TFR004: Giant Clouds – The Fictional West
1. Giant Clouds
2. Soul For Suckers
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The Fictional West began in mid-2009 when Christian Laursen, Matt Peddle and Brett Lukaszek found themselves limited by their non-fictional surroundings. They decided they wanted to write indie pop songs combining Matt’s interest in ’80s new wave, Christian’s mix of serious and satirical lyrical themes and Brett’s expansive drum sound.
“Giant Clouds” was the first song written and recorded as a band. The song was inspired by Christian’s almost nomadic lifestyle in the United States and Canada for the past decade. A heavily layered and delayed guitar is used for the main riff to achieve a vastness reminiscent of early U2.
Most recently written, “Soul for Suckers” is The Fictional West’s brand of new wave combining elements of The Smiths and more recent acts, such as Bat For Lashes and The Magnetic Fields.
In addition to working on their upcoming EP release, The Fictional West will be playing shows in the CT/NY region in 2010.
The Fictional West will perform Feb. 6 at Rudy’s. Tweefort and Safety Meeting Records have teamed up to bring you La Strada, M.T. Bearington and The Fictional West. 10 p.m. $4. 372 Elm St., New Haven, CT.
EDIT Jan. 19, 2010: Review from The Hartford Courant’s Soundcheck blog:
The Fictional West formed last year, when the trio — Christian Laursen, Matt Peddle and Brett Lukaszek — “found themselves limited by their non-fictional surroundings and decided to combine their varied interests in indie pop, ’80s new wave sounds and satirical themes,” says their MySpace page.
The band’s first song, “Giant Clouds,” features ringing guitar and warm vocals by Laursen. The second, “Soul for Suckers” layers effects-treated guitars over a swift, steady beat, and Laursen sings over swelling strings.
Local indie label Tweefort Records released the songs earlier this month (download them here for free), and the band is hard at work on an EP due soon.
EDIT Jan. 28, 2010: Review from Sugar Sours:
With hints of The Magnetic Fields, the Smiths, and what I say tastes like Orange Juice have a perfect formula for down-tempo jangle pop, seeing as their jangle isn’t exactly jangle-y, The Fictional West play that lazy-day, let’s go for a drive, indiepop that I’m so fond of. And they don’t just sound like the aforementioned groups, they also have the same knack for songwriting. No lie, the Giant Clouds single sounds like it could have been sent in to NME and gotten lost in the post for 20 years.
EDIT Feb. 2, 2010: “Internet Connection: Craigslist Ad Puts Indie-Pop Trio In Motion” — The Hartford Courant, Feb. 2, 2010
Awesome back stories are an important part of rock ‘n’ roll mythology, but sometimes the details are straightforward: The Fictional West met on craigslist.
The New Haven band, which performs Saturday in New Haven, formed a year ago after multi-instrumentalist Matthew Peddle responded to an ad posted by singer and guitarist Christian Laursen.
There was no magical first meeting, no moment of musical clarity. Just lunch.
“We were setting out to find a band right away, so we started playing right away,” Peddle, 23, says. “We got lunch, and we started playing, and we’ve kept going …”
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