one of my all-time favorite bands is the scottish band aereogramme.
back in college i used to hang out at the local record store and just soak in the recommendations and advice of the dudes working there. the manager of the store, a dude named jimmy, seemed to get the hang of the stuff i was into pretty quickly. one day when i came in, he was like “you have to buy this record.” without even listening to it, i bought it then and there and it was instantly one of my favorites.
on their albums, aereogramme have a huge sound with loud guitars and strings, with songs that sound like they were pulled straight from epic movie soundtracks. however, it wasn’t until a few years later that i discovered over 40 acoustic songs they’d recorded during their seven-year lifespan. on tour they would sell the acoustic cds as limited-run EPs, only available at shows. acoustic aereogramme was a whole other side of this gigantic cinematic band. i loved it even more.
when aereogramme finally toured the states in late 2006, i was literally on the opposite side of the country on an olympia tour. as i headed west, they headed east.. and as i headed home, they were going in the opposite direction. shortly after that tour, the band announced that they were breaking up. financial strain and the various other difficulties of being in a band for several years finally took their toll. i would never get to see them live.
a few weeks ago, i saw a blog post on the seemingly-abandoned aereogramme myspace page. some of the members had formed a new band called “the unwinding hours”. i anxiously went to their new myspace page to listen to the demo track posted. it sounded just like the acoustic EPs that i’d fallen in love with years before.
i’m totally thrilled that the members of aerogramme are making new music. they’re in the studio now and i can’t wait to hear the album when it’s finished. i just hope that they tour the states and i will be able to finally make it to a show. it won’t be aereogramme, but i have a feeling it will still be amazing.
