Orson

Goodnight Vienna - Orson visit Austria
Orson’s platinum selling album, Bright Idea was recorded for $5000 in 2005 and framed the lives of a Hollywood band seeking a double-barrelled, rock’n’roll party. The brief for Culture Vultures - this year‘s raucous follow-up? More of the same, but with bigger guitars, louder drums and even more contagious hooks than their smash single, No Tomorrow.
“We’re all about the boogie,” says drummer Chris Cano, now without his trademarked Mohican. “We want to help people forget about the debts and woes. We’re not a political band, we’re just about having a good time.”
Certainly, this blueprint caught the imagination first time around. Having formed in 2000, Orson - Cano, singer Jason Pebworth, guitarists George Astasio and Kevin Roentgen and bassist, John Scott Bentjen drew on a raft of influences including Queen, Madness, The Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan.
What followed was a rock’n’roll soap opera: in 2005 the five piece played at Manchester music seminar In The City and scored a publishing deal with Universal. Within a year, No Tomorrow was a Number One single and Bright Idea was a Number One album. Later, the band were even soaking Noel Gallagher with champagne at the 2007 Brit Awards as Best International Breakthrough Artist.
“I don’t think he was too impressed with us,” says Kevin. “We were out of control. And I know everyone is supposed to say this, but it was a complete surprise.”
This autumn’s follow-up promises similar excitement, swaggering with Orson’s default pop spirit while leaning towards a more raw, live sound. “We wanted this record to reflect our shows,” says singer, Jason Pebworth. “There’s been this idea that we’re a bunch of guys who were brought together to make a studio album, and for some people, that’s a really bad thing. The reality is that we’ve been a loud, dirty rock band with noisy guitars and heavy drums for eight years now.
“With Bright Idea we made a stylistic choice to go against everything that was doing well at home - indie, like The Strokes and The White Stripes. We made a very poppy, soft rock album that drew on everything from Fleetwood Mac to Hall And Oates, but I don’t think anyone was in on the joke except for us. People took it at super face value and fans of the album were genuinely shocked when they saw us play live - they weren’t expecting us to be so loud. This time I thought, ‘Let’s not leave any doubt that we’re a rock band‘. This record is a rock record.”
Bright Idea’s follow up certainly comes packed with neighbour-terrorising potential. First single, Ain’t No Party is loaded up on drive time riffs and a rumbling rhythm section, while Cool Cops - a jab at “the gatekeepers of taste” - grooves with sleazy menace. “We’ve embraced our pop side again,” says George. “But we’ve brought in the heavy artillery for all the people who remember KISS. We’re harder. A bit like Rocky when he comes out of one of those montage training scenes.”
Elsewhere, there’s a distinctly English influence - the band recorded Culture Vultures through the early months of 2007 in west London’s Townhouse Studios with Bright Idea producer, Noah Shain. They were soon inspired by the neighbourhood’s distinctive sights and sounds. Says John: “Growing up in LA and listening to Blur, Radiohead and Oasis and being influenced by the songs is one thing. Actually walking through Hammersmith every day on the way to rehearsals like The Sex Pistols and so many other bands did, is another. Now we’re here doing the same thing.
“One of our songs is even called Northern Girl. It’s about a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. But it’s also about the fact that we went up and down the country so many times and met girls from Leeds and Newcastle, rather than San Francisco.”
Culture Vultures carries moments of heartbreak, too. Broken Watch is a tender lament (sample lyric: “This place is just too big without you”), while Where You Are is a grand, mobile-waving, anthem-in-waiting which draws on Jason’s intimate - and often vivid - lyricism.
“A lot was made of the fact that I wrote about love, loss, and past relationships,” he says. “I have broken out of that a little bit on this album, but Where You Are is a personal song - I’ve been on the road a lot in my life. I don’t usually stick around in one place for too long with my work. People come into your life - family, friends, lovers, important people, flash in the pan bonds - and for whatever reason they go away, or you go away. That song is about recognising that they’re out there and I can call on them any time.”
For the most part, though, Culture Vultures is a ballsy, foot to the floor, party record that comes dappled with pop hooks and shower-friendly melodies. This is, after all, what Orson do best.“We’re crazy kids from Los Angeles,” says John. “And we love a party - that’s all on this record. If you liked the last one, Culture Vultures is going to twist your noodle.”