It is no secret we love the band Lilys, so we generally sit up and take notice when we get an email from a band that leads off with something like "we love Lilys." Which is basically what Richmond, VA-based shoegaze/psych-pop quintet Lubec did, and so here we are today to share with you their excellent de facto single "Gang Knife Battles." We like to feature new and upcoming bands at :: clicky clicky ::, but we think Lubec may be one of the newest, as it hasn't yet released anything. But they will apparently issue sometime this year a self-titled EP that was recently recorded with John Morand (Sparklehorse, September 67, Labradford) at Sound Of Music in Richmond. What else do we know? Certain of the members of Lubec used to be in the defunct act Tallest Highest. That's about it. As we really feel like this band is on to something, we touched base with Lubec's guitarist/singer Eddie Charlton and drummer/singer Brandon Martin to get a read on Lubec, its native Richmond and its practice space.
CC: Why did you choose/why do you use this space?
EC: Basically, [because] Christians are nice folk. In Williamsburg (where we practice), spaces are next to impossible to find. Eddie had a connection through a previous band to the Baptist Student’s Union (a seven-degrees-of-separation-type deal). Kids live there and everything, but they’ve been oh-so generous in letting us use their large common room with the PA system.
CC: Explain how an idiosyncracy or quirk of this space or a former practice space has affected a song (or even your overall sound).
EC: We don’t say fuck in our songs anymore because we’re afraid of being baptized.
CC: You walk into your space. What's the first thing you smell? Why?
EC: The place smells like an office... because it kind of is. I mean, we miss the beer/piss/vomit/gasoline smell of typical practice spaces, but Christians have a cleaning service, and it ain’t bad.
CC: We were surprised to learn about Lubec, particularly that you embrace the shoegaze sounds of one of our favorite bands (Lilys). Without making any enemies, can you give us an overview of the indie rock scene in Richmond right now (ahhh, what the hell, make an enemy or two)? The only thing we know about the scene is Avail and Carbon Leaf, so we've always assumed that all bands in Richmond sound like Avail or Carbon Leaf. Are there a lot of bands into the shoegaze thing and heavy guitar pop sounds, or is Lubec more the exception than the rule?
EC: Ah... you overlooked possibly Richmond's greatest musical export: GWAR. Plus, don't forget Lamb of God! But seriously, Richmond is a strange town, musically speaking. Hardcore music is huge, and there are lots of small venues that cater to that scene. But Richmond does have some great guitar pop bands. There is a band out of Richmond called Cinemasophia that we are friendly with that has a bona fide shoegaze/math rock thing going on. Prabir and The Substitutes seem to dig that sound as well, we’d like to play with them. Richmond's indie rock problem is an overall lack of cohesion. There is almost too much diversity. The bands that share certain sonic similarities just don't stick together. To be honest, we’re considering moving to another city sometime in the summer.
CC: What do the next six months look like for Lubec?
EC: We have finally gotten everything together to record a full-length album this spring in our own studio (oh no...). We really just want to play as many shows in the area as possible and hopefully organize an East Coast tour in May/June. We're writing a lot of new songs, and we're all just really excited to be playing with each other. We're just having a blast working out group harmonies and screwing with all the cool sounds. It's nice to have it all finally come together!
Lubec --
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[EP forthcoming]
Lubec:
Previous Show Us Yours episodes:
Shapes And Sizes | Dirty On Purpose | Relay | Mobius Band | Frightened Rabbit | Assembly Now | Meneguar | Okay Paddy | Charmparticles | Calories | Sun Airway | It Hugs Back
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