Neu Blaenavon: ‘We Recently Learnt About Metaphors In An English Lesson’

are cheeky little gits, but it’s all part of their charm. Some our our questions were purposefully answered tongue-in-cheek, no doubt about it, but wouldn’t you have done the same if you were three boys who couldn’t even legally drink yet? That’s right: not a single one of these guys is even 18-years-old, and yet they’re already making thoroughly engaging music years beyond their collective years.

Their songs carry the same, immediate guitar elements that bands like Hey Sholay and Theme Park have more recently adapted, but this Hampshire trio bring a far more muscular approach to the alt-pop genre. Their music is riddled with complexity and an incredible sense of melody; it’s increasingly hard not to picture this bunch getting the festival crowds moving this year when you listen to a tracks as accomplished as ‘Into The Night’ and ‘Denim Patches’.

Both of which, as it were, make up their debut 7’ record which is available now on paradYse Records. You won’t need to be convinced to purchase after you read about how their early songs were ‘mainly about the girls in the year above,’ and how their Mum is ‘so into [their] stage aesthetic.’

How did you guys get together?

Bassmaster general, Frank, joined up after he was mentioned by a certain Mr. Slavinski (who was a piano teacher by day) and his boyish charm won our hearts. We played a gig in front of a thousand school children and decided to stick.

Is making music together everything you thought it would be?

We were just planning on playing some rusty songs in the beginning; none of us knew we’d be blogosphere material by the end of the term so that was a tasty surprise. Otherwise, our squire and manger Koso told us what to expect over a soft drink one afternoon so we were well informed.

Do your Mums think you’re rock stars yet?
Yeah, our Mum is thoroughly into our stage aesthetics – she put all our clothes in with the whitewash because she heard psychedelic colours were in.



Speaking of parents, what sort of music did you guys grow up with and has any of it influenced Blaenavon’s sound today?
Our Dad played us all lots of corny soundtracks when we were kids and had one Proclaimers record that he put on sometimes but it didn’t really make a difference to our sound.
 


You can’t imagine how refreshing it is to hear such a great band come out of Hampshire. Who else would you recommend from the area?
We’ve played the odd garden party and our single launch with Radiation Frühstück, who know how to get the crowd off a metal bar. If you can handle your scuzz, then underneath lies a bluesy gem. There is a lot of pop punk in Hants if you’re into that kind of scene.


What sort of things did you find yourself wanting to write about in the beginning and how has that changed over time?
Our unreleased early songs were mainly about girls in the year above and that hasn’t changed much. We recently learnt about metaphors in an English lesson and now use them to write about anything from rust to dust. There hasn’t really been much time so we’ll see.
 


If you could support any artist or band, past or present, who would it be and why?
Right now we’re content with our boys Radiation Frühstück – they have a present sound and timeless attire.

What are you most excited about this year?
This year, going to Tim and Toby’s house for the summer holidays or perhaps going to Wales with our producer to soak up some valley air. There are also a few kitchen giveaways we’re looking forward to.


Have you got any crazy tour/show stories yet?
Not particularly, things stay pretty mellow until ‘Magic Sticky Hand’ gets an outing and people start bouncing up and down. Apparently there was nearly a crowd dive at our latest show but the song had already ended. 
 


When can we expect new music from you guys?
Hopefully we will release some Summer anthems to follow this single.