They’re a loopy five-piece rock
group terrorising the south of England with their deranged sound.
Citing a diverse array of influences
including The Jesus Lizard, Nick Cave, Mogwai and At the Drive-In, the band’s unique
style is a Frankenstein’s monster of hardcore punk riffs, proggy disorientating
time signatures and theatrical erratic vocals.
Their new weird and wonderful EP T.H.M.P sports curiously titled tracks
such as ‘The Astronaut Dies Smiling’ and ‘Hair Dryer Blues’. Songs alternate
schizophrenically between calm and batshit insane, soothing passages of post
rock erupting into manic wailing and seizure-inducing jagged guitars.
You can hear it all for yourself
below on Bandcamp.
Eager to try and understand the group
more, to unlock the riddle behind ‘Hairdryer Blues’ and the wacky band name, I
interviewed lead singer Tom, the result of which you can read below…
If The Harry
Macintosh Project was a pizza what toppings would it have?
T (Tom): Tough question but if we were to
create toppings out of our influences, the pizza would consist of a healthy
dose of punk peppers, some prog sausage, a dash of post rock hot sauce and, oh
I dunno, noise cheese.
Who is Harry Macintosh?
T: Harry Macintosh is a completely made up name. I looked it up shortly
after the band formed and I vaguely remember the top result on Google being the
website for some amateur scientist in California or something.
Your new EP is nuts! Who
did the artwork? What’s the creepy jellyfish creature?
T: Glad you like the new EP and thanks for the kind comments! The artwork
is by a guy who simply calls himself 'Beeple'. Check out his Facebook page,
he's pretty awesome.
Explain the inspiration
behind 'Hair Dryer Blues'?
T: Our bassist Thom wrote the lyrics to Hair Dryer Blues. I'd like to
think it's about a crippling fear of losing your hair but don't think he'd
appreciate me saying that so we'll just leave it there.
What music are you guys
listening to right now? Anything fans wouldn’t expect?
T: The five of us have such diverse music tastes that we're always
listening to weird and wonderful things. I think Thom (bassist) and Dave
(guitarist) have been listening to the new Dillinger Escape Plan album a lot
recently. I've been fluctuating between alternative 90's stuff I liked as a kid
and newer bands like Wand and Bearded Youth Quest. I can't speak for Jack
(vocals) and Griff (drums) but they both have a good ear so I'm sure it's great
whatever it is!
You guys name The Mars
Volta as an influence. Favourite Mars Volta album?
T: Personally,
my favourite Mars Volta album has got to be De-Loused in the Comatorium. That
album absolutely blew me away when I first heard it and I don't think they ever
really topped it. I'm pretty confident the rest of the guys would agree with
that.
My personal fave too! What are Harry Macintosh
Project gigs like? Funniest gig story?
T: Our gigs
are generally pretty high-energy and quite unpredictable. We played in London
on Saturday and for some reason I felt the need to throw my £1,100 Fender Strat
across the stage at the end of our set. I still haven't checked to see if I've
actually damaged it. So yeah, our gigs can be pretty spontaneous. We often wear
ridiculous costumes and make up, and our vocalist Jack has frequently
"bared all" as it were ;) Anything can happen depending on how we
feel at that moment.
What’s going on in your
music video for ‘Mouldy Water’? Is shoving cucumbers through people’s
letterboxes a pastime of yours? And have you attempted any other vegetables?
T: Believe it or not, the video for Mouldy Water is inspired by
actual events from my childhood. When I was about 12, I got into a huge
argument with my step-dad so my idea of revenge was to run around to the local
shop, buy a cucumber, run back to my house and squeeze it through the letterbox
making a horrible mess. I don't know what I was thinking, looking back I can
see how weird that was. We added the mask just for the video, for no reason.
What does the future hold
for The Harry Macintosh Project?
T: At the moment, because we all have jobs etc, we don't plan too far
ahead so take each month as it comes. Our last show of the year will be on
November 18th at the Chelsea Inn, Bristol. This will also be our final show
with Griff on drums, however Will Brunsden (formerly of Oblivionized) will be joining
us for some dates in January. We're hoping to do another music video and tour
the UK next Spring but nothing is set in stone at the moment.
Follow The Harry Macintosh Project at
@HARRYMACPROJECT