“Agadoo’s Got A Killer Baseline”

February 27, 2009 in (TITS) Interviews | Tags: agadoo, battle of the bands, belfast, ben mccauley, creatures, dublin, fleet foxes, hard working class heroes, itunes, kings of leon, lastfm, manic street preachers, march, p.a, queens of the stone age, rory lavelle, save some for me, scott ferguson, sparks fly, start together studio, steve mcbride, stiff kitten, summer, Take In The Scene, tunecore, txtatrack

When your interview is punctuated by Fleet Foxes flowing out of the P.A mid discussion and the (albeit welcome) interruption by the editor of this ‘zine no less, shouting “I need your journalism!”, you do start to wonder - just what do Belfast rockers Sparks Fly make of all this…
 

    “…I‘ll buy you copy as a present and let you listen to it.”

Charming.

Relaxed yet serious about their music - Rory, Scott, Steve, Raimi and the absent (due to injury) Chris have steadily grown as a band since coming together, gaining local fans quickly before seeing success on a larger scale - winning a Battle of the Bands competition, and being called to Dublin last Summer for HWCH.

    “Hard Working Class Heroes was brilliant, we had been going less than a year whenever we got asked to do that so that was a big deal for us. The whole event itself was just phenomenal. We are in Start Together (Studio) with Ben at the minute. We were in two weeks ago, recording our new single ‘Creatures’ which is going to be out on the 30th of March via worldwide digital download - iTunes, Tunecore, TxtaTrack all that, and we have the single launch party on the 25th of March, in the Stiff Kitten.”

Sparks Flys Daily Routine

Sparks Fly's Daily Routine

Certainly, Sparks Fly’s fortune is not hollow. Their distinct, powerful sound manages to be light on the ears rather than heavy - reminiscent of bands like the Manic Street Preachers, echoing their familiar vocals and accessible riffs. Being a fellow Manics fan, Steve took that as a compliment (and I kept my teeth) whilst Rory and Scott took the discussion in a more technical direction.

    “I would agree with that to an extent. There’s a certain chord progression with the Manic Street Preachers - it tends to be E Major to A Minor for any of you buffs - and I like that sort of Major/Minor sound. In the studio recently, everybody was chipping in. We all know exactly what we want to sound like, and because there are three guitars in the band there’s a lot of arranging to be done. A reference I heard the other day actually was Queens Of The Stone Age and I wasn’t really happy about that…”

    “…we’re a bit slower, deliberate and…melodic. All three guitars are doing three completely different things, but they all compliment each other. We have three guitarists…so it is always going to be a big sound.”

With catchy, open lyrics such as “I like the way a song takes you elsewhere…” (from Save Some For Me) complimented by detailed, paced arrangements it is hard not to think of them as major festival material, - not headlining, but in a cult spot with a dedicated fan base. Their music is a reminder of just how much I enjoy that bright style of rock, which isn’t heavy but still has more than enough body behind it to sate your hunger for heavier fare.

As the chat turns towards Kings Of Leon, LastFM profiles and thoughtful insights into the merits of Agadoo, the last words must go to bassist Steve.

    “…we have a particularly attractive bass player.”