Cutaways released their debut album Earth and Earthly Things on Monday 6th July 2009 on download and CD digipak, preceded by the download single, Milo of Kroton on Monday 11th May.
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 have taken their vibrant live show all across Ireland, while also touring the UK and playing recent shows in Toronto, Canada as part of Indieweek Canada. The gigs themselves feature 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.
2009 saw the NME hailing Cutaways as "your new favourite band" and Ireland's Hot Press and AU magazines both name 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 'Live at The Limelight' while the summer saw Cutaways play some of their most exciting shows to date, taking to the stage at a number of festivals including headlining Belfast Pride and also taking in Indie Week Ireland, Glasgowbury and Feile Festival.
Earth and Earthly Things - Album released 06 July 2009
11 track CD Digipak available for £7.49 including postage
PRESS
"Now, the score I have given does not imply perfection - rather, it reflects that I genuinely believe this album has the intangible something that elevates it above the rest of its field, and many others in different pastures also. It’s so intelligent, and not in an obvious way - but the tunes, the hooks, the harmonies and the musical ideas so insidiously cement themselves in your heart and mind after a few listens (and this it will take, persevere) that it would be foolhardy of me to suggest that Earth and Earthly Things is not an important album; important in the sense that it has the potential to make a great many skeptical musos grin with unabashed glee."
Danny Wadeson, The 405 - 10/10
"This album is a celebration and representation of life. The album's joy comes from its ability to mirror the contradictions and tensions of day-to-day routine; it twists and turns unexpectedly, leaving the listener in awe, not sure what the band's next surprise will be. This is powerful indie-pop at its best. Earth and Earthly Things' art-rock sound is at once meticulously neat and blurry around the edges, drawing influence and ambience from multiple genres and styles. Each track is hooky and infinitely danceable. However, the ever-evolving song structures and interesting chord progressions ensure that the fun is tempered by an intelligent and hip aesthetic that stops the album from veering into guilty-pleasure territory. This effervescent debut breathes life into a medium that too often suffers from commitment to the mundane."
Kent McKay, Drunken Werewolf
"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
“Earth and Earthly Things is an album that smacks of originality and oozes a quirky charm.
The songs bounce and sway, stop and start and generally leave you with no idea where they're heading. Not done in an overly arty or pretentious way, it never takes away from the enjoyment of the song. Perhaps the best part of this tempo changing is that on any given song on the album there will always be at least one section that is truly special while the lyrics are often charming, funny and clever.
This is an album with slick production, originality and full of good songs. It is unlikely you will have anything like this in your collection, and you will be missing out if you don't add it.
Die Shellsuit, Die!
LIVE
"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
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