One of the biggest bands in England, The Music, recently released its second album and is launching a headlining tour through the U.S. It’s an exciting opportunity to crack the all-important American market … right?
“Um, no,” lead singer Robert Harvey said. “I just want to play. I want to write songs. And if people don’t like it, they don’t need to listen to it.”
Good thing the executives at Capitol Records aren’t listening. As Harvey chatted by phone from a tour stop in Australia, he also noted that The Music’s latest album, “Welcome to the North,” hasn’t sold that well, and he’s not entirely comfortable playing the songs live. In fact, he said, the new album isn’t all that great.
Way to boost your career in the press. Harvey seems to be a rare breed: a rocker who cares more about his music than anything else. In fact, he said, that’s why his band chose the rather arrogant-sounding name The Music.
“We owe it to music to keep things real for a while, and not allow the cynicism and the money and the business and the so-called fame to get the better of us,” Harvey said in a gentle North England accent. “We’re not saying we are the music. It’s just the music is what’s important.”
What does The Music’s music sound like? One frequent comparison is Led Zeppelin, perhaps because of Harvey’s high, keening voice. But there also are hints of Oasis’ giant pop hooks and The Verve’s swirling sound.
Harvey said the four band members (including Adam Nutter on guitar, Stuart Coleman on bass and drummer Phil Jordan) have disparate influences, ranging from Motown to Nirvana to the Beatles. “But we’ve always said that our biggest influence is each day and each other and life itself.”
The four friends hail from Leeds, a working-class town in the north of England–hence the new album’s title. They started as 16-year-olds just making “noise,” said Harvey, now 21. Their live shows and hard-to-define sound soon made them the UK’s Next Big Thing, but the band remains largely unknown in America.
The latest album may not change that. Under pressure from the label, the tour-weary band reluctantly flew to Atlanta and cut the disc with producer Brendan O’Brien, who’s worked with commercial rock bands such as Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. But the result was a rush job with “a distinct lack of groove” compared to the first, Harvey said.
“We’re proud of it, but it’s just not got through to people. And I think that’s because we were trying to please people, instead of pleasing ourselves.”
Harvey doesn’t want to make that mistake twice. “The experience brought us together as a band,” he said. “It’s all about the music, and it don’t matter where I’m doing it or who I’m playing to. I’m going to do it exactly the same way, with everything I’ve got.”
The Music
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. March 2
WHERE: Metro, 3730 N. Clark St.
TICKETS: $15
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Victoria Rodriguez (vrodriguez@tribune.com)
