• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

TAKE TWO: DRENGE REVISIT AMERICA WITH HIGH(ER) HOPES

Written by NINA CORCORAN Posted June 12, 2015 Filed Under: Interviews, MUSIC

MU_Drenge_728

If there’s a single thing English duo Drenge are good at, it’s getting loud. The grunge rock twosome recently roped in their third member, bassist Rob Graham, to help their sound reach unfathomable levels, but before they did, things were hitting a wall.

 

It turns out their first US tour last summer saw them hitting the bottom of the sonic well. “Last time was really stressful,” says guitarist Eoin Loveless. “A lot of vehicles broke down, there wasn’t much sleeping, and, well, it all got a bit dark towards the end. Everyone had a mental breakdown in San Francisco.”

 

With this year’s full-length, Undertow, under their belts, Drenge are looking to re-do their last US tour with melodic rock at twice the volume. “I think it’s musically more pleasing but themeatically darker — and less funny,” Loveless laughs, referencing their transition into chorus-based songwriting. “Last time, some bits of our songs lost all meaning when we went into the studio and the producer would be like, ‘Is that the chorus?’ and we were like, ‘Well, not technically, but yes.’ And this time there’s definitely a chorus there.”

 

It all began when they sat down to record “The Snake”, a song whose tough edges recall The White Stripes. “I could feel something,” recalls Loveless. “If we spent five minutes, we could have had one, so we sat down in the studio, worked at it, and there it was. It still sounded like me, but it was musically positive.”

 

Undertow is injected with all sorts of hidden sweets like that. From the hand claps in “Side by Side” (“I wanted it to sound like Kanye West’s ‘Power’, but our version sounds like a beached whale flapping its fins… so not epic at all.”) to the guitar-heavy structure of “The Woods”, their new lineup allows them to flesh out the makings of songs ready for stadium-sized crowds. “It’s very strange to make something out of nothing, and that’s what songs are,” says Loveless.

 

Their upcoming tour will see them blow out the walls of Great Scott once again, this time with Graham by their side. Given he’s responsible for introducing the duo to the likes of The Cribs and Yeah Yeah Yeahs via mixtapes, his addition will make both the crowd and the band happier, although possibly risking hearing loss. As long as their keep their health in good shape, their second time around will make up for whatever shadows shrouded the last one.

 

 

DRENGE W/ MADE VIOLENT. SAT 6.13. GREAT SCOTT, 1222 COMMONWEALTH AVE., ALLSTON. 617.779.0140. 9PM/21+/$12. GREATSCOTTBOSTON.COM.

Author profile
NINA CORCORAN
Related posts
  • NINA CORCORAN
    https://digboston.com/author/nina-corcoran/
    WHEEL OF TUNES: JULIA HOLTER
  • NINA CORCORAN
    https://digboston.com/author/nina-corcoran/
    WHEEL OF TUNES: PANDA BEAR
  • NINA CORCORAN
    https://digboston.com/author/nina-corcoran/
    WHEEL OF TUNES: HOP ALONG
  • NINA CORCORAN
    https://digboston.com/author/nina-corcoran/
    THE BEST LOCAL EPS OF 2018

Filed Under: Interviews, MUSIC Tagged With: Boston, Dig, DigBoston, Drenge, England, Eoin Loveless, great scott, Interview, Kanye West, rock, The Cribs, The White Stripes, Undertow, Yeah Yeah Yeahs

WHAT’S NEW

Governor’s Council Weighs Controversial Parole Board Renomination

Governor’s Council Weighs Controversial Parole Board Renomination

Bay State Gas Providers Pay Up

Bay State Gas Providers Pay Up

State Wire: Mass Needs to Reform Youth Restitution Policies

State Wire: Mass Needs to Reform Youth Restitution Policies

“Pie” by Eric Ferdinand is licensed under CC-BY 2.0

Share and Share Alike: Major Funders Need to Give Equally to All Nonprofit News Outlets

The T Will Stay Broken Because Poor and Working People Are Seen As Expendable 

The T Will Stay Broken Because Poor and Working People Are Seen As Expendable 

Davis Square Developer Plans Lab Space As Small Businesses Await Unknown Fate

Davis Square Developer Plans Lab Space As Small Businesses Await Unknown Fate

Primary Sidebar

Advertisement

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • Meet the Phantom Behind Greater Boston’s Awesome Food Feed Everybody Gotta Eat
  • The T Will Stay Broken Because Poor and Working People Are Seen As Expendable 
  • Inside the Bay State’s Legendary (and Only) One-Man Brewery
  • Boston Gets Police Commissioner Who Bad Cops Likely Loathe. Let’s See How This Goes
  • Worcester’s Wasteful, Never-Ending War on Police Transparency

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Customer Service

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial (and for inquiries about internship opportunities): [email protected]