After a bunch of early singles which are still available on their Bandcamp page, September Girls released their debut full-length Cursing The Sea on Fortuna POP! and aptly took the world of noise pop by storm. Their latest release, the Veneer EP proved the girls are here to stay.
Keyboardist/vocalist, Lauren answers our few questions…
Congratulations on the release of the two recent videos Veener and Black Oil? There seems to be a running theme between both videos, one is black and white, and the other is inverted, can you explain that in a bit more detail the story and creative process behind the video?
Thank you! The idea for the videos started when Sarah was inspired visually by the lyrics of ‘Black Oil’ and brought her ideas to the table, but we also knew that we were going to release ‘Veneer’ as a single so we decided to make two videos that could play as a set. As the conversation went on, we were excited by the idea of the two being opposites - ‘Black Oil’ very dark, with the band in completely white costume, and ’Veneer’ very white and blown-out with the band in contrasting dark
costume. The songs are thematically similar in that they touch on limitations and feeling stifled, so we shot in a tiny space that almost feels like a padded cell closing in on us. Plus, dressing us all the
same takes away any individuality, hinting at hindered creativity. Jessie – who made both videos - was also inspired by the look and feel of 70s exploitation horror films, so she brought that extra flavor to the visual imagery.
What’s the near future for September Girls like? Are you planning any tours
and will we see more single/EP/LP releases throughout the year to come?
No set plans for any releases at the moment, we’re really just focusing on writing as much as possible now and seeing where it takes us. We’ll be playing in Paris and Dublin in February, and will be heading off on a UK tour with A Place To Bury Strangers in April. Beyond that, 2015 is
pretty unplanned so far!
What has been your best and most memorable live show so far?
We played to our biggest crowd so far at a Record Store Day gig in London last year. Berwick Street was absolutely packed up and down the block – it was kind of terrifying but completely exhilarating! I think my favourite gig so far though has to be our last gig at CMJ in New York last October – we were right at the end of a 7 gig run over 4 days and should’ve been exhausted, but we all just completely let go and gave it everything we had. Great fun!
What helps you draw inspiration, and in terms of other artists who would you say has had an influence on September Girls?
We all have really different tastes, musical and otherwise so we take inspiration from all over the place. There’s a pop foundation that we’ve organically learned to build on over the last couple of years through experimenting with our sound and the way we write. It’s constantly evolving really as we don’t have a lead singer or chief songwriter, so everything we write has a different story that could start with one of us having an idea that we then work together to develop.
What were your favorite releases of 2014?
Gotta give shout outs to some talented friends here with The #1s - “The #1s” and Sissy – “Sissy E.P.”. Dublin power pop and smart punk treats.
Is there a story behind the band name, September Girls?
Not much of a story really - we took the name from the excellent Big Star song. It was covered by the Bangles who were some of our childhood heroes, so that gave it extra meaning for us. We also formed the band in September, so it seemed fitting.
September Girls on Facebook
RS
Thank you! The idea for the videos started when Sarah was inspired visually by the lyrics of ‘Black Oil’ and brought her ideas to the table, but we also knew that we were going to release ‘Veneer’ as a single so we decided to make two videos that could play as a set. As the conversation went on, we were excited by the idea of the two being opposites - ‘Black Oil’ very dark, with the band in completely white costume, and ’Veneer’ very white and blown-out with the band in contrasting dark
costume. The songs are thematically similar in that they touch on limitations and feeling stifled, so we shot in a tiny space that almost feels like a padded cell closing in on us. Plus, dressing us all the
same takes away any individuality, hinting at hindered creativity. Jessie – who made both videos - was also inspired by the look and feel of 70s exploitation horror films, so she brought that extra flavor to the visual imagery.
What’s the near future for September Girls like? Are you planning any tours
and will we see more single/EP/LP releases throughout the year to come?
No set plans for any releases at the moment, we’re really just focusing on writing as much as possible now and seeing where it takes us. We’ll be playing in Paris and Dublin in February, and will be heading off on a UK tour with A Place To Bury Strangers in April. Beyond that, 2015 is
pretty unplanned so far!
What has been your best and most memorable live show so far?
We played to our biggest crowd so far at a Record Store Day gig in London last year. Berwick Street was absolutely packed up and down the block – it was kind of terrifying but completely exhilarating! I think my favourite gig so far though has to be our last gig at CMJ in New York last October – we were right at the end of a 7 gig run over 4 days and should’ve been exhausted, but we all just completely let go and gave it everything we had. Great fun!
What helps you draw inspiration, and in terms of other artists who would you say has had an influence on September Girls?
We all have really different tastes, musical and otherwise so we take inspiration from all over the place. There’s a pop foundation that we’ve organically learned to build on over the last couple of years through experimenting with our sound and the way we write. It’s constantly evolving really as we don’t have a lead singer or chief songwriter, so everything we write has a different story that could start with one of us having an idea that we then work together to develop.
What were your favorite releases of 2014?
Gotta give shout outs to some talented friends here with The #1s - “The #1s” and Sissy – “Sissy E.P.”. Dublin power pop and smart punk treats.
Is there a story behind the band name, September Girls?
Not much of a story really - we took the name from the excellent Big Star song. It was covered by the Bangles who were some of our childhood heroes, so that gave it extra meaning for us. We also formed the band in September, so it seemed fitting.
September Girls on Facebook
RS