"If only more bands of this genre could be as imaginative"...Even more nice words from journo Chris Chinchilla.Good name, good words. Cheers.http://www.chinchilla-music.co.uk/music.php
ReviewHit the North Stainless drop into their rehersals to catch up with Orphan Boy31/01/2007By Sam BreenStainless drops into their rehersal room in Ancoats to ask a few questions...Within spitting distance from some of the roughest pubs and most deprived estates in Manchester rests blocks of decrepit cotton mills; currently used as rehearsal rooms. Not many people live round this part of town because even for Mancunians, it’s pretty grim. Waiting for the government to raze the surrounding council houses to the ground, the owner lets the rooms out for pennies. Surviving the cold and the damp Orphan Boy rehearse into the night as Stainless huddles in the corner, making notes to keep warm…Instead of begging outside the NME offices, pandering to the bloggers or trying to add thousands of friends on Myspace, the band spends their time rehearsing and gigging. Risking their success on their shows and releases, seems brave and defiant against the self-marketing sell-outs that comprise the majority of today’s up and coming bands.Over the last two years Orphan Boy have been winding up momentum and are now signed to Concrete Recordings. The band sweat confidence and hard graft, moving to Manchester meant that they could shed the woes of gigging in Grimsby, “listen to how shit this was†says Smiffy the bands bassist and co-songwriter, “if you wanted to get paid for a gig in a pub, you’d have to play more than four covers.†Rob, guitarist and songwriter notes, “We never found our own fucking sound in the other bands; we sounded like the Strokes in places.†Being based in Grimsby never helped the songwriting; stuck in bands that didn’t work and worried that they’d piss each other off in a band together, relocating to Manchester has given them a new lease of life.With bushy black eyebrows (and Noel Gallagher’s hairdresser?) singer and guitarist Rob blasts out terrifying imagery in his lyrics. Song, Grand Piano, opens with a cold post-punk pulse, the lyrics and guitar spiral and build as Rob starts hollering, “The bar-man keeps a stanley on the inside of his sleeve/ He spits when he talks, he's got that Manchester wheeze.†Orphan Boy’s world resembles Greene’s Brighton, infatuated in portraying the taboo dialogue between members of society.Instead of writing pop-songs loaded with the verse-chorus-verse-chorus formulae Orphan Boy play with the texture, adding breaks to the melodies leaving the guitars resonating. Trophies of Love is a great example of letting the songs develop naturally. This anti-pop songwriting shows after several plays; with most of the tracks maturing with age. The subtle complexities in all their songs, makes Orphan Boy highly listenable, Rob points out, “I like songs that are a bit more us, a bit more creative, not necessarily the catchiest songs; dead dark sound, dead descriptive, that’s the sound that we came upon, but we weren’t aiming for it. I think all the best bands are a bit…†Homicidal†interrupts Smiffy, “na well, yeah,†agrees Rob.The lyrics and songwriting is divided between Rob and Smiffy, however the difference between them is hard to tell because of their diverse sound. Smiffy admits, “Most of our songs have come through from what we’ve jammed and what we’ve experimented.†One of the most likable features of Orphan Boy, is that there is not just one sound to the band, Rob argues, “Bands don’t have variety in their sound, you get an album where all the songs sound the same, I don’t think that is true about us though? Some of the reviewers said that Trophies Of Love sounded like the Arctic Monkey…they should just go back to work.â€Whether this loose criticism stands, depends on how little you listen to the song. It would only take a listen to any of their other material to agree that Orphan Boy are in their element. Certainly new single Postcode, boasting the chorus, “I’ve got a noose made out for you,†will give new fans an insight into the bleak, jaunty world of Orphan Boy. Just a final word from a local legend,Can't get a break on those estates, but what the heck / All the hoots / All the lights so pretty / Hit the North….Mark E. Smith
The story so far… Orphan Boy signed to Manchester’s Concrete Recordings in March 2006, a little over a year after the band had formed in their hometown of Grimsby – a place so devoid of glamour that it so far boasts not one single footnote in the entire history of rock'n'roll. The townie trio, raised on fish factories and shit nightclubs and were quickly snapped up by the truly indie but fully distributed label best known for their Glastonbury Unsigned Bands compilations (The Subways, BlackBud, Ralfe Band, The Deadbeats, Scouting for Girls) and their new music ‘Late ‘N’ Live’ venue of the Glastonbury Festival 2005. What they found when they spotted Orphan Boy was exactly what they’d been looking for, a band with such unassuming brilliance that they would not be contained for long which would help to drag the musical focus back across the Pennines in 2007. Orphan Boy’s first release had been on Scotland’s Grace Records, and having been played on Mark Riley’s acclaimed ‘Mint’ Radio 6 show sold out by pre-order. The follow up single ‘Trophies of Love’ was their first release on Concrete in November 2006 on CD (enhanced with video), 7 †vinyl as well as download received a phenomenal amount of airplay on both Radio 1 and 6 Music by STEVE LAMACQ who claimed it was ‘POSSIBLY THE MOST PLAYED SONG ON MY IPOD AT THE MOMENT,’ nominated it ‘SINGLE OF THE WEEK’ and interviewed them on Lamacq Live as ‘BAND OF THE DAY.’ Limited copies are still available from www.concreterecordings.co.uk Both the newly found ‘Orphanite’ fan base and key musical taste-makers have spotted the band and eagerly await further releases set for a little later in the year. ************************************************************ ** 'Possibly THE most played song on my ipod at the moment' STEVE LAMACQ ************************************************************ ** 'Orphan Boy's Trophies of Love is a sad-faced charmer, uncomplicated Jam-style muscular pop detailing doomed, floundering small-town love - I urge you to buy 99 copies of it...' NME ************************************************************ ** 'Its as snappy as it is stinging and you know what ...its right good,' ARTROCKER ************************************************************ ** 'This is definately a band to catch in action, as this psychotic ditty demonstrates so well. Its an arson attack on complacency, and one that makes you sit up and take notice. I for one can't wait to hear the forthcoming album!' WHISPERINANDHOLLERIN.com ************************************************************ ** 'Tremendous talent such as the Council Pop of Orphan Boy that will soon take over the rest of the country as well as Manchester.' DESIGNER MAGAZINE ************************************************************ ** 'Orphan Boy arrived filling the chasm to overflowing with exactly the kind of nous and approach that made The Libertines look so special. Add a nod and a wink to early material from The Jam, The Clash and The Buzzcocks, not only is there a formidable and powerful sound that they possess, but also an aura of pedigree too. Trophies of Love is Orphan Boy's second single, with their brash, basic yet brilliant delivery it should see them propelled towards the big time.' SCOOTERING MAGAZINE