Les Savy Fav, Modest Mouse, REM, Belle & Sebastian, Spoon, Hood, Pretty Girls Make Graves, The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Burt Bacharach, Miles Davis, Captain Beefheart, Joy Division, Gang Of Four, Pigbag, The Cure, XTC, The Fall, The Jam, The Clash, Echo & The Bunnymen, King Tubby, Scratch Perry, The Police, Pet Shop Boys, The Auteurs, Nick Drake, Bert Jansch, The Smiths, Talking Heads, Fugazi, Pixies, Michael Nyman, Throwing Muses, Pavement, The Make-Up, Yo La Tengo, Jim O' Rouke, The Sea and Cake, Tortoise, Jonathan Fire*Eater, Stereolab, Blur, Kingmaker, Carter USM, Radiohead, Electronic, Suede
Sounds Like
"Have we mentioned that we fucking LOVE The Playwrights?"
Rolling Stone
"If ever there was a criminally underrated and unrecognised group of the past five years it was The Playwrights. How their literate suburban rock has been ignored by the mainstream media whores in love with their oh-so-obvious Rock stereotypes. The Playwrights are the sound of the frustrated true underground fighting to be heard. Do yourself a favour and listen to their cry."
Plan B
"Recent live shows have lifted The Playwrights' intelligent post-punk songwriting into the spotlight, and they're well worth checking out.”
NME
"Filled with more twists and turns than many bands dish out over an entire career. These guys offer a bit of prog-rock to balance their pop tendencies to make for a really full and unique sound with mixed time signatures and strong melodies."
Tripwire
"Why are The Playwrights not household names? Why are their portraits not pinned to the walls of arty teens' bedrooms the land over? It baffles me. Especially given that this new album shows them to be in strident, strikingly inspired form. 'Dislocated' still sounds like one of the finest slabs of inconceivably inspirational, manic guitar Pop I have ever heard, and sets the scene for an album which is one of the finest mediations on modern society and urban alienation imaginable. The Playwrights have been this nation's best-kept secret for a couple of years now. Don't leave them that way." Plan B
"Time to dance your ass off. Key authors of prime sliced austere, angular agit pop, The Playwrights court a vibrantly caustic post punk rhythmic sound like no-one else - they make it sound so easy you'd be forgiven for thinking surely their taking the piss. One of this country’s finest ensembles -stunning stuff."
Losing Today
"Warm, rewarding, simply brilliant; one of the very best bands out there."
Organ Mag
"Fine art-pop. The Playwrights offer an angular, accessible, essentially English sound well worth investigating."
The Independent
“The kind of sound that Franz Ferdinand are making in their dreams. We should clutch The Playwrights close to our hearts and never let them go.”
Tangents
"Finally, indie rock for the thinking man. Packed full and tight, delivering urgent vocals as the band twists and boogies its way through solid time signature changes and full rock-out jams. Instead of relying on gimmicks which would only lead them to be the next Franz Ferdinand of the week, they have crafted a tight sound and feel which keeps you grooving throughout and desperate for more when it's all over.”
A Robot Cometh
"Step aside Hot Hot Heat, Interpol and Franz Ferdinand, we love you all but we love The Playwrights more!"
Logo Mag
"They still thrash and jerk and rage against the tyranny of everyday life. Lyrics still perfectly inscrutable. We haven't heard this kind of urgency in nearly a decade. But more to the point, they have a style all their own and innovators tend to grow on you. I'm loving this record, and it keeps getting better - for lyrical savoir faire and that touch of brilliance that comes around every once in a while."
Indie Disco
Too early and too experimental for the ‘Post-Punk revival’, too late and too lachrymose for the ‘New Eccentric movement', The Playwrights have been carving out their own highly individual path through the press-driven scenes of indie-rock in the noughties.
And look how far they’ve come. From the fuzzy, keyboard rich home recordings and DIY ethos that made up their 2003 debut ‘Good Beneath the Radar’ to their electrifying and echo-drenched mini-opus ‘English Self Storage’ in 2006, the band covered a lot of ground in a short space of time. All this despite numerous set-backs, line-up changes and personnel problems of a rock-parody proportion.
And with their polyrhythmic interlocking guitar parts, funky and melodic basslines, syncopated drum patterns and stream-of-consciousness lyrics it could be argued that if The Playwrights were from Brooklyn instead of Bristol the band would be now enjoying the success that eluded them previously.
Sadly it’s unlikely we will find out. On hiatus since the release of ‘English Self Storage’, the band was forced to cancel tours and shelve plans to record their full-length sophomore album ‘When I lived in the Modern World’ following the departure of both drummer Tom and founding guitarist Nathan to pursue academic careers. Instead 2008 sees the release of ‘Bibliothèque’ and it offers glimpses to what could have been.
‘Bibliothèque’ collects previously unreleased studio cuts, home demos, alternate mixes, candid rehearsal recordings, live jams and unheard remixes from over the years. It offers a very honest look at a young group of musicians whose influence is only just becoming apparent. Never shy to make mistakes, the compilation shows how the band challenged themselves, for better or worse.
Amongst the treasures are tracks from ‘English Self Storage’ remixed by producer and PJ Harvey cohort John Parish; an intimate home demo of ‘Trapped In The Orbit of a Satellite Town’ recorded by Ben before The Playwrights had even formed; and the blue-eyed soul of the previously unheard ‘Meet At Steady Tempo’. And if any track sums up The Playwrights’ anger, intelligence and career arc its ‘Dislocated’ - their flagship song of which two versions of are included here. ‘Bibliothèque’ finally puts the pieces back together; but whether the band takes to the stage again or this album is their final curtain call remains to be seen.
In addition to being available worldwide via download, Sink and Stove have produced an edition of 50 hand-numbered ‘Bibliothèque’ CDs with colour artwork and a free badge. These are available exclusively via this page for £8.00 inc P&P; click on the Paypal button below. 3 songs will be made available as a free Mp3 single on 11th August 2008.
The Playwrights shared stages at the request of Mission Of Burma, Pretty Girls Make Graves and The National, and have performed alongside The Organ, New Young Pony Club, The Thermals, Film School, The Rogers Sisters, Shooting At Unarmed Men, SJ Esau and Gravenhurst to name a few.
Contact The Playwrights via Myspace or email
here. This page is their official website and only internet resource. Order CDs securely via Paypal below.
The Playwrights - Bibliothèque CD Album
£8.00
The Playwrights - English Self Storage CD Mini-Album
£6.50
The Playwrights - Guy Debord Is Really Dead CD EP
£2.00
The Playwrights - The National Missing Person CD Single
£2.00
The Playwrights - Good Beneath The Radar CD Album
£7.00
The Playwrights - Television In Other Cities CD Single
hiya from new friend keith in aberdeen. nice sound u've got, very english and sort of raw but polished? almost reminded me of early genesis in parts...! k
Hey! Appologies if this is the second comment we've sent you recently...bit of a mix up in the bands communication :)
Anyway.. we've been a little quiet for the last few months but we are very pleased to announce our new EP is finished and up on our myspace! It's called Bright Lights and has four brand spanking new tracks to blow your mind. Please have a listen and tell us what you think and if you love it, buy it! :)
Thought we’d let you know that we’re playing your track "Television In Other Cities" from the CD you sent us recently, on BBC Radio Bristol Introducing this Sunday morning between 1-3am. Hear it live or anytime in the 7 days after broadcast using the on line "Listen Live/Again" feature on the BBC i-Player, there's a link to it from our profile.
Happy Dynamic Living!
Richard Pitt & Gary Smith BBC Radio Bristol Introducing
Ta for the add. Each month I will be recording the best song title posted on my comments page. Please stop by with your wacky/controversial/prolific or downright ridiculous ideas. Winner will receive a free album in the post. Hope you enjoy the page x Dan
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