- Details
-
Published on Saturday, 13 August 2016 15:09
-
Written by Tomaz
Recently we are facing a proper post-punk revival, there are many new bands on the scene and as well some long forgotten cult acts were reformed and are now on their second mission. In this mass of bands many are just bland copies and revivalist of 80s sound, but some of them certainly bring fresh air to this rather narrow genre, one of them are UK based newcomers Klammer, a band who by blending together post-punk, punk rock, goth rock and add to all that some dark pop accessibility, certainly deserves your attention as they are one of those acts who with their professional approach towards what they are doing expands the borders of the genre.
Klammer come from Leeds and came to life in 2013, from the members' shared love for all things angular, dark, loud and melodic. They've shared stages with the likes of The Membranes, Penetration, Art Brut, Department S, 999 and Richie Ramone (who they are going to be touring the UK and Ireland with again this November and December). The Leeds based trio put a contemporary twist on the post-punk attitude. Although there's plenty of hooks in their songs, there's a dark and edgy broodiness coursing through the sound of the band.
The band debuted already in 2013 with the album entitled Auslane, which was in 2015 re-released by Under Dogs Records. In March 2016 the band released their eponymous second full-lenght album as well through Under Dogs Records. Now they are ready to release their new single for the album track "Everything Depends Upon The King", on 7" vinyl on Curious Fox Records on 5th September, which will be exclusively available from Rough Trade shops. Beside the title track, another track, "High Life", from the album will be featured as well. Klammer already released a video clip for the track "Everything Depends Upon The King".
Since the release of the latest album,
Klammer and the
Richie Ramone UK tour which coincided with it, the recognition of the band and the fan base, has grown vastly. The new album has received some excellent reviews from well established media outlets, such as Vive Le Rock, as well as plenty of exposure from the more underground webzines, bloggers,... 2016 has seen
Klammer do a lot more travelling, having been offered shows from Edinburgh to London, and they will be gigging around the country extensively from now until the end of the year – with a repeat UK & Ireland tour with
Richie Ramone to come later in 2016. There next show will be a particular highlight as they head to the legendary 100 Club in London, alongside
Penetration.
Recently the drummer David Munro left the band due to personal reasons and
Klammer are now in search for a new one. The rest of the members who all have musical experiences from the past are:
Steve Whitfield (guitar/vocals) - he has been in a lot of bands since he was 17 (having played keyboards, bass and guitar in various bands) but definitely feels
Klammer is the best band he’s been in. His day job is working in the studio as a producer and engineer. His credits include having worked on a
The Cure album and two
The Mission albums.
Paul 'Poss' Strickland (vocals/guitar) - began singing in his first band at the age of 16. He sang “Pretty Vacant” in a dark mill frequented by a local band with punk aspirations and was invited to join. This band began to write original material and supported
Adam & The Ants on his “Dirk Wears White Sox” tour and also
Penetration and
Generation X. After that band split-up he sang for a post-punk outfit and supported
The Damned. Poss then met Steve a few years later and they decided to collaborate on some song ideas which led to the birth of
Klammer. Poss writes the lyrics, often obtuse (a puzzle to solve) but always heartfelt.
Jordan Stead (bass) - pre-
Klammer, Jordan spent the years soaking up every piece of music available to him. A fan, a collector, but never involved in any groups. Bass wasn’t his thing, apart from attempting to replicate the reggae rhythms of Jamaica finest – to no avail. Since joining the band he has grown into a formidable noise maker. Still, not technically a musician!
The hard work continues as
Klammer begin looking at shows for 2017, hopefully stretching things even further with Europe in mind (promoters get in touch!). Work has already begun on the third album, which could be released this year if time allows. If not look out for it in 2017.
Klammer discography: Auslane (self-release 2013/Under Dogs Records re-release 2015), Klammer (Under Dogs Records 2016), Everything Depends Upon The King [Single] (Curious Fox Records 2016)
Klammer links: Official website, Facebook
