Cousteau (band)

Last updated

Cousteau
Cousteau Album Cover (Palm 2000).jpg
Cousteau
Background information
OriginLondon, England
Genres Indie pop, [1] chamber pop [2]
Years active1999–2005, 2016–2019, 2019-
LabelsGlobal Warming, Palm Pictures, One Little Indian
MembersLiam McKahey, Davey Ray Moor
Past membersDan Church, Robin Brown, Craig Vear, Joe Peet
Website

Cousteau are a London-based band who enjoyed considerable international success, particularly in Italy and the U.S. from 1999 to 2005. The band's sound has been compared to Burt Bacharach, Scott Walker and David Bowie with an updated contemporary edge. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

Their best known song remains the single "The Last Good Day of the Year", from their eponymous debut album. It has featured in advertisements (such as those for Nissan in the United States and Borsci in Italy), films (such as Happily Ever After , with Charlotte Gainsbourg, winner of the Special Selection category at the Toronto Film Festival 2005, and South Kensington with Rupert Everett) and documentaries and television programmes around the world. It also enjoyed radio play on both BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 in the UK, later becoming a staple of the NPR and AAA networks in the US. Most recently being 2022's Atlanta.

History

The initial release of the debut eponymous album was 'home-made' and included many demos turned down by various major labels. 3,000 copies of the album were pressed by indie label Global Warming. The album sold out after receiving rave reviews, including a 5-star review in Uncut magazine, and recommended album Time Out London. When the band signed to Chris Blackwell's Palm Pictures label a decision was made to re-record the majority of the album (two tracks, including 'Last Good Day of the Year', were not changed). On re-release in 2000, the album was Album Of The Week in The Guardian in the UK, and went on to sell more than 300,000 copies internationally. The album remains at #23 in Uncut's Highest Rating Albums of All Time

Cousteau receiving gold disc award Cobden Club, 13 March 2002. Cousteau, Cobden Club, London, 13 March 2002.jpg
Cousteau receiving gold disc award Cobden Club, 13 March 2002.

The band achieved gold-record status in Europe after years of consistent touring and promotion, including tours supporting The Dandy Warhols, David Gray, and Goldfrapp. Notably the band sold out iconic The Troubadour in Los Angeles, headlining on three separate occasions during the period 2001-2003. Fans of the band include Heath Ledger, Radiohead and David Byrne; Byrne attending two New York shows in 2002 and 2003.

In 2002 the second album, Sirena, was released; the version released in the US included a DVD with videos and unreleased live songs. This album sold over 90,000 copies, and contains the singles 'Talking to Myself' and '(Damn These) Hungry Times'. Sirena was met with critical acclaim from the likes of Rolling Stone , USA Today and Billboard , and most notably a 2-page colour feature in The New York Times . [6] In 2005 Sirena was awarded Classic Album status in The Sydney Morning Herald .

The band's line-up changed when songwriter/producer Davey Ray Moor left to pursue production jobs in Italy, such as the No. 4 album Dove Sei Tu for Cristina Dona, a solo album 'Telepathy', released in Europe in the USA (included in Republica's Critics Top 100, 2004) and television & documentary soundtracks. Songwriting duties were taken on by main singer Liam McKahey, and after a change in record companies, the group returned in 2005 with the album Nova Scotia, produced by U2's engineer Ger McDonnel. [7] [8] [9] Lead singer Liam McKahey released a solo album in 2009 as 'Liam McKahey and the Bodies' entitled Lonely Road, and 2014 saw the release of a second album entitled 'Black Vinyl Heart'.

Meanwhile, the HBO network in the US continues to license Cousteau's earlier work, with their song 'Mesmer' appearing in a feature about Heidi Fleiss, and 'The Last Good Day of The Year' in the HBO film Tell Me You Love Me.

Reboot

In 2016 it was announced that Liam McKahey and Davey Ray Moor were back in the recording studio and returning as CousteauX. To avoid legal complications with the litigious Cousteau Society, and to honour the new era, the band placed an X at the end of their name; Cousteaux being another popular French family name. The new CousteauX began with a sold-out debut at The Blue Note in Milan in May 2016. A new album (CousteauX) was released in September 2017 on Silent X Records to consistent international critical acclaim, including Album of The Year in Music Republic Magazine. The duo, augmented by Italian Musicians Lorenzo Corti, Marco Ferrara and Massimo Lorenzon performed gigs in the UK, Portugal and Italy including a sold-out night at the legendary 100 Club in London.

The latest album, Stray Gods, was released in August 2020, and the video 'When The Bloom Has Left The Rose' won dozens of international awards including Best Music Video at the 2020 London Independent Film Festival. 2022 saw Last Good Day of The Year sync'd with the hit US series Atlanta. Their music continues to be played internationally on radio, television and film; testament to the timeless nature of these songs and their recordings.

Members

Current

Former

Temporary

Discography

Albums

Singles (CD)

Other contributions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crowded House</span> New Zealand / Australian / American pop rock band

Crowded House are a rock band, formed in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, in 1985. Its founding members were New Zealander Neil Finn and Australians Paul Hester (drums) and Nick Seymour (bass). Later band members included Finn's brother Tim, who was in their former band Split Enz; sons Liam and Elroy; as well as Americans Mark Hart and Matt Sherrod,. Neil Finn and Seymour are the sole constant members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oasis (band)</span> English rock band

Oasis are an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. The group initially consisted of Liam Gallagher, Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (guitar), Paul McGuigan and Tony McCarroll (drums), with Liam asking his older brother Noel Gallagher to join as a fifth member a few months later to finalise their formation. Noel became the de facto leader of the group and took over the songwriting duties for the band's first four albums. They are characterised as one of the defining and most globally successful groups of the Britpop genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noel Gallagher</span> English musician (born 1967)

Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis. After formerly leaving Oasis, he formed Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. Gallagher is one of the most successful songwriters in British music history, as the writer of eight UK number-one singles and co-writer of a further number one, as well as the sole or primary writer of ten UK number-one studio albums. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential songwriters in the history of British rock music, cited by numerous major subsequent artists as an influence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Yorn</span> American musician

Peter Joseph Yorn is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first gained international recognition after his debut record, Musicforthemorningafter, was released to critical and commercial acclaim in 2001. He is known for playing the bulk of the instruments on his records. Spin magazine, in a career retrospective article dated March 26, 2021, recognized Yorn as one of his generation's best songwriters. Yorn’s 10th full length album, Hawaii, was released on June 17, 2022. His latest single, “Real Good Love”, was released on June 28, 2024.

<i>Be Here Now</i> (album) 1997 studio album by Oasis

Be Here Now is the third studio album by the English rock band Oasis, released on 21 August 1997 by Creation Records. The album was recorded at multiple recording studios in London, including Abbey Road Studios, as well as Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey. Although most tracks retain the anthemic quality of previous releases, the songs on Be Here Now are longer and contain many guitar overdubs. Noel Gallagher said this was done to make the album sound as "colossal" as possible. The album cover features a shot of the band members at Stocks House in Hertfordshire. It is the last Oasis studio album to feature founding members guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs and bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan as the two left in 1999.

The Roxy was a fashionable nightclub located at 41–43 Neal Street in London's Covent Garden, known for hosting the flowering British punk music scene in its infancy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Redemption Song</span> 1980 single by Bob Marley

"Redemption Song" is a song by Jamaican singer Bob Marley. It is the final track on Bob Marley and the Wailers' twelfth album, Uprising, produced by Chris Blackwell and released by Island Records. The song is considered one of Marley's greatest works. Some key lyrics derived from a speech given by the Pan-Africanist orator Marcus Garvey titled "The Work That Has Been Done", which Marley publicly recited as early as July 1979 during his appearance at the Amandla Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ruts</span> British reggae-influenced punk rock band

The Ruts are an English reggae-influenced punk rock band, notable for the 1979 UK top 10 hit single "Babylon's Burning", and an earlier single "In a Rut", which was not a hit but was highly regarded and regularly played by BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel. The band's newfound success was cut short by the death of lead singer Malcolm Owen from a heroin overdose in 1980. Despite this the band continued under a different musical style as Ruts D.C. until 1983 when they disbanded. The band reformed in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason McCaslin</span> Canadian musician (born 1980)

Jason "Cone" McCaslin is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, serving as the bassist and backing vocalist of the band Sum 41. He and frontman Deryck Whibley are the only two members of the band to appear on every studio album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Plaskett</span> Canadian singer-songwriter

William Joel MacDonald Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of genres, from blues and folk to hard rock, country, and pop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Lane (musician)</span> Australian musician

David Daniel Lane is an Australian musician. He is a solo artist and lead guitarist of You Am I. He was also lead singer-guitarist of The Pictures and member of Australian supergroup, The Wrights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordie Sampson</span> Musical artist

Gordon Francis Sampson is a Canadian singer-songwriter and producer from Big Pond, Nova Scotia.

Davey Ray Moor is an England-based songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathy Davey</span> Irish singer-songwriter

Catherine Davey is an Irish singer-songwriter. She has released one extended play, "Come Over" (2004), and four albums, Something Ilk (2004), Tales of Silversleeve (2007), The Nameless (2010) and New Forest (2016). Her second album garnered her a 2007 Choice Music Prize nomination and the 2008 Meteor Award for Best Irish Female and spawned a number of successful singles, including "Reuben", "Moving", and "Sing for Your Supper". The Nameless was the top selling album in Ireland upon the week of its release. It was also nominated for the Choice Music Prize.

<i>Nova Scotia</i> (album) 2005 studio album by Cousteau

Nova Scotia is the third album by Cousteau, released in 2005 on the Endeavour record label. It was subsequently released in the U.S. under the band name 'Moreau' for legal reasons on the One Little Indian label with two additional tracks (*). The US release also featured new artwork.

The Afterglow are an Italian rock band with clear English influences founded in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violent Soho</span> Australian rock band

Violent Soho were an Australian alternative rock band that was formed in 2004 in the Brisbane suburb of Mansfield, Queensland, originally under the name of "showroom". For the majority of the band's existence, the line-up was composed of Luke Boerdam, James Tidswell, Luke Henery and Michael Richards. Their sound has been compared to that of 1980s and 1990s alternative rock bands such as the Pixies, Mudhoney,Smashing Pumpkins, and Nirvana. Although being largely described as grunge, the band self described themselves as a "stoner pop" band. The band's third studio album, Hungry Ghost, was certified Gold in Australia in September 2014. Their fourth album, Waco, debuted at number 1 on the Australian ARIA Charts in 2016. The band's fifth album, Everything Is A-OK, was released on 3 April 2020 and also debuted at number 1 on the ARIA charts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sennen (band)</span>

Sennen are an English alternative rock band from London. Formed in Norwich, England, in 2002, the current line-up consists of Larry Holmes, Rich Kelleway, James Brown and Tim Kelleway (bass). The band's uncorrupted, oddly schizophrenic style has won them a loyal following across the world, and seen their music appear on hit US TV dramas such as True Blood and One Tree Hill. The band are named after the Ride song "Sennen", originally released on the Today Forever EP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slowcoaster</span> Canadian rock band

Slowcoaster is a Canadian indie rock band from Sydney, Nova Scotia. The band's sound is rock-based, with strong influences of reggae, ska, folk and jazz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davey Oberlin</span> American musician

Davey Oberlin is an American musician. He is best known as the touring keyboardist for Korn. Oberlin is also known for his work in heavy metal group Five Finger Death Punch and symphonic deathcore group Winds of Plague.

References

  1. Loftus, Johnny. "Cousteau – Artist Biography". AllMusic. All Media Network . Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  2. Monger, James Christopher. "Cousteau – Nova Scotia". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  3. Cousteau Biography. NME.
  4. "Cousteau" The Guardian, January 2001.
  5. Cousteau. PopMatters, 31 July 2002.
  6. 1 2 "MUSIC; Deeper Into the Oceanic Imagery". The New York Times, 30 June 2002.
  7. Cousteau - Nova Scotia (Endeavour). Archived 4 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine musicOMH.
  8. Cousteau Archived 25 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine Piranha PR.
  9. "Cousteau Borderline, London". The Guardian, 24 March 2005.