Confused?… You should be.

The Abstracts, cool name for a band eh? Yeah… I found at least 4 on my travels. A covers, party band from Cirencester, a 60’s Mersey cabaret band and even another from Pakistan featuring Mohammed Yousuf, (still not sure whether that’s the cricketer or not!) and then this typically evasive lot… Hailing from seemingly everywhere, York, Cambridge and Manchester et al, these particular Abstractions are actually a cracking little four-piece, (yeah I know… he’s probably the one taking the picture), that you may just want to hear more of, if you can find them.

The band list the entire indie-punk-brit-pop back catalogue as their influences, however I deduce there’s more at play here. A bit of surface scratching, reveals. Guitarist singer- songwriter Felix, on his myspace page stating;

“ I guess I don’t even know who I really am, but I will keep on searching. Maybe one day I will have a slight idea, but in the meantime just give me a moment of your attention and have a listen to my songs”

… and that is as clearer an insight into the mind of the Abstracts as I can ascertain. All four members seem to have side projects too, with fingers in Folk and Rock bands. Possibly not a bad thing, to keep your influences wide and varied… also makes it tricky to pigeonhole or compare these guys to anyone else.

They released their debut EP, Calling Out For Strangers, in January… and as always with one finger firmly off the pulse, we picked it up four months later… no matter, better late than never with this one. Four songs, including, Mr M’s Clearer Skies, (kindly donated to the TNL radio, up top on the left if you fancy a listen!) … a cracking little melancholy trip, all Heartbeat / Virginia Plain staccato lyrics with a jangly pop guitar hook that I’ve honestly been struggling to get out my head. Other songs are The Scouse Guy, and a folky/protesty number, Great Grandma Britannia. Final song is Stop in the name of Love, listed as a Yoyo’s cover… and there they leave us in typically Abstract fashion, so to speak, cos it’s not even the Yoyo’s you’re thinking about, oh no… it’s a completely different Yoyo’s… a Manchester band from the late 70’s, (that sound brilliant by the way!)… so thanks for that one as well fella’s.

Couple of Northern gigs comin’ up you might be interested in;
24th of June and 18th of July at Lions Bar on Market Street, Stalybridge, Cheshire.

Here’s the original, Yoyo’ Stop in the name of love… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uksuXHBW-8

And you’ll find more Abstracts stuff here; http://www.myspace.com/theabstractsuk

By Dave on June 7, 2010