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Cutaways use two boys, one girl, two synths, one guitar, a drum kit and bags full of hooks and melodies to make their jagged and boisterous pop music.
Paul McIver sings and plays guitar.
Grace McMacken sings and plays synths.
Ryan Simpson hits drums.

In 2008, Cutaways released the Start Stop! Start Stop! EP, receiving airplay from Colin Murray on national Radio 1 and rave reviews from the likes of Artrocker magazine. Cutaways took their vibrant live show all across Ireland, as well as London, Glasgow and Liverpool with the gigs featuring anything from impromptu puppet shows to 'rap' cameos. The band’s puppet counterparts also starred in the video for Lovers Are Lunatics; and Blue Bird, Yellow Bird and Red Bird from the EP's artwork sprung to life terrorizing the streets of Belfast in the video for I Don't Understand What You Don't Say.
Cutaways also recorded a BBC Radio 1 session, and the band finished the year playing to a 'capacity' crowd in a one-bedroom flat on New Years Eve.

2009 promises to be a colourful year, with the NME hailing Cutaways as "your new favourite band" and Ireland's Hot Press and AU magazines both naming Cutaways as one of the bands to watch in the coming year. In March the band made their first TV appearance on regional ITV1’s UTV Live at The Limelight. In April, Cutaways also took in a 6-date UK tour, including a show at the Artrocker club night in London before returning to Belfast to launch their album with a typically lively show. This summer will see Cutaways play some of their most exciting shows to date, taking to the stage at a number of festivals including Belfast Pride, Indie Week Ireland, Glasgowbury and Feile Festival.

Their 11-track debut album Earth and Earthly Things is a superb introduction to the delirious and dizzying world of Cutaways; merging infectious indie pop-rock with pounding synth soundscapes and boy/girl harmonies.

11 track CD Digipak available for £7.49 including postage

"One of those bands, that seem to pop out of nowhere and immediately announce themselves as your new favourite band; Cutaways are a Belfast trio whose START STOP! START STOP! EP is that good. An excitable mash up of skewed alt rock, sweet synth pop with hints at the epic, this EP makes for a gloriously impressive first impression. This brilliant introduction to the world of Cutaways finds the Belfast trio bashing out shimmering pop magic with effortless ease, a quartet of songs that demand you sit up and take notice right this very second."
Mike Bond, UKMusic review-9/10

"With its shouty boy and girl vocals, pounding beats and catchy chorus, this is the sound of a gang of old school radio pros, not a bunch of newcomers. It’s upbeat and nicely chaotic, in the sense that you’re never quite sure what’s going to happen next, and the vocal chop and change between Paul and Grace is neat. Cutaways have hit on the fresh sound of now. ‘Dead on’, as they say in Belfast."
Artrocker

"A quirky and infectious offering that's pop at its very best...Cutaways make a wonderfully fresh and massively commercial 'noise'; their catchy songs are etched with pounding, driving drums whilst tetchy guitars and theatrical keys decorate and enhance the sound of boy/girl vocals working individually and harmoniously. The songs are superbly conceived, lovingly crafted and stunningly executed. Their unusual and quirky style sets them apart from others as they do 'clatterpop' with style and panache. All-in-all, Cutaways have contrived to come up with a massive sound that's modern, genre blurring and totally shit-hot! Proper 'pop' this!"
Peter J Brown, Toxic Pete

“Synth-pop beauty. This EP for me heads into a land I call perfection. It’s just remarkable and that’s not a word I often throw out there."
Oliver, The 405

"This Belfast trio are clearly on their way, and it's not hard to see why either. The fervour of the boy/girl vocals and art-rock guitars offer exemplary power-pop thrills and makes them a less pompous Los Campesinos! with a potential for pop manna."
John Earles, Planet Sound

"Intriguing guitar motifs recalling Pavement, rugged rhythms , boy/girl vocals locked in a loving embrace, Cutaways fill their lyrics to the brim with naked emotion, their smudged pop-rock creating a sense of bruised beauty. Stirring stuff indeed"
AU Magazine

"Cutaways have grade A indie-pop sensibility.......... Here we have a band capable of packing more creativity and sizzling excitement into a few minutes than most acts fit into six-minute epics"
Hot Press Pick Of The Fortnight

"Cutaways - surely the best-looking band in Belfast - deal in bright colours, fast tempos and hooks aplenty. From Paul McIver's quite ridiculous attire and Grace McMacken's fluorescent keyboard stand to the huge cardboard chicks adorning the stage, everything about the band screams 'fun'. Paul and Grace's vocal interplay recalls Los Campesinos! in its excitable call-and-response, while the buzzing synth basslines lock into the herky-jerky drumming. This is a joyous, riotously fun performance by a band that have embraced pop music and are determined to twist it into exciting new shapes."
Chris Jones, BBC Across The Line Live Review

"A cut above, this is fresh, vibrant and very quirky. Living proof that indie music can be diverse and enjoyable" Classic Rock Society Magazine

"Start Stop! Start Stop! will be many people's Irish release of the year, it's just a purely enjoyable experience" AU Magazine

Cutaways- Lovers Are Lunatics

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Earth & Earthly Things
Cutaways

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