Sing-Sing (band)

Last updated

Sing-Sing
OriginLondon, England
Genres Indie pop, dream pop
Years active1997 (1997)–2007 (2007)
LabelsAerial, Sanctuary, Poptones, Manifesto
Past members

Sing-Sing were an English indie pop/dream pop supergroup formed in 1997 in London, comprising vocalist Lisa O'Neill (who had previously worked with Locust, Mad Professor, and Kid Loco) and guitarist/vocalist Emma Anderson (formerly of Lush). [1] [2] They worked with a variety of musicians to create a sound which nodded to 1960s girl groups, electronica and folk. [2] They disbanded in 2007.

Contents

History

Lisa O'Neill and Emma Anderson met via a mutual friend in mid-1997, [3] and in early 1998 record their first demo as Sing-Sing, with Justin Welch of Elastica on drums. [4] A second demo prompted Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie to release "Feels Like Summer" as a single on their Bella Union label in October 1998. [5]

After having a track on a split single in 1999, they started their own label, Aerial, through which they released their next two singles, "I'll Be" and a re-recorded "Feels Like Summer", in 2000. [4] They signed with Alan McGee's Poptones label for the release of their debut album, The Joy of Sing-Sing, in October 2001. [4] [6] It was described as a "divine first album" by AllMusic and a "strong debut album" by PopMatters . [2] [6] Pitchfork Media gave it a 7.4 rating, with Nitsuh Abebe calling it a "tight, interesting, and great-sounding pop record". [5] CMJ New Music Monthly called it "a perfect soundtrack to a lazy afternoon in the countryside". [7] It was released in the US in 2002 by Manifesto Records. [5]

They toured the United States twice in 2002 taking in both SXSW in Austin and CMJ in New York. [4] To raise funds to record a second album they sold the Madame Sing-Sing EP via their website. [4] [8] Second album Sing-Sing and I followed in 2005, and was again well received by critics. [8] [9] [10] [11] Caroline Sullivan, reviewing it for The Guardian gave it 3 stars out of 5, while PopMatters gave it 6 out of 10. [9] [12]

Both the band's albums were produced by O'Neill's former colleague in Locust, Mark Van Hoen, but they also collaborated with the Mad Professor (remixed "I'll Be" in a lovers rock style), Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins, cellist and string-arranger Audrey Riley, Poppy Gonzalez, former pianist Mojave 3, Tim Keegan (Departure Lounge vocalist) and 4AD artist Vinny Miller.

Live musicians for touring included Michael Scrivens a.k.a. Shifty (bass), Poppy Gonzalez (piano, keys, percussion, backing vocals), Miguel Morland (drums 1998–2000), Jenny Jones (trumpet and keyboards), Darren Groucutt (drums 2000–2002), and Dominic del Torto (guitarist and backing vocalist 2005–2006). [4]

At the end of December 2007, they announced via their mailing list and website that they had decided to disband.

Post disbanding

Wrake (née O'Neill) is a graphic designer, [13] and sings with the band Lost Remnants. [14]

Anderson took part in the Lush reformation 2015-16 and released her debut solo album Pearlies on 20 October 2023 on the Sonic Cathedral label, having made videos for the singles "Bend the Round", "Clusters" and "The Presence" prior.

Discography

Albums

Singles and EPs

Other appearances

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References

  1. ↑ Vera, Marc (2006) "Download This: Sing-Sing", Entertainment Weekly , 11 January 2006. Retrieved 21 November 2015
  2. 1 2 3 Wilson, MacKenzie "The Joy of Sing-Sing Review", Allmusic. Retrieved 21 November 2015
  3. ↑ Redfern, Mark (2003) "Sing Sing: Bonus Quotes from Sing-Sing’s Lisa O’Neill and Emma Anderson", Under The Radar, 1 March 2003. Retrieved 21 November 2015
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kellman, Andy "Sing-Sing Biography", AllMusic. Retrieved 21 November 2015
  5. 1 2 3 Abebe, Nitsuh (2002) "Sing-Sing The Joy of Sing-Sing", Pitchfork Media, 4 November 2002. Retrieved 21 November 2015
  6. 1 2 Begrand, Adrian (2002) "Sing-Sing The Joy of Sing-Sing", PopMatters, 22 August 2002. Retrieved 21 November 2015
  7. ↑ Phillips, Amy (2002) "Sing-Sing The Joy of Sing-Sing", CMJ New Music Monthly , September 2002. Retrieved 21 November 2015
  8. 1 2 Wilson, MacKenzie "Sing-Sing and I Review", AllMusic. Retrieved 21 November 2015
  9. 1 2 Begrand, Adrian (2006) "Sing-Sing Sing-Sing and I", PopMatters, 27 April 2006. Retrieved 21 November 2015
  10. ↑ Miller, Andrew (2006) "Sing-Sing Sing-Sing and I", Riverfront Times , 22 February 2006. Retrieved 21 November 2015
  11. ↑ Murray, Noel (2006) "Sing-Sing: Sing-Sing And I", The A.V. Club, 15 February 2006. Retrieved 21 November 2015
  12. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (2006) "Sing-Sing, Sing-Sing and I", The Guardian , 13 January 2006. Retrieved 21 November 2015
  13. ↑ "HOME | Lisa Wrake, Creative Director". Lisa Wrake Portfolio. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  14. ↑ "Lisa Wrake" . Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  15. ↑ Sing-Sing - Feels Like Summer , retrieved 30 January 2022
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