Last night, Cold War Kids, headliners of a three-band bill, played to a packed house at the Knitting Factory. It's clear that most of the patrons in attendance were there to see CWK, and were rewarded with a fine performance. HOWEVER...it was also very clear that Cold War Kids tourmates, A Lull, stole the show, and won more than a few converts during the course of the evening.
A Lull is a Chicago-based quintet, consisting of Nigel Dennis, Todd Miller, Mike Brown, Ashwin Deepankar, and Aaron Vincel. A Lull are a highly-percussive band, and their brace of drummers, Deepankar and Vincel, provide the heartbeat of that sound. But, like I said, A Lull is a highly percussive band, with all members manning all manner of rhythm-making apparati during their set. This approach creates joyus, primal rhythms that provide unbelievable power to their songs. Layered on top of that rhythmic pulse are guitars, bass, synths, and chamber-pop-leaning vocals. The resulting sonic stew is as unique as it is memorable, especially in a live setting.
A Lull joined forces as a quintet about two and a half years ago. After countless hours of brainstorming and rehearsing, they had stockpiled over 75 songs; some partial, some complete. They managed to distill these into their full-length debut, Confetti. With the album complete, they were ready to unleash their fully-formed sound on tour. At the start of the new tour, Nigel Dennis was kind enough to share some intel about the band...
KP: Since there's not a lot of information available about the band, could you explain how the band got its start?
ND: Todd and I had been playing in a previous band. That band had broken up but we wanted to continue writing together. We had total freedom to where we could take the new project. We spent a couple years writing and demoing a bunch of ideas, employing help. Mike eventually started tracking some guitar for and with us on some ideas and the songs from that became "Ice Cream Bones", our first EP. Shortly after we had finished recording that EP, we decided that we needed a larger band and a bigger sound. Ashwin and Aaron joined soon after and we began to develop our sound into what it is now.
KP: How did you come up with the band's name?
ND: I was listening to a lot of Andrew Bird. He has a song on his "Weather Systems" album called "Lull". The lyrics were really captivating and struck something in me, so Todd and I had talked and I said "i've been listening to this song…let's call the band this...". Didn't take long. Band names can be bad, but dwelling on a name can sometimes get a bit tiresome.
KP: Describe the sound of A Lull to someone who hadn't heard any of your music:
ND: I just tell everyone "poppy with a lot of drums". I know there's more to it than that, but seems to be easiest answer. Heavy at times. Light at times. Synthetic at times.
KP: I've listened to everything by the band that I could get my hands on. HIGHLY original. (Fortunately) very uncategorizable. Could you touch on some of your musical influences?
ND: We are influenced by all kinds of music. Personally, a lot of hip-hop and R&B influenced a lot of the beats and some melodies on our record. Classic rock influenced some tones throughout. But then, there are a lot of contemporaries that we are influenced by - Grizzly Bear, etc. We have a lot of respect for a lot of the bands that are out right now and its hard not to take influence.
KP: I saw the video for 'Weapons of War'. Loved it. Could you tell me a little about the video - who directed it and the concept behind it.
ND: The video concept was simple. The initial idea was to have 2 creatures sizing each other up from a distance and following them during the attack. The idea basically developed into more of a subconscious, almost dream-like scenario where you got a glimpse into the tender and destructive moments that each creature felt or imagined. Eventually ending in them striking towards each other right before the screen cuts to black. The video was directed and edited by good friend Anthony Ciannamea.
KP: How has the audience reception been to the live shows you've done outside your home base of Chicago?
ND: We've been touring pretty steadily since the start of 2009. The reception has been really great so far. It keeps getting better the more we tour. We've been really fortunate. We try not to play in Chicago all too often. We don't want to oversaturate our own home town. It can get tiresome.
KP: You guys will be at South by Southwest later this month. What bands are you interested in seeing while you're in Austin? Also, who are some artists you'd love to perform with at some point?
ND: I'd love to see SUUNS. Been a big fan of their new record. I'd like to see Baths as well. There are so many bands, its hard to remember all of them. In general, I would love to play with Yeasayer, Grizzly Bear, bands like that. Much respect to them.
KP: What's the best advice any of you received about the music business, and who gave it?
ND: Not really sure. My dad, probably. Always tells me "just do what you guys do and everything will fall into place". Always means a lot.
KP: What's the oddest job any of you have taken to make ends meet?
ND: I put 300 chairs together at a hotel near my house for like $300 or something. Really weird. That was a long time ago. Haven't had to take any odd jobs in a very very long time.
Judging by audience reaction to their show on 3/6 at the Knitting Factory, the members won't need to take any odd jobs anytime soon. A Lull are an amazing live act.
Check out future tour dates, pre-order their new album, Confetti, and download a free track, all at A Lull's official website.
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