Sarandon (band)
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Sarandon are an English
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
group, formed in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 2003, who have so far released two albums.


History

Initially formed by singer/guitarist Simon Williams (aka Crayola), drummer James Higgott (formerly of HOST) and bass player Joe Morris (also of The Reverse), the group played their debut show in central London after having rehearsed only once before going into the studio to record their first record, ''The Miniest Album''. Much was made of the debut record being a 7" vinyl single containing 7 songs and so the band decided to release a series of such records. After the second release, ''The Big Flame'' (named in honour of their favourite band), James was replaced on drums by Simon Poole, a longtime musical colleague of Crayola. The new line-up recorded two further 7 track 7" records, ''The Feminist Third'' and ''The June Bride'', before having all four records compiled into a single CD release entitled ''The Completist's Library'' by the record label
Wrath Anger, also known as wrath ( ; ) or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong, uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt, or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical ef ...
in the UK and
HHBTM Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records is an American independent record label based in Athens, Georgia. Its catalogue features indie rock, indie pop and hip-hop music, with several of its artists associated with or influenced by The Elephant 6 Reco ...
in the US. All four records were produced by Anthony Chapman, formerly of Collapsed Lung, who has also produced Bis,
Spearmint Spearmint (''Mentha spicata''), also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint and mackerel mint, is native to Europe and southern temperate Asia, extending from Ireland in the west to southern China in the east. It is naturalized in many othe ...
, Ten Benson,
Klaxons Klaxons were an English Rock music, rock band, based in London. Following the release of several Gramophone record, 7-inch singles on different independent record labels, as well as the success of previous singles "Magick (Klaxons song), Magick ...
, The Keatons and Crazy Gods of Endless Noise. ''The June Bride'' takes its name from another of the band's favourite bands and featured guest appearances from Big Flame's Alan Brown and
The June Brides The June Brides are an English indie pop group, formed in London in 1983, by Phil Wilson and Simon Beesley of International Rescue. Influenced by Postcard-label bands such as Josef K (band), Josef K and punk-era bands such as Buzzcocks, The D ...
' Phil Wilson. The collection has been described as "an awful lot of fun". In October 2006 the band were joined by Stephen Gilchrist, replacing Simon Poole on drums - Stephen is best known as Graham Coxon's drummer. He also performs in his own group, Stuffy & the Fuses, as well as working as a drum tutor. In January 2007 Joe decided to take a sabbatical and was replaced by Alan Brown - a founder member of Big Flame and
The Great Leap Forward The Great Leap Forward was an industrialization campaign within China from 1958 to 1962, led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Party Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to transform the country from an agrarian society into an ind ...
, who has played drums with
A Witness A Witness are an English post-punk/indie rock band, who were originally active in the mid-1980s alternative music scene. Their first EP ''Loudhailer Songs'' and début album ''I am John's Pancreas'' brought them to the attention of BBC Radio 1 ...
and more recently performed as one third of Marshall Smith. Stephen got too busy for his own good and in September 2007 was replaced by Tom Greenhalgh on drums. The new line-up immediately recorded a cover version of an old June Brides song, "Every Conversation" and a new studio album entitled ''Kill Twee Pop!'', which was released early in 2008 on
Slumberland Records Slumberland Records is an American independent record label, formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C., and based in Oakland, California. The label has released recordings by Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Lilys, Stereolab, Evans The Death, St. Christo ...
. The album was positively received by critics, and has been described as "a campaign ad to return to the avant punk rock intonations of the late 70’s and early 80’s.", "outlandish, concise and exuberant enough to attract many lovers of rhythmically and lyrically sharp rock", and "like an XTC album played by bonkers Ritalin unachievers", with SoundsXP saying "both for restoring the reputation of a certain strand of 80s indiepop and in making refreshingly askew new music with a wicked sense of humour, Sarandon ought to be applauded".Sarandon ''Kill Twee Pop!''
(review), ''SoundsXP'' Sarandon have recorded sessions for
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
's ''One Music'' show and Marc Riley’s BBC 6 Music show, ''Rocket Science''. In October 2009 John Robb's book ''Death To Trad Rock'' was published by Cherry Red Books. It includes a whole chapter devoted to Crayola and Sarandon and their place in the history of the UK independent music scene. As a celebration of the book a 7" single was released by Slumberland Records, a split between Sarandon and Robb's former band The Membranes. August 2010 saw the band go into the new studio complex at Bucks University, again with Anthony Chapman producing, to record a new album. Entitled ''Sarandon's Age Of Reason'', the album is something of a concept album with narration provided by The Shend of The Cravats and The Very Things. They were joined on piano by Rhodri Marsden and the album is introduced by Robert Lloyd of
The Nightingales Nightingales (a.k.a. The Nightingales) are a British post-punk/alternative rock band, formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England, by four members of Birmingham's punk group The Prefects. They had been part of The Clash's 'White Riot Tour', recorde ...
. The album was released in early 2011 by
Slumberland Records Slumberland Records is an American independent record label, formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C., and based in Oakland, California. The label has released recordings by Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Lilys, Stereolab, Evans The Death, St. Christo ...
in the USA and Odd Box Records in the UK. Sarandon continue to record and perform sporadically.


Band members


Current members

* Simon Williams - Vocals/guitar (2003 – present) * Alan Brown - Bass (2007 – present) * Tom Greenhalgh - Drums (2007 – present)


Past members

* Joe Morris (2003–2007) * Stephen Gilchrist (2006–2007) * Simon Poole (2004–2006) * James Higgott (2003–2004)


Discography


Singles

* ''The Miniest Album'' (Jul 2004, Run Out, RUN001 " * ''The Big Flame'' (June 2005, Banazan, BAN20 " * ''The Feminist Third'' (Dec 2005, Wrath, WRATH32 " * ''The June Bride'' (May 2006, Wrath, WRATH38 " * "Joe's Record" (October 2007, Slumberland, SLR072 " * "Every Conversation" (split with Phil Wilson) (December 2007, Every Conversation, March 2008 " * "Other People's Records" (December 2008, Little Car Records, MINI01 " * "Spike Milligan's Tape Recorder" (split with The Membranes) (October 2009, Slumberland, SLR109 "


Albums

* ''The Completist’s Library'' (Aug 2006,
Wrath Anger, also known as wrath ( ; ) or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong, uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt, or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical ef ...
, WRATH40CD D Jan 2007,
HHBTM Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records is an American independent record label based in Athens, Georgia. Its catalogue features indie rock, indie pop and hip-hop music, with several of its artists associated with or influenced by The Elephant 6 Reco ...
, HHBTM083 D * '' Kill Twee Pop!'' (April 2008, Slumberland 0" D * ''Sarandon's Age Of Reason'' (January 2011, Slumberland 2" Odd Box Records D


References


External links

*
sarandon on Myspace

sarandon on flickr

sarandon on discogs.com
* Leahy, Andrew " Sarandon Biography, Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation


Interviews


Diskant interview
*
Now Hear This: Sarandon: No Cardigans Please, Twee is Simply Awful
, ''Sentimentalist''


Reviews

* Sendra, Tim " ''Kill Twee pop!'' Review, Allmusic, Macrovision Corporation
PopMatters review of ''The Completist's Library''
* Dunn, Jim (2008) "" (review), Playback:stl * Padilla, Sean (2008)
Sarandon ''Kill Twee Pop!''
(review), ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sarandon Indie rock groups from London Musical groups established in 2005