Hollywood films), his CV is impeccable. The media likes to namedrop his work with all the well-known artists like Nirvana, Page & Plant and The Breeders, but his no-nonsense work with bands like Labradford, Palace, the Jesus Lizard and Low were the main reasons PURPLENE wanted to work with him. Of course, they also have an aching soft spot for 'In Utero'.
But remove any well-known producer or engineer from the equation and a record doesn't stand up without the songs. And this record really does have the songs. Swords Down, featured regularly on FBI, JJJ & RRR, is as close to a perfect PURPLENE four-minute pop song as you can get. Second Shift is angular in its guitar work and beautifully epic in its mood. Tracks like The Battler and Watch The Watch are also standouts - leaping into unchartered waters that are so calm and narcoleptic, no Australian band has ever dared to tread there.
The band are doing a full national tour in JUNE 2004 which will include shows in all capital cities as well as Canberra, Newcastle, Margaret River and Byron Bay. The tour is presented by JJJ's Home & Hosed, and the full dates will be available shortly. PURPLENE are featured in the June issue of 'Rolling Stone' and have upcoming stories in street press and daily newspapers.
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PS get happy. Its not hard
what a crap tryhard sound .... Boring or what!