“Old and new” – that’s how five-piece alternative rock band The Long Faces describe their sound in three words.
Words: Saskia Norman Art: Millie Stimpson
The band – consisting of singer Tom Lane, guitarists Halden Cooke and Duy Phimasset, bassist Kristina Rhodes and drummer Dan Ball - released their first EP, Documentaries, last Friday. I was lucky enough to interview the band over Zoom, finding out more about their sound, life in lockdown and their plans for the future.
The band agree that finishing and releasing their first EP in the midst of a pandemic was in many ways anticlimactic. Finishing mixing the album in the early days of lockdown, they were planning an album release party in Leeds – “with loads of balloons”, adds frontman Tom Lane. Living apart from each other has not been easy for them either – “it ’s very difficult. When we write music, it’s very collaborative, whereas now we can’t really jam”. However, global pandemic aside, the release of Documentaries is something to be celebrated – the three-track EP is a rollercoaster through musical genres, exploring the band’s darker, rockier sound and combining sounds both old and new.
The Long Faces make music that does not fit into one neat category. According to Duy, their sound is “from the soul”, whilst Halden describes it as “candid”.
“I would say lighthearted, colourful and intense. Lighthearted and intense at the same time,” says Tom. “That might seem really contradictory… but I feel like it’s a blend… it can be really emotionally intense, and it also has that element of us not being super serious. We’re always gonna have fun with what we’re doing”.
And their undefinable sound has been a hit; they have racked up over 2.5 million streams on Spotify, and 70,000 monthly listeners - even before the release of the EP. The band met at secondary school in Canterbury, all sharing a love for music yet all with interests in different types of music, from choir to rock. Lead singer Tom and drummer Dan lived in the same house and began writing together. They soon invited Duy - who they knew as “this crazy guitarist in the year below us at school” - to jam with them; "and that's when the band really got started". They played in a Steely Dan cover band, admiring “their approach to writing songs, the cynicism in the lyrics, and the surprising harmonic changes”. They reflect the band’s own values in their sound and image - “not so self-serious, but writing effective, intense tunes”.
Whereas past singles Cadence, Sum of My Cares and Jane explored a slower, psychedelic sound, the band have shown their rockier side on Documentaries. Sail Away best demonstrates this new direction, a radio-ready track that constantly changes pace. “You’re making the wrong kind of music if it’s not something you want to listen to,” says Tom, and it shows; their ability to combine the best elements of their varied musical passions results in a sound that is hard to identify with one category or era. Tom, a former chorist, loves classical, baroque styles of song, and names Bach as one of his main inspirations.
“Last year I really got into Scott Walker, who’s a real enigma, I think. He sings with quite a rich baritone, so (….) that gives me more confidence to use my lower ranges, just because it’s a bit more unusual to have a bass voice in a rock band - but he uses it really well”.
Dan adds that he has been “trying to incorporate more electronic-influenced drum patterns into stuff recently – trying to copy patterns from electronic styles you wouldn’t normally find in rock music”. Other favourites from the band include The Talking Heads, Radiohead, and prog-rock band Gentle Giant. However, they’re not ones to shy away from guilty pleasures too; Kristina admits that during lockdown, she has rediscovered her love for Vocaloids – virtual characters with singing voices created by synthesising programs, such as Hatsune Miku. “I’m still thirteen at heart,” she says. Tom admits that he has played Andrew Gold’s Never Let Her Slip Away "over 100 times in the past week"; “It's pretty cheesy but I think it's one of the greatest songs ever”. It is clear that, as a band, their music taste is incredibly varied, even contradictory at times - something which translates into their music.
The Long Faces are almost entirely self-produced, meaning these three tracks have had their heart and soul poured into them – they are a band of self-confessed perfectionists. Tom even admits that hearing the finalised tracks took him by surprise, having worked on them for so long.
“Releasing and mixing these three songs took so long,” Dan tells me. “To do an album the way we’ve just done those three songs would probably take four years. We do try and do everything on our own, but it can be a bit too much sometimes”.
They are a band of self-confessed perfectionists. However, Halden adds, “it gets to the point where you say – ‘that’s enough now, it's going to get unhealthy’, rather than endlessly trying to reach ultimate perfection.” However, this hard work has paid off. "We are now enjoying the actual benefits of having music out," says Dan, even during such a strange time.
Documentaries EP artwork by Winnie Zhu
“You’re making the wrong kind of music if it’s not something you want to listen to”
As well as striving for perfection in their sound, the band also aim to translate their sound into the visual side of things. The steampunk-inspired artwork of the Documentaries EP is something which compliments their dark-yet-wacky sound perfectly. I ask if they are planning to create music videos in line with this aesthetic. “We’d actually love to,” says Halden, “We have a lot of ideas (in terms of) the universe we create with our music”.
And this universe is one that they would love to translate onto the stage. Although the return of live music may seem far away, this has only made the band keener to play shows with a completely new set and a stage set-up to impress. In terms of making a fashion statement, they have big plans for their eventual gigs. “I like to dress people up when I can. I’ve dressed Duy up a couple of times!” Kristina says. The band's dream wardrobe on tour includes "intense” knee-high boots and light-up steampunk goggles. Halden says “I like to wear robe-y, colourful dresses whereas lead singer Tom goes for a “shirt-and-school-shoe vibe”, sticking to his choir roots.
Their dream venue to play? Tom would love to play “an archaeological site, or an old Victorian building”, fitting into their steampunk aesthetic. Kristina, on the other hand, is set on “playing for the Queen”. Wherever they play, The Long Faces are clearly brimming with ideas on how to immerse the audience in the universe of Documentaries.
Lastly, I ask a burning question that I'm sure fans of the band have all been dying to know – who IS Jane? “That’s a classic one,” says Tom, and I’m sure this won’t be the last time they’re asked this. I discover that Jane is actually based on the story of a real female serial killer.
Jane by Millie Stimpson
“We don’t talk about female serial killers enough,” he says. Suddenly, the lyrics of the song - “they saw you dressing in the back room, now they'll pay what they owe you” - make a lot more sense.
It is the band’s tendency to keep their music wacky that makes them so exciting. Their main goal is simple; they are trying to be a band that "does the stuff that other (current) bands have missed”. Whether this is the combination of old and new, or indeed the gap in the market for songs about female serial killers, The Long Faces are doing exactly that - and I can't wait to see what they do next.
Documentaries, the new EP by The Long Faces, is out now.
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