When the vet advised Ralph he should check out United Fruit I thought he was advising that he needed to get his five-a-day, but no - he was recommending a Glasgow band with a new album in the making and a track being streamed from it this very day. The four piece Alt Rockers United Fruit, who formed in 2009 describe their style as - 'fusing noisy, fast-paced, discordant, post-punk with catchy melodies and crunching riffs'.
Their first album 'Fault Lines' hit the ground running, gained no end of critical acclaim seeing them perform live sessions on Radio 1, BBC Radio Scotland, toured the UK and Europe over 5 times and played festivals such as T In The Park, Wickerman, Brew At The Bog and Stag And Dagger. United Fruit have also supported bands such as the late lamented Dananananaykroyd, Twin Atlantic, And So I Watch You From Afar, Die! Die! Die!, one of Ralph's favourites The Twilight Sad and Maps And Atlases.How Long (Change You Into Something Better) by United Fruit
The taster track from the album is 'How Long (Change You Into Something Better)' which is in a lighter vein than their usual frenetic, more aggressive style and it's sure to garner them wider acclaim. It's catchy, current and the change of pace intrigued Ralph so much he made it Record Of The Week on this Sunday's Indie Show on Radio KC and asked United Fruit bassist Marco Panagopoulos a few pointed questions...not all related to the track...
Ralph: I'm a fan of your more 'punky' style - and whilst I understand the want for a bigger listenership, is the 'injected pop whack' a change of direction/spread throughout the album or just a blip?
Marco: The rest of the new record is a lot different from 'How Long(Change You Into Something Better)'. It is much faster paced and punky but we have a couple of tracks where we wanted to experiment and try something we hadn’t really done before. The entire record is much more direct and melodic than 'Fault Lines' but still has the same unhinged energy.
Ralph: Given the current trend for EP's over Albums what's your preference?
Marco: I always prefer full albums. I takes a lot more time and effort to record and compile a great album than it does an EP so when the end product sounds amazing it is a lot more impressive.
Ralph: You've a faithful following in Scotland and toured the UK & Europe previously- setting your sights on world domination?
Marco: We would love nothing more than to tour all round the world. We will keep going as far as we can on the road and hopefully we’ll get there some day!
Ralph: More upcoming gigs/festival dates now the UK tour is over? Marco: We have a few such as goNorth on the 4th of June and Carefully Planned down in Manchester on the 18th of October as well as another couple that I can’t mention just yet. We’ll be supporting Flood Of Red in Stereo, Glasgow on the 28th of May and also playing with Tall Ships in Bowlers Bar as part of the Eastend Social.
Ralph: Given your reputation as one of the best live acts on the Scottish Indie scene do you find working in the studio on an album a constraint?
Marco: Not at all. We enjoy recording. Sometimes getting the songs out of your head and recorded makes you notice things you didn’t before and you can actually improve your performance from it!
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| Many thanks to thelineofbestfit.com from whom I have 'borrowed' this photo. |
Marco: Festivals are amazing fun. We love the atmosphere and it never hurts to play in front of hundreds and hundreds of people but sometimes you can’t beat the feeling of being in a tiny sweaty room, surrounded by the crowd, giving it all you’ve got. Some of our favourite gigs have been the small ones.
So there you have it, the answer to the eternal musical question...deep fried pizza and Irn Bru every time...me, I'm off to have a listen to 'Fault Lines' and book my place for the 18th October in Manchester at Carefully Planned...
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