Band of the Week: Talons

Brutal and beautiful post-rockers putting the 'mental' into 'instrumental joy'

Posted Monday, 15 November 2010 in

Talons They've long been one of the most promising young bands in the country, but as today sees the release of their brilliant debut album we figured there's no better time to step back and take a look at just how good Talons are.

They've released a series of limited singles over the past couple of years but it's only now that, with 'Hollow Realm', it becomes clear quite how talented they are. Mixing a sense of the epic gleaned from post-rock along the lines of Mogwai or Explosions In The Sky with some seriously heavy riffing - think a less abrasive Devil Sold His Soul, perhaps - it's a brilliantly brave album that suggests they'll be around for years to come. Check out the two tracks we're streaming below, and then read an interview with bassist Chris Hicks.
Talons - In The Shadows Of Our Stilted Homes by bsmrocks
When was the point you realised being in a band wasn't just something fun to do but a viable way to spend your life?
"Personally, joining the band was a pretty big change, I’d played in several bands before, but never to the extent of regularly touring and recording. It got serious for me when we supported Manchester Orchestra at Heaven in London, less than a month after I joined the band. I’d never played a venue where you could actually get lost backstage."

What's the furthest you'd go to promote your band?
"We’ve put in a fair amount of time and money into it, making it our main concern for a while. As for how far we’d go to promote the band, I guess it depends what we get offered. We’re not expecting to get snapped up by the major labels, so we do what we can to promote our music. You hear about these bands who go about promoting themselves in totally destructive ways, like a band in the states who blocked the 101 freeway with a truck at rush hour, blasting out their new single to commuters, ironically called ‘Traffic Jam 101’. I’m not even sure if we’d have the guts to do that."
Talons - Peter Pan by bsmrocks
What's been your favourite moment so far in the band?
"Writing and recording the album was a great experience, and now having the physical copies to keep is really rewarding. Also, I’ve always wanted to play shows out of the UK, which is going to happen when we tour in Europe in December. The worst moment involved getting drunk and attempting to steal a midget dressed as a smurf’s hat. It ended embarrassingly."

How will you describe Talons to your grandchildren?
"I’ll bore them with made-up stories and probably never actually play them a Talons song. Maybe we’ll still be around so they can come and watch us! I hope not."

How do you want people to feel during a Talons show?
"Just to enjoy it in anyway way they see fit, the music’s not supposed to be listened to in any particular way. It’s nice when someone approaches you after a gig who confesses they wouldn’t usually listen to instrumental music, but still enjoyed the set enough to let us know."

What's the biggest argument you've had as a band?
"We can have pretty heated debates in the van about the most mundane things, like a band or a genre. We can talk about the serious stuff and come to a sensible conclusion, but we’ll fall to pieces when we argue about where to park."