aaamusic | On 19, Sep 2011

UK TOUR DATES

Mon 19 Sept – Cambridge Haymakers
Tue 20 Sept – London Old Blue Last
Wed 21 Sept – Brighton Green Door Store
Sat 22 Oct – Tunbridge Wells Forum
Sun 23 Oct – Southampton Joiners
Mon 24 Oct – Guildford The Boilerroom
Tue 25 Oct – Birmingham Rainbow
Thu 27 Oct – Cardiff Ten Feet Tall
Sat 29 Oct – Dundee Beat Generator
Sun 30 Oct – Edinburgh Cabaret Voltaire
Tue 1 Nov – Aberdeen Cafe Drummonds
Wed 2 Nov – Inverness Mad Hatters
Thu 3 Nov – Carlisle Brickyard
Fri 4 Nov – Newcastle Other Rooms
Sun 6 Nov – Sheffield Harley
Mon 7 Nov – York Stereo
Tue 8 Nov – Nottingham Bodega
Wed 9 Nov – Leeds Nation of Shopkeepers
Fri 11 Nov – Peterborough MET Lounge

After two years spent in the back of a transit or locked in their Manchester city centre rehearsal studios, Airship have taken care not to be hurried into recording an album before they were ready.

The resulting LP is one that benefits from listening to it in full. There are tracks that work as explosive entities in their own right (their debut single Kids has recently been playlisted at BBC 6Music, XFM, and notched repeat rotation at Radio 1), but ‘Stuck In This Ocean’ is a record that was made to be played in its entirety. Intelligently crafted and artfully delivered across 11 tracks, it’s a rare beast from a burgeoning alt-rock act in 2011.

Since forming in 2008, Manchester four-piece Airship have notched up acclaimed support tours with Editors, Biffy Clyro, The Joy Formidable and Frightened Rabbit. Developing these songs live, on the roads of Britain and Europe, was how Airship wanted to write them, and it wasn’t until they were suitably road-tested within packed, sweaty rooms, that the band were ready to commit them to tape.

Produced by Doves/Cherry Ghost producer Dan Austin at Rockfield Studios, and aided with production by both Doves’ ambient programmer Rebelski and Editors’ guitarist Chris Urbanowicz, ‘Stuck In This Ocean’ is a suitably ‘big’, leftfield record, and one with a depth and soul. Vocalist Elliott Williams is a considered songwriter, and one that pays close attention to the flow of the songs and the album as an entity in itself.

Taking notes from the likes of Animal Collective and Wild Beasts, and albums that piece themselves together like an intricate jigsaw puzzle after repeat listens, he and Airship value the layering of instruments and the strength of making their songs blast out of the speakers with a Phil Spector ear for immediacy. Ambient interludes spin straight into those ‘soaring’ guitar sounds that pack hefty punches.

But there is so much more besides, from the intricacies of ‘Gold Watches’ glorious multiple tangents to the dark alluring nature of ‘Vampires’. There’s a healthy dose of brooding pop in the mix too. Album opener ‘Algebra’, and the aforementioned ‘Kids’ are both textured, hook-laden guitar pop songs. Heavy of heart, and explosive of melody.

Finding kinship with the ‘slacker’, college bands, predominantly of the US, Airship have written a suitably coherent album, brimming with confidence and invention. It owes very little to the heritage of Manchester, and yet would be unlikely to exist if it weren’t for the support and closeness of their city peers.

Airship are: ELLIOTT WILLIAMS Vocals/Keyboards, MARCUS WHEELDON Guitar, STEVEN GRIFFITHS Drums, TOM DYBALL Bass

Stuck In This Ocean Tracklisting: Algebra/Invertebrate/Kids/Gold Watches/Spirit Party/The Trial Of Mr Riddle/Organ/Test/Vampires/This Is Hell/Stuck In This Ocean

The new Album ‘Stuck In This Ocean’ is out now via Play It Again Sam Recordings

New single ‘Algebra’ also out now

http://www.myspace.com/airshiptheband

http://www.facebook.com/Airshipband