Big Strides - Cry It All Out

September 27, 2006

Big Strides follow the release of their rapturously received debut album ?Small Town, Big Strides? with scorching second LP ?Cry It All Out?. Blending bluesy rhythms with slacker-jazz guitar lines and Marcus O?Neill?s wry, observational lyrics, this 16-strong collection of songs is a raw and melodic melting pot of grass roots influences, innovative musicianship and heat-of-the-moment pop hooks.

Having supported chart fixtures and cult figures such as Bloc Party, Arctic Monkeys, Damien Rice, and Horace Andy, and racked up 300,000 Stateside downloads of their funk-punk single ?Suicidal?, the band retreated into the studio with producer Dan Swift (Aqualung and Snow Patrol?s ?Final Straw? album) and set about laying down tracks for what would become ?Cry It All Out?. Of the results, Marcus says: ?It?s the sound of the three of us doing our thing. It feels like we really stepped it up a notch. There?s pain, there?s anger, there?s some serious rock?n?roll, there?s laid-back musings, there?s kick-ass drums, soulful grooves, slick horn parts, and a roomful of Japanese girls doing backing vocals. Everything we could have wanted??

Big Strides recently signed to EMI Japan, having built-up an impressive import-only fanbase in the country. They are now planning a national tour to coincide with the Japanese re-release of ?Small Town, Big Strides?. Previous singles have found themselves at the receiving end of the giddy affections of DJs Phil Jupitus and Jonathan Ross (quoth Mr Ross: ?I can?t decide if I love it or if it upsets me?). Marcus et al rank Glastonbury 2005 and three sold-out nights at Ronnie Scott?s among their most memorable live experiences, are booked to play Japan?s Summer Sonic Festival in August, and will be undertaking a full UK September tour in support of ?Cry It All Out?. Their frenetic, down and dirty live shows are not to be missed.
?Cry It All Out? track-by-track

1. ?2.49 ?This one always gets the ?kids? dancing. It?s a lot like a satanic version of the Sesame Street theme tune.?
2. She Drinks Whisky ?Songs are always written about people and this is the closest I?ve come to a tribute. She drank whisky, sang songs, and now she loves ?her? song and sings along with it slightly disconcertingly. Her brother doesn?t like it so much.?
3. Sing To Me ?Doesn?t everyone love the smell of petrol? Like all old blues songs, this can be seen as innocent or dirty.?
4. Do It Again ?Just a quick glimpse of a longer harmonica jam. Second take, hence ?Do It Again?.?
5. Let?s Get Nice ?This is about pointless preoccupations, urban whinging, and bad TV ? the Big Brother generation.?
6. Always Together ?Dan Swift calls this our ?Eminem? one, which kind of sums up how pointless it is to try and pigeonhole stuff??
7. So Long ?Almost a country ballad, but nowhere near.?
8. Breakfast ?British radio sucks shit. If there?s one way to take all genuine emotion out of music it?s to convince an entire nation that what they really want to listen to is the same moronic pop toss repeated every twenty minutes. This is especially annoying in the mornings.?
9. The Joys Of Spring ?Don?t know if this song is actually quite positive or just really depressive. The idea was for it to sound like summer coming. The codeine overdose comes later??
10. Pretty In C ???
11. Cry It All Out ?Sometimes you can cry and cry and it doesn?t help, but some people just seem to be able to cry it all out.?
12. Cookies (Donald?s Theme) ?Donald Rumsfelds? words from a few years ago about civilians killed in Afghanistan, ?Whatever they were doing in those mountains, they weren?t making cookies, right?? Don?t normally do politics, but he?s beyond political ? a high profile example for all idiots and psychopaths to aspire to.?
13. Smiling ?First single, the catchiest little rock song. Girl returning keys to flat ? I couldn?t believe she was smiling.?
14. What?s Wrong With Lucy? ?Lucy lives in Essex and never goes out. Does she just sum up everything that?s wrong with modern life in general, or does she have a really sinister story? I didn?t know either.?
15. Sour Cream ?Talking blues a bit like Serge Gainsbourg; just grumbling over a groove. Can you hear the dog walking in towards the end??
16. Sad Songs ?Came back from a really dodgy bar near London Bridge and played this, one go, no overdubs, no messing. I think it?s as close to a live sound as you can get in a studio. This album has a lot more sadness on it than the first one.?

Big Strides Play:

AUG
12 TOKYO Summer Sonic Festival
13 OSAKA Summer Sonic Festival

SEP
14 LEEDS Hi Fi Club
15 LONDON Barfly
18 NOTTINGHAM Social
19 MANCHESTER Night and Day
22 SHEFFIELD Nottingham House
23 BATH Moles
24 BRIGHTON Pressure Point
26 GLASGOW Bloc
28 EDINBURGH Cabaret Voltaire
29 LIVERPOOL Zanzibar
30 WOLVERHAMPTON Civic

OCT
10 LONDON Metro
21 CARDIFF Toucan Club
28 NORTHAMPTON Picturedrome

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