City Cat Collective

When we started this blog, we said we would try not over mention the same artist. Dear Banshee and their output of amazing music has made it hard to follow that statement. Highlighting talent is what this blogs mission is all about, so game on!!! 

We previously featured ‘Rehoboam’, the bands lead single from their new LP, Wake Of Modern Life. That single is no doubt one of best tracks from the album but there's other's as well because of course there is. Let's go over a few.

 

Track 1. ‘One Last Sigh’ - How James and Chelsea's vocals tradeoff is gold, but the electronic components and their placement is what makes the track pop. This single for some reason reminds me of Tears For Fears.

 

Track 10. ‘TV Show’ - I heard the acoustic YouTube version before I heard the album's version, so I didn't know what to expect. First thing is obviously the presence of the drums. Second is the synth layers the band expertly weaves. These layers permeate our senses like a druggy hazy high that's got us hooked. Dear Banshee, is top of their class at producing a syrupy pensive wall of sound. Each brick of this wall is not made from storefront materials. No, it's much better than that. No wonder their music draws Radiohead comparisons.

 

 

Track 6. ‘The Bold Ones’ - I love this track, it's definitely my favorite which caught me off guard. There's a minimalist approach to this single. Upon arrival an arpeggiated flutter hangs in the air like Tinkerbell's pixie dust. What sounds like a bouncing rubber ball cues the tempo and disappears. Then, the percussion hits. The perfectly placed windows the vocals are sung in give the track a snowball avalanche effect, where momentum and density build with every passing moment.

 

>>>>>>>>>

 

We sent over a few questions to the band that came up during our listening process and without further adieu…

 

James: I enjoy approaching new recordings differently every time. The difference between this LP was that half of the album was done by rehearsing with the full band and the second half of the recording was all done on the computer. It was challenging for us but we made it work.

Chelsea: For the electronic songs, I had heard them for the first time when I walked into the studio for vocal tracking. It kept things live and interesting while still being challenging. 

2. As far as experimentation, is Dear Banshee open to experimentation or is that for other bands?

James: I love experimentation in music. Many of our influences are from the experimental genre. I think we definitely have a healthy balance of experimenting with different techniques and keeping things in the pop world. As far as being an experimental band, I don't think we are one. I'll leave it up to the audience to decide. 

3. Your "TV Show" Youtube acoustic performance was amazing, why did you choose that song?

Chelsea: TV Show is one of my favorites on the album and an acoustic version seemed very natural. 

James: Our second single being a live stripped down version of an album track gave our audience a small glimpse into our live performances. TV Show worked really well for this. We can't bring a full orchestra with us on tour but there are still five of us on stage making all of the layers live.  

4. Your partnership with Minor Birds is phenomenal, how did the two of you meet and how has the collaboration evolved since then?

Chelsea: James and I had been gigging together when Dear Banshee first started. Minor Birds played a show with Dear Banshee. When the pandemic came I had moved back to the Bay Area and reached out to him to collaborate and he asked me to join Dear Banshee. The first rehearsal we had together we wrote "Rehoboam" and the rest is history. 

James: I think Chelsea brings a lot of variation and nuance to the band. It feels new and exciting. 

5. What can we look forward to from Dear Banshee in the coming months?

Chelsea: We have a Pacific Northwest tour planned in early July.

James: After that we will be playing Bottom Of The Hill July 23rd, a venue Dear Banshee had planned on playing in 2020 but had to cancel due to the pandemic. We also have unreleased material that we did not include on the album because we felt that it didn't fit in with the songs. We are not sure when we will release it.