About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2011)
.v.’V" tun ut Copy has been working hard. "I'm home in Australia right now," begins guitarist Tim Hoey in a thick, cheery accent that immediately proves the veracity of his statement. "This is our first break that we've had since, I guess, February. We've been touring pretty much nonstop for the whole year. Didn't have a day or a week off until like a week ago." i hat's six months and change on the road, for those who don't feel like doing the math, and Hoey sounds more than happy to have a few weeks to decompress. Though these indie dance-pop heroes make their home Down Under, they're happy to peddle their infectious hooks and disco beats to all continents and peoples. Soon the Classic City and the shiny new Georgia Theatre can add their names to that list, as Cut Copy swings through town in support of its third studio album, Zonoscope. Though the band has never played Athens before, Zonoscope was mixed in Atlanta, and Hoey expresses great fondness for our state's capital, saying "I really quite like it. I think so often you go through cities and you only see what's trendy—How many times do you get to really explore a city?—but we got to spend a little more time there and really got to see it. It really changed my perspective." With the meteoric success of the band's last studio effort, the 2008 mini-classic In Ghost Colours, the band set a high bar for itself, but the guys in Cut Copy seem to take the pressure in stride. "I guess we were just excited to start our new material," Hoey says, explaining the band's collective mindset when approaching the new album. "We toured with the last record for so long that we were just kind of itching to get back into the studio. I'd say the tour was spent kind of absorbing ideas for it; you know, buy ing gear for the new record and absorbing music from whatever country we're in. And by the end, we came back with so many ideas for songs that by the time we actually started recording, it felt a bit like a blank page. We had all these new ideas we wanted to get started on right away." And indeed, while Zonoscope displays all the best characteristics that have made Cut Copy into international indie stars, it is a far cry from the dance-pop grooves of In Ghost Colours, nowhere more so than on the 15-min ute closer "Sun God." "We just wanted it to sound like something from a science-fiction film or something," Hoey claims. "The whole idea of it was to be this really kind of hyp notic, trance-inducing kind of track. I think the idea of the whole record was to have songs that really build from minute to minute, as opposed to the short little pop songs. The overall plan was to be building this rather grand world, this grand idea that you can explore and really immerse yourself in, and I guess 'Sun God' is kind of the best example of the idea we wanted to express." The density of the new material has neces sitated the addition of a fourth member, bassist Ben Browning, for the live show, and according to Hoey, he brings a lot to the table. "We just realized we really needed somebody else to fill out the part," he explains, "because it's very complex. We kind of needed some body to play bass and fill out the extra vocals, and to play keyboard as well. So, we had the intention of going back to a four-piece when our bass player left to study philosophy at Harvard, and Ben, a friend who played around town, he just kind of drifted really naturally into the band. He kind of understood where we were coming from, and it's been wonder ful having an extra member playing parts and allowing us to explore more." Exploration seems to be the band's guid ing purpose at the moment, whether it's new musical avenues or the world at large. "A lot of traveling, a lot of shows, has really kind of taken its toll," Hoey says with a faint sigh. "I think we'll take November off, and then we've got some Australian festival^ and then there might be another South American and Asian tour, but this will probably be our last proper run through America for a while." So, you heard it here first, folks. Catch these blokes now or be prepared to wait a while. From all indications, they are ready for a well-deserved break. David Fitzgerald WHO: Cut Copy, Washed Out. Midflight Magic WHERE: Georgia Theatre WHEN: Wednesday, Sept 28,8 p.m. HOW MUCH: $25 V ) Ri!V ClassicTcenteR ^ Theatre V 102.1FM GET YOUR TICKETS NOW! IN STORES OCTOBER 4 with Special Guest Roxle Wotson The Clos'sfc Center Theatre Thursday, October 6 • 8pm Coll, Click or Stop By the Clossic Center Theatre Box Office INDIGOGlRLS.COM 706.357.4444 • www.ClosslcCenter.com • 300 N. Thomas St., Downtown Athens I WANT TO BELIEVE “maxfil&s #00101: Hmm, every time ! google ‘beer, snacks, and bar games,' it keeps sending me to this dive bar on athens, earth. Hope they got PBR. . . . street, milky way SEPTEMBER 28,2011 FlAGPOLE.COM 15
