Baltic Sirens
Bristol, England, United Kingdom | SELF
Music
Press
NB! This was our first gig - we used to be called Constant 16s.
***
Freshly hatched fledglings The Constant Sixteens took to the stage next, instantly belying the theory that all bands’ inaugural performances are ramshackle embarrassments for which only their Mums could muster any enthusiasm. Fronted by the Journal’s own music correspondent Jamie Harper and flanked by his cravat-wearing compadres, this was a miraculous triumph that melded beautifully delicate melodies with its unnatural bedfellow, eye-watering bombast. An engaging frontman, Harper cuts a remarkable sight; rock’s answer to Sideshow Bob (or perhaps Crystal Tipps depending on which generation you ask). Set highlight was “Wolves & Witches”, a stomping rubber ball of a track that I would propose to were I not already married.
*** - North Devon Journal
Discography
When Colours Fade EP (available for free from http://balticsirens.bandcamp.com)
Photos
Bio
(UPDATED 07.09.11)
North Devon. It might well be geographically remote. But it has a thriving, if insular, music scene. It’s this scene that coughed up Baltic Sirens, after its four members had rumbled around in North Devon's musical tummy making music in other bands - bands who were less good at writing songs but infinitely better at writing bios.
Last year we recorded an EP and called it 'When Colours Fade'. It was written in our old rehearsal space: an empty, freezing cold room above an old dairy in the middle of nowhere in Devon. We converted it into a studio and realised quickly that the nights are pin-drop silent, darker than any night you've ever known, and scary.
Perhaps it's this sparse landscape that helped inform our sound, because we actively avoided trying to base our music on anyone else. And that would make sense. Because our delay-drenched guitars are cold and bracing and our songs are haunting and edgy and uncomfortable.
But studio or no studio, Devon only gets you so far. That's why we're currently in the process of moving to Bristol, a city we've already started building a fanbase in after a string of successful shows at The Fleece, Mother's Ruin and The Thunderbolt.
We LOVE playing live and we do it confidently. Bands that affect the kind of effortless cool thing are all well and good. There's nothing wrong with that. But we prefer to get amongst it and give it. That's okay, right?
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