Manchester Orchestra | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 2004–present |
Labels |
|
Members | Andy Hull Robert McDowell Tim Very Andy Prince |
Past members | Jonathan Corley Jeremiah Edmond Trevor Dowdy Chris Freeman |
Website | manchesterorchestra |
Manchester Orchestra is an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, that formed in 2004. The group's current line-up is composed of lead singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, bassist Andy Prince and drummer Tim Very. Hull is the band's only original member, having overseen every iteration of the band to date. Former drummer Jeremiah Edmond parted ways with the band in January 2010 to focus on his family and on running the band's record label, Favorite Gentlemen. The band's original bassist, Jonathan Corley, parted ways with the band in 2013. [1] Keyboardist/percussionist Chris Freeman announced his departure from the band in September 2016. [2]
Manchester Orchestra has released several extended plays and six studio albums to date: I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child (2006), Mean Everything to Nothing (2009), Simple Math (2011), Cope (2014) (as well as its accompanying acoustic version, Hope ), A Black Mile to the Surface (2017), and The Million Masks of God (2021), as well as The Valley of Vision (2023). They are signed to independent record label Favorite Gentlemen Recordings, which is distributed through Sony Music Entertainment and Loma Vista Recordings.
The band has performed at major music festivals such as Lollapalooza, [3] Bonnaroo, [4] Coachella, [5] Riot Fest, [6] Shaky Knees Music Festival, [7] Firefly Music Festival, [8] Reading and Leeds Festivals, [9] and Austin City Limits Music Festival [10]
Manchester Orchestra originated in the Atlanta suburbs. They are named after the English city of Manchester, a city frequently viewed as being bohemian and also rich in musical history. [11] In an interview with Caught in the Crossfire, lead singer Andy Hull explained that he chose "Manchester" because he "had gone through a summer of listening to nothing but The Smiths", and "Orchestra" because he "didn't want to be in a band" and envisioned having "all [his] friends come and be a part of it and form an orchestra". [12] Feeling increasingly alienated at his "small-town-Georgia, Christian high school" named Providence Christian Academy, in suburban Atlanta, Hull became so frustrated that he spent his senior year studying at home. He also wrote and recorded his first full-length album in 2004 while studying during his last year of high school. [13]
Early in their career, the band recorded an album entitled Nobody Sings Anymore. However, it was never released due to the shift in the band's musical direction and personnel changes undergone following its recording. The band stated that "the band that made the record was different to the band now." Some of the tracks written for the album were released instead on their 2005 EP You Brainstorm, I Brainstorm, but Brilliance Needs a Good Editor . [14]
Following the release of You Brainstorm..., Manchester Orchestra recorded and released their debut album I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child . The album was released on July 27, 2007. Guitarist Robert McDowell did not appear on this album, having left the band at the time of recording. [15] He did, however, rejoin the band a year later. The song "Wolves at Night" was featured in the video game NHL 08. The band worked in the studio recording their third EP, Let My Pride Be What's Left Behind , with producer Dan Hannon and engineer Brad Fisher. It was released October 7, 2008.
On February 13, 2008, a Daytrotter Sessions set was published including three songs the band performed live. [16]
In early September 2008, the band announced on their Myspace blog that they had begun recording their second album entitled Mean Everything to Nothing with producer Joe Chicarrelli (The Shins, My Morning Jacket). On February 4, 2009, the band posted a link to a free download of the single "I've Got Friends" [17] and performed an acoustic version at The Fly's in the Courtyard Sessions. The album was released April 21, 2009 and peaked at #37 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. [18]
Jeremiah Edmond left the band in January 2010 to focus on his family and running the band's record label. [19] Also in January, the band announced the release of a split EP with Kevin Devine entitled I Could Be the Only One . The EP was released digitally January 26, 2010. Following the release of the Manchester Orchestra / Kevin Devine split EP, it was announced that Devine would record a full-length album along with the members of Manchester Orchestra later that year, with half the album written by Devine and half by Andy Hull. On April 10, 2010, it was announced the new project's name as Bad Books and that the album would be released under that moniker. On August 16, 2010, it was announced that the self-titled Bad Books album would be released on October 19, 2010, digitally and on November 9, 2010, on a physical CD.
In March 2010, Hull mentioned in an interview with the Dallas Observer that the band had begun work on a follow-up to 2009's Mean Everything to Nothing , tentatively titled Let Go of Your Sorrowful Groaning. (While ultimately discarded as an album title, this phrase later appeared on the song "Mighty".) He also said that the band had been demoing around 34 songs, and that in writing the album he was imagining a "spiritual miscarriage". [20] In September 2010, in an interview with Rip It Up magazine, the band announced that they were in the middle of recording their third full-length album, and explained it to be completely different from anything they had released in the past. The album was recorded with Dan Hannon in both Blackbird Studios (Nashville) and their own Favorite Gentlemen Studios (Atlanta). [21] Drummer Tim Very is featured on the album and eventually became Edmond's replacement. [22] On October 23, 2010, during an appearance at Radio 104.5 in Philadelphia, following a Bad Books show in support of their recently released self-titled debut album, Manchester Orchestra debuted an acoustic version of the new album's title track, "Simple Math". Frontman Andy Hull said the album would be released in March 2011. On January 27, 2011, the band announced that their third full-length studio album, Simple Math , would be released on May 10, 2011. It was also revealed that Simple Math would be a concept album. [23] The song "April Fool" was featured in the game NHL 12. In the summer of 2011, the band joined Blink-182 and My Chemical Romance for part of the 2011 Honda Civic Tour. In autumn 2011, the band headlined the PacTour and were supported by White Denim, The Dear Hunter and Little Hurricane.
On February 10, 2013, Jonathan Corley left the band to pursue a career outside of playing music and was replaced by Andy Prince. [24] [25] On March 11, the band announced they had begun recording their fourth full-length album. [26] For Record Store Day 2013, the band teamed up with Grouplove and Frightened Rabbit to release a 12-inch containing the tracks "Make It to Me" and "Architect". [27] On October 28, 2013, the band released their first new music since 2011, "After the Scripture", a song featured on the soundtrack of the movie Dallas Buyers Club .
On December 8, 2013, Andy Hull announced in a video interview with Matt Pinfield that their fourth studio album would be titled Cope , and was slated for release on April 1, 2014. [28] On January 21, 2014, an official statement from the band confirmed this information. [29] The album's first single, "Top Notch", was released alongside the announcement. Pre-orders for CD and LP copies of the album were subsequently added to the band's online store. On February 25, 2014, the album's second single, "Every Stone", was released. On September 16, 2014, Manchester Orchestra surprise-released Hope , a song-by-song re-imagining of Cope with stripped down and more emotionally driven versions of each song. On Hope, Andy Hull stated that the band "aimed for nasty and guttural stuff on Cope, and this was more like, 'How pretty can this be?' I've always liked both sensibilities. This was an opportunity to see if we could sit down and do it for a whole album." They also announced a 13-date tour in support of Hope. [30]
Andy Hull and Robert McDowell wrote and performed the soundtrack for Swiss Army Man , a 2016 film starring Daniel Radcliffe and Paul Dano. The soundtrack is composed solely of vocals, with as many as 150 vocal tracks layered on top of one another. [31] Radcliffe offered high praise for the soundtrack:
Do you know what I honestly think should be nominated [for an Academy Award?] The soundtrack and the songwriting from the band – Andy and Rob from the band Manchester Orchestra. Obviously, I'm totally biased but I really think that when people hear the 'Montage' song that we sing in the movie – I don't feel that there's going to be a better original song all year than the one those guys wrote.
— Daniel Radcliffe, Entertainment Weekly [32]
The soundtrack was nominated for "Best Original Score for a Comedy Film" and "Film Music Composition of the Year" in the 2016 International Film Music Critics Association Awards.
The band released their fifth full-length album, A Black Mile to the Surface , on July 21, 2017. [33] The album debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard Top Albums Sales chart, [34] No. 2 on Vinyl Albums, [35] No. 6 on Alternative Albums, [36] and No. 7 on Rock Albums. [37] The album was produced by Catherine Marks, John Congleton, and Jonathan Wilson. [38] The band put out three singles ahead of the album's release. "The Gold" was released June 9, with an accompanying music video by Mike Dempsey and Johnny Chew. [39] Two weeks later, the band released "The Alien". It featured a music video, released on NPR and created by Mike Dempsey and the Daniels. [40] On July 10, 2017, they released the third and final single from the album, entitled "The Moth". On July 31, the band released a music video for "The Sunshine", which was directed by the Daniels.
On March 30, 2018, the band released a cover of "No Hard Feelings" by The Avett Brothers. [41] On June 8, 2018, they released the single "I Know How to Speak", which was partially recorded during the Black Mile sessions. [42]
On February 17, 2021, the band announced their sixth album, The Million Masks of God , by releasing the first single from the album, "Bed Head". [43] The album was released on April 30 via Loma Vista. [44]
In April 2022, the band joined Michigander for a feature on their single "In My Head" and brought them out on their headlining tour in support of The Million Masks of God , alongside Foxing. [45]
On March 10, 2023, the band released The Valley of Vision , a six-song album accompanied by a VR film released on YouTube. It features tracks recorded during The Million Masks of God sessions. [46] [47]
Series title | Date |
---|---|
Late Show with David Letterman | September 6, 2007 [48] |
Late Night with Conan O'Brien | October 31, 2007 [49] |
Late Show with David Letterman | April 29, 2009 [50] |
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon | June 10, 2009 [51] |
Live from Abbey Road | |
Jimmy Kimmel Live! | March 10, 2010 [52] |
Late Show with David Letterman | May 12, 2011 [53] |
Last Call with Carson Daly | November 2, 2011 [54] |
Late Show with David Letterman | March 31, 2014 [55] |
CBS This Morning | July 22, 2017 [56] |
Movie | Year | Song |
---|---|---|
No Sleep 'Til Christmas | 2018 | "The Maze" [57] |
Swiss Army Man | 2016 | Full score [58] |
Earth to Echo | 2014 | "Opposite Sides" [59] |
Premium Rush | 2012 | "Pensacola" [60] [61] |
Current members
Current touring musicians
| Former members
|
Manchester Orchestra has consistently released a series of video podcasts throughout their career. Over one hundred podcasts have been released since September 2006 on the band's YouTube page. [69] They begin during the recording process of the band's first record I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child, and continue to highlight key moments of the band's progression. These 5- to 10-minute videos were released as a way to connect with fans and to give them a glimpse of what it's actually like touring and making records. [70] These videos were filmed and edited by filmmaker and founding band member Jonathan Corley. The numbering of these podcasts reflect different time periods, and reset for each additional record release.
Several of the members of Manchester Orchestra are involved in other music projects. Andy Hull has a solo project called Right Away, Great Captain! as well as a band called Bad Books consisting of Hull and Kevin Devine. Robert McDowell's solo project is called Gobotron. In addition to Manchester Orchestra, Andy Prince plays bass for Kevin Devine and Nashville-based band The Gills. [71]
The band hosts, curates, and performs at an annual festival in Atlanta called "The Stuffing". The festival began in 2010 and takes place every year around Thanksgiving. In addition to Manchester Orchestra, past performers include Cage the Elephant, Kevin Devine, O'Brother, The Front Bottoms, All Get Out, Grouplove, Dustin Kensrue and more. [72] 2016 was the 7th year of The Stuffing and featured Manchester Orchestra performing their album I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child in its entirety to celebrate the album's 10-year anniversary. [73]
Brendon Small is an American actor, stand-up comedian, writer, director, producer, and musician who is known for co-creating the animated series Home Movies and Metalocalypse. He also writes the music, and is the main performer for the fictional melodic death metal band Dethklok, which began as the subject of Metalocalypse but has taken on a life of its own, with four albums and an occasional live touring band, headed by Small. Small has also released two albums under his own name, in a similar musical style to Dethklok.
Kevin Devine is an American songwriter and musician from Staten Island, New York City, who is known for his introspective and political themes. He is a contemporary member of the underground indie rock and indie folk musical scenes, and his influences range from older indie artists such as Neutral Milk Hotel, Elliott Smith and Pavement to more mainstream and well known acts such as Nirvana and Bob Dylan. In 2013, Kevin Devine rejoined his previous band, Miracle of 86, for a series of reunion shows.
Andrew Daly is an American actor and comedian. He starred as Forrest MacNeil on the Comedy Central series Review, and had a supporting role in the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down as Terrence Cutler. He has also made recurring appearances on television programs such as Silicon Valley, Veep, Modern Family, Black-ish, Trial & Error, the Netflix series The Who Was? Show, Reno 911!, and Comedy Bang! Bang!, as well as animated shows such as Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites, Bob's Burgers, Adventure Time, and Harley Quinn.
Scott David Aukerman is an American writer, actor, comedian, television personality, director, producer, and podcast host. Starting as a writer and performer in the later seasons of the sketch series Mr. Show, Aukerman is best known as the host of the weekly comedy podcast Comedy Bang! Bang! as well as the IFC original television series of the same name. Aukerman is the co-creator of Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis and co-founder of the Earwolf podcast network.
Right Away, Great Captain! is the solo side project of Manchester Orchestra's lead singer, Andy Hull. Debut album The Bitter End was released on January 14, 2007 via Favorite Gentlemen Recordings. The follow-up, The Eventually Home, was released on November 11, 2008, also on Hull's label Favorite Gentlemen Recordings. On February 10, 2010, he announced the third and final installment of his solo project's trilogy, The Church of the Good Thief, which was released on June 12, 2012. An additional bonus album consisting of B-sides, demos and one-offs, The Lost Sea, was released on July 13, 2012.
John Andrew Hull is an American singer, musician and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter of the indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. He also has a side project, Right Away, Great Captain!, and co-founded another project with his friend and folk musician Kevin Devine by the name of Bad Books. Hull is also co-president of Manchester Orchestra's label, Favorite Gentlemen.
Paul Rust is an American actor, comedian and writer. He starred in the 2009 film I Love You, Beth Cooper and in the Netflix series Love.
The Eventually Home is the second release from Andy Hull's solo project, Right Away, Great Captain. The concept record conveys the journey of a 17th-century sailor who has been betrayed by his wife who has committed adultery with his own brother. In this second part of the planned trilogy, the sailor returns home in the song "Memories from a Shore" with the intention of killing both his wife and brother.
I Could Be With Anyone is an EP released by Kevin Devine in support of his fifth album, Brother's Blood, and his winter 2008 tour with Manchester Orchestra. The title track is featured on Brother's Blood, while the other 3 tracks are exclusive to the EP. Both "She Stayed As Steam" and "What's Keeping Us Young" were previously available to stream on Kevin's MySpace page, however, the EP features a new version of "What's Keeping Us Young".
Mean Everything to Nothing is the second studio album by the Atlanta-based indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. It was released on April 21, 2009, through independent record label Favorite Gentlemen Recordings and produced by Joe Chiccarelli and Dan Hannon.
Bad Books is an American indie rock band formed in early 2010, and is composed of indie folk artist Kevin Devine and members of indie rock band Manchester Orchestra along with drummer Benjamin Homola. The collaboration began when Kevin toured along with Manchester Orchestra in November–December 2008 in support of his EP I Could Be with Anyone, and followed by the release of the split EP entitled I Could Be the Only One in January 2010.
Bad Books is the debut album from the folk/indie rock collaboration project by folk artist Kevin Devine and members of indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. It was released digitally on October 19, 2010, and with a physical CD copy following on November 9, 2010 through Manchester Orchestra's own label Favorite Gentlemen Recordings. Six songs on the album were written by Kevin Devine, with the other five written by Andy Hull.
Simple Math is the third studio album from Atlanta-based indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. It was released on May 10, 2011 through the independent label Favorite Gentlemen Recordings, itself distributed by Sony Music Entertainment. The album was recorded with Dan Hannon, who also produced the band's first album and co-produced their second.
Earwolf is an American comedy podcasting network founded by Scott Aukerman and Jeff Ullrich in August 2010. In 2011, they announced a partnership with Funny Or Die. It merged with podcast advertising network The Mid Roll in 2014, a separate company founded by Ullrich, to form Midroll Media. Midroll was acquired by the E. W. Scripps Company in 2015. In July 2020, Sirius XM acquired Midroll Media, which includes Stitcher Radio and Earwolf, for $325 million.
II is the second album from the folk/indie rock collaboration project by folk artist Kevin Devine and members of indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. It was released on October 9, 2012, exactly two years after the band's self-titled debut album, on Triple Crown Records. Like the first album, the songs written were collaborations between Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra's frontman Andy Hull.
Cope is the fourth studio album from Atlanta-based indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. It was released on April 1, 2014 through Loma Vista Recordings and the band's own independent label, Favorite Gentlemen. The album was self-produced alongside their long-time collaborating partner Dan Hannon, and mixed by John Agnello at Fluxivity Studios in Brooklyn. The album's first single, "Top Notch", was released on January 20, 2014. The album's second single, "Every Stone", was released on February 25, 2014.
Nikki Nack is the third album by American band Tune-Yards, released by 4AD in May 2014.
A Black Mile to the Surface is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Manchester Orchestra. It was released on July 21, 2017, through Loma Vista Recordings and Favorite Gentlemen. Recording for the album took place from the summer of 2016 onwards with producer Catherine Marks. The lead single, "The Gold", was released on June 9, 2017, alongside a music video directed by Mike Dempsey and Johnny Chew. Two more singles, "The Alien" and "The Moth", were released later in the summer.
"The Gold" is a song by the American rock band Manchester Orchestra. The song was released on June 9, 2017, as the lead single from their fifth studio album, A Black Mile to the Surface. The song was a chart success for the band, peaking at No. 2 on Billboard's Adult Alternative Songs chart and No. 12 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart, their first charting single in six years.
III is the third album from Bad Books, the collaborative project from Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra members Andy Hull and Robert McDowell. The album was released in digital format on June 14, 2019 while the physical release took place on June 21, 2019 on Loma Vista Recordings.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)