By Henry Lipput
The new single
from London’s Candy’s Room is “Electrocute” (Bandcamp), a full-bodied,
soul-flavored .banger.
It’s a song
about a guy at a club, way over his head, who thinks he’s going to be able to
hook up with a girl on the dance floor. In his words she’s a diamond in the
rough and something of a "beaut" but she’s -- in addition to being way out of his league -- the living embodiment of the third rail
and may very well electrocute him – something he thinks would be a good thing.
“Electrocute” builds on the sounds of the band’s 2023 release Street Punk Gospel Choir especially the amazing closing track “Hither Green.” Candy’s Room is at its core a four-piece but they create their big sound with the help of a team of like-minded musicians. Next year’s album, Judge A Moth By Its Flame is produced by the wonderful Sox of Tugboat Captain so make sure you keep an ear out for it.
Candy's Room answers the Pure Pop Phive
How would you
describe your music?
The sound of a
lightning bolt hitting a night-sky dance floor, while a bard reads the order of
service.
What are your
major influences?
We take
influence from bands with a certain rousing quality to their songs and records
with ambitious arrangements. We mainly love songs which sound elaborate, but
have a well-written pop song hidden beneath the surface. Artists like The
Replacements, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Sonic Youth, and Prince were the
main influences on this track. We looked into a lot of classical-leaning music
for the album overall though, given the anti-Disney theme. This included
composers like Ravel, Bernstein, and Old Disney soundtracks from the 30s to the
70s. Motown is probably our main influence, where these two worlds find a
beautiful crossover.
Our non-musical
influences are authors and filmmakers who explore the boundaries between
reality and the imagination. Also, those who tend to see life through a
cathartic melancholy. The literary side of this would be Celtic fairy tales by
Lord Dunsany and W.B. Yeats, and more gothic works by Alan Moore, Poe, and
Mervyn Peake. On the filmmaking side, David Lynch, Wong Kar Wai, and early Tim
Burton films tend to inform the atmosphere of what we do elsewhere in the band.
Do you perform
live? Do you have any upcoming gigs?
We perform live
fairly regularly in London. We had a show on 21 August at The Lexington and
another on 4 September at Paper Dress Vintage.
In addition to
performing live how do you support yourself so you can continue to make music?
We all work day
jobs. Natty is starting work at a music college soon, Lucas (our flutist) is
also in education, Jake (bass) works as an AV tech, and Galya (keys &
vocals) as a graphic designer. We also occasionally apply for funding through
the arts council and other charities, with varying degrees of success. It can
be effective - if you're lucky. We also take additional night shifts running
the door at local venues; barter with pirates on the Irish sea, and play the
odd wedding show here or there, but only if we get to play originals!
What's your
favorite album (that's not one of yours)
Natty (Vocals
& Guitar): Marvin Gaye's What’s Going On is a current favorite. It
is so brilliantly pieced together, effectively the closest popular music gets
to a full-on symphony. The modulations and sequencing make it an absolutely
perfect listening experience and the arrangements are unmatched. In particular, "Save the Children" is just an outstanding song and every time I hear it I
can't help but well-up in tears. A great one from the London scene is Euphoria: An Ode To The Sun and the Grey by a band called Ava - it's a
massively overlooked gem and has a real force behind it. There's a shyness to
the music which makes it feel both humble and massive and deeply moving.
Jake (Bass): I
love Surfer Rosa by the Pixies.
Galya (Vocals
& Keys): I would say An Awesome Wave by Alt-J. That one is kinda
nostalgic, because it was one of the albums that really impressed me when I
started properly getting into music. It felt like something I hadn't heard
before. And it is still one of the albums I find incredibly interesting
sonically. I really like how they mix samples and use harmonies.
Lucas (Flute):
I’m afraid I’m unfortunately the worst person to ask this.
