The Purrs with Black Nite Crash and Drakes Hotel

The Purrs

A band from Seattle, The Purrs have a rich 10-year musical history, marked by appearances at Bumbershoot and MidPoint music festivals, weekend coast-to-coast jaunts to play CMJ, national tours, broken-down vans, a song featured on the HBO series Californication, heavy rotation on influential radio stations such as KEXP, WOXY, and SIRIUS, and hundreds of gigs with such talents as Okkervil River, A Place To Bury Strangers, The Wrens, Jesse Sykes, Holy Fuck, and Film School.

Tearing Down Paisley Garden is the band’s sixth release. This recording is another pop masterpiece, with alluring vocals, perfectly layered guitars, and unforgettable hooks and harmonies—everything that is great about The Purrs.

Tearing Down Paisley Garden was taken from the opening lyrics of “Pie In The Sky,” a song about townhouses, shopping malls, and landfills—ironic hallmarks of so-called progress in our modern times.

“The lyrical themes in this release are about knocking old things down and replacing them with new,” says Jima. “There are consequences of confusing ‘new’ with ‘better’. Oh yeah, and heartache is a bitch.”

This release spans a wide range of dynamics, from the nearly unhinged intensity of opening track “Only Dreaming” (a cover of the 80s hit by Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry) to the melancholy resignation of “I’m Slipping.” Fans will appreciate new recordings of “Just A Little More” and “It Could Be So Wonderful,” often played at live shows, but previously only available on a rare early demo. The disc closes with “I Move Around” (a cover from legendary country singer Lee Hazlewood) and “Always Something In My Way,” whose psychedelic groove provides a backdrop for one last lamentation about the futility of it all. 

Black Nite Crash

BLACK NITE CRASH:

Jim Biggs - Vocals and Guitar
Jasun Hadaway- Bass Guitar
Scott Kennedy- Guitar and Vocals
Randall Morgan- Drums and Percussion
Isabel Dickey- Keyboards and Tambourine

It’s no coincidence the band name was picked from the final and most explosive single by legendary Brit-rock band Ride. Black Nite Crash continues in the same fuzz-drenched tradition of gorgeous melodies and big guitar sounds. The band’s atmospheric, dynamic sound has seen them compared to The Church, The Pixies & The Jesus & Mary Chain. Black Nite Crash formed in 2002 in their adopted hometown of Seattle. A shared love of shoegaze bands, new wave and classic sixties garage blended together into their own version of noise-pop. "We always felt a little too post-punk to be psychedelic, a little too psychedelic to be post-punk," states Jim Biggs, "but we've always seen the obvious connections: a good melody, loud guitars and a dark sense of absurdity."

"Array", the band’s full-length debut, was recorded at London Bridge Studio. Recorded & produced by Dave Hillis & Erik Blood. It is now available as an LP with a free CD version of the album included. Highlights include “Falling Down”, “Soft Focus”, & “Perfect Blue.” Black Nite Crash is now in the studio working on a follow-up album, "Drawn Out Days", expected for release later in 2011. Stay tuned.