27
STILL HOLDING ON
By: John Gnesin
As the band prepares new material to record their 3rd full-length album, Relapse is proud to reissue 27’s 2nd album, Holding on For Brighter Days; as well as release A Million Years, a limited 7” featuring two songs from that album. Previously issued in the UK by Kimchee Records, the reissue will include one different song, new artwork and a multimedia portion with two new videos. As it has been a good six years since this label and band have last collaborated (on 2001’s Songs From the Edge of the Wing), we figured it would be as good a time as any to chat with guitarist Ayal Naor and singer/guitarist Maria Christopher.
27 and underground metal/hardcore labels have certainly made strange bed-fellows, as along with the now three releases through Relapse/Release, the group has also issued material on Hydrahead and Escape Artist Records - none of which are particularly known for dealing with the soft-focused though occasionally hard-hitting, dreamy indie rock the band specializes in. “Obviously all of those labels do lean toward the heavier end of the spectrum, but also they’re all pretty eclectic,” Ayal explains. “We’ve been honored that so many great labels have been interested in working with us, and so we’ve always tried to find a cool and unique project we could do with each one. We’ve tried to make every release special in it’s own way.”
What makes the release of Holding on For Brighter Days special starts with the development of the group’s sound over the course of their short but busy existence. Whereas in the early days, the band’s sound could be described as sparse, delicate, even fragile at times; 27 has continuously enriched their sound to a point of maximum saturation, a testament to their increasing experience as individual musicians and collectively as a band. “There is the natural tendency for us to want to do things slightly differently than the previous record,” states Maria Christopher, “and to not want to write the same song or record over and over again.”
“The level of technology available to us has also improved dramatically.” adds Naor. “Primarily I’m talking about software, though over time we have acquired new amps, guitars, and other instruments. We really enjoy using new programs, playing weird instruments, etc.”
This will-to-experiment and not remain stagnant fuels the fire behind the songs on Holding on For Brighter Days. The beats are stronger, the guitars are louder and while still retaining its sensual charm, Maria’s voice has become more assertive and powerful in the mix. While both Maria and Ayal deftly dodge my question about 27’s place in the ranks of great make-out music (Maria: “Luckily we haven’t actually witnessed it”, Ayal: “The less we know the better”); the band does acknowledge some stylistic comparisons to other much more mainstream acts of similar leanings, such as GARBAGE and PORTISHEAD. I’m wondering if the majors have ever come knocking on 27’s collective doors.
“Ultimately, for us the personal experience is the most important thing in working with a label.” Naor reveals, “If we could feel comfortable that working with a major would be a pleasant experience, we’d certainly consider doing it. However in the current climate of the music industry, I think those types of positive situations are getting fewer and further between.”
A major contributor on one song is bassist Cliff Meyer of ISIS, who appears returning the favor from when Maria and Ayal guest-ed on that band’s critically acclaimed Oceanic album. “He came up with the basis for ‘1001 Gods’ and we just layered a bunch of stuff on top of what he did.” Naor explains.
So is an ISIS/27 big band in the works?
“It’s funny, when we toured with ISIS we had such a blast, and we did all joke about having one giant ISIS/27 band. That would be insanely fun!” Christopher gushes. “We love those guys!”
“Maria and I were both very honored to be asked to contribute tracks to Oceanic,” Ayal adds, “and when we toured with them, Maria and I would play ‘The Weight’ with them every night. After that tour Jeff and Aaron (Turner) contributed tracks to our record, and the following short tour we did with them they each played a song with us every night. For almost all of those shows, between both bands gear I don’t think we could’ve gotten any more people on stage at once!”
Speaking of the stage, I was disheartened to note that at the time of this interview, the group’s website (www.27.vg) did not include any tour dates. Ayal assured me that I wouldn’t be waiting too long to see this great band on the road again and the group has plenty more up their sleeves:
“We’d definitely like to tour to support Holding on For Brighter Days, and it’s always fun for us to see our friends from all over. At the moment we’re focusing on finishing up the art and mastering for the Relapse release, but we’ve also got a lot of ideas that we’re anxious to get to work on, including recording a cover album, which we’ve already started. The first completed track is ‘Crazy’ by GNARLES BARKLEY, and there are several more in the works.”
The GNARLES BARKLEY cover can be heard on the group’s MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/twenty27seven
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