16 March 2009 (released)
16 March 2009
Le Reno Amps. Sounds like it means something. Something french. As it happens it means nothing, in french or otherwise. In fact its origins lie in two rather exotic surnames as Scott and Al explain "We needed a name for the 'act’, and as any musician will tell you it’s a nightmare finding a name for your band that doesn’t already exist. I just sat with a pen and tried a bunch of anagrams. We settled on Le Reno Amps because it sounds like it could actually mean something, also knowing it would be like DNA – the chances of anyone else having the same name are around 63 billion to one. Maple’s his surname, mine is Nero. It’s better than Elena Romp, or maybe it isn’t!" No matter which way you look at them or which anagram you prefer Le Reno Amps are a fascinating proposition. The music on their second full length is eclectic, diverse and anything but as grey as the skies above Glasgow.
"I come from a punk / metal background," says Scott, "I learnt to play my guitar by listening to Black Flag and the Circle Jerks. Al has more of a melodic ear, being from a Blur and Oasis background." Al agrees "Yip we kinda meet in the middle with a shared love of Frank Black and Pixies, Violent Femmes, Beck, Cake, The Lemonheads. If it’s a good tune it’s in the squad."
As their sound embraces such a plethora of music LRA fans must be just as diverse. "Their name is Gary and their bald or they work for Trading Standards and drink like a fish." comes the reply. From any other band you may wonder whether they are trying too hard but with Le Reno Amps its effortless and this is just the tip of the iceberg. It seems that the Nero and Maple who make up Le Reno Amps are a bit daft. This is how they (claim to) write an album. "We have a high-powered meeting starting at 9:30am, where we drink lots of coffee and look at each other across a large oak table. Once the coffee’s kicked in we start brainstorming ideas on our whitespace board. After about an hour of this we decide the number of songs that are going to be on the album, then collate our ideas in quadrants that are equal in quantity, size and length to that number. The contract for determining the length of spaces in-between songs is put out to tender so companies can compete on giving us the best price. We then throw all the tenders in the bin and decide the winner through a game of 'spin the bottle’." See. Completely, bloody, daft!
In order to get a tiny bit of sense from the terrible duo talk turns to the bands formation. The band continue with their Micheal Gambon line of interview replies (i.e. not exactly truthful). "Al and I were famous in our own living-rooms. We got asked to write a few songs together for an 'industry showcase’ and god-damn if they weren’t great songs. We released the power of vocal 3rd’s, something we hadn’t really utilized up to that point."
The band are touring right now and having a laugh. If, of course you count sleepwalking out of a 3rd floor window fun. "This is true' sighs Al, "Worst day of my life. We were in a small town when it happened. I remember the Doctor at the hospital was dressed in a football tracksuit, Hibernian FC. As an Aberdeen fan I was a bit displeased by this but decided not to mention it under the circumstances, it was 4am. Scott got choppered to the city, I had to hitch-hike home, ok ok I got a lift."
So they dont enjoy making a lot of sense thankfully LRA make brilliant, exciting music that will have you hysterical in seconds. As Scott puts it "Our songs are so good that after listening to us, music fans will no longer be able to enjoy 'normal’ music. We shall bring down the entire music industry (bar 'Drift Records’) as sales of any records other than our own will stop completely due to lack of interest.' So world domination beckons then... Yes, within 2 years, we shall own 75% of all the money in the world and every city shall behold concrete effigies of ourselves on golden-plinths." So what to make of Le Reno Amps. Brilliantly stupid. Enjoy.
Le Reno Amps use: Kahlua, Vodka and Milk
Their new album 'Tear it Open' is out now on Drift Records!!
http://www.lerenoamps.com/
http://www.myspace.com/lerenoamps
