The Beat Surrender

At the end of December we produced our first ever Top 50 Singles list and in amongst some of the more obvious tracks from last year we also had some little gems.

One of those glittering nuggets came in the shape of Norwich band The Brownies and their brilliant Means To An End single which came out on NR One Records. A blisteringly, energetic track, it was indie-punk how it used to be made before the world got taken over by blokes in skinny jeans all with the same haircuts.

I love The Brownies and I can’t wait to see what they do next, if like me you are desperately waiting to hear what that is, then read on and find out exactly what guitarist Maxie has to tell us about the bands plans, why Norwich is the best kept rock ‘n roll secret in the UK and which bands she tips for this year.

Not quite the Festive 50 with John Peel, but you did make the first ever Beat Surrender top 50 singles for last year were you pleased with that?

Yeah! I was very excited by the fact that we made a top 50. I think it’s our first. Yeah, it’s the first time we’ve been recognised in a list format. It’s nice to be liked.

You beat some illustrious names which must be pleasing as relative new kids on the block?

I guess…although we’ve been a band for longer than Klaxons who are number one. What’s most heart warming is to be recognised amongst bands who we are fans of. There’s some good bands on your list! I think the pop this year has been well good as well, and has moved away from that annoying cheese from the last couple of years…stuff like Robyn, Peter, Bjorn and John, Los Campesinos! and CSS (all of whom are coincidentally on you list). So, yeah, its nice to triumph over the famous people.

How was the reaction to Means To An End generally?

Positive..It depends who you’re asking. We got the single of the week in the guardian, which was ggreat! I think we had one bad review that mike told me about. We accept the bad ones with open arms too. We get a different reception wherever we go…but in regards to the single, we’ve been delighted with the response! So much so that we’re gonna do it all over again and release a new single this very year. FUN!

From what I can gather your live shows are quite energetic affairs, is that easy to get across on record?

You gather well young man! Our live shows are exciting occasions. And no, its not easy to get on record. We’ve recorded at quite a few studios now, and i still dont think we’ve got a completely accurate representation of what we play like. And that’s not me dissing the stooodios, cos they were all funfunfun, but one thing that we’ve talked about in regards for our album is striving to get a much more raw and energetic…realistic studio sound. Something like Be Your Own Pet have got.

The drums are the main issue for us…we usually aim for a massive and predominant drum sound, which we have found hard to convey effectively on record. I think we should just hire out a massive church and record some crazy huge drum sounds in that.

What have you got planned for 2008, any new single or an album planned?

Indeedy! We have a couple of new songs which we l.o.v.e, and in my personal opinion are our best songs yet. So we’re gonna release a single this year and then straight after that, probably towards the rear end of the year, we’re gonna release an album. It’s gonna be AMAZING.

NR One Records who you released the single on,seem to be getting a nice little roster together down there, how have you found things so far in the big bad old record industry?

Haha, well for a start, I wouldnt consider NR One to be a part of the big bad old record industry…but maybe im showing my naivety there! We haven’t had any bad experiences yet. I think with the state of boy band indie at the minute, record labels are chasing the next Maccabees, or Kooks which just isnt us. We’re just happy doing exactly what we’re doing and making sure its what we wanna be doing, and the record industry can make what they will of us.

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