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Pure Reason Revolution
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Pure Reason Revolution | |
|---|---|
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Genres | Progressive Rock, Alternative Rock, Astral Folk, New Prog |
| Labels | SonyBMG |
| Members | Jon Courtney Chloe Alper Jamie Wilcox Paul Glover |
Pure Reason Revolution is a British rock group formed at the University of Westminster in 2003. Its music incorporates elements of progressive rock and grunge rock, while its vocal harmonies are reminiscent of The Beach Boys. It has been variously described as 'Astral Folk' and 'New Prog'. Members have a shared appreciation for the work of bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and the Super Furry Animals.
Contents |
Studio album personnel since 2003:
- Jon Courtney - vocals, guitars, keyboards
- Chloe Alper - vocals, bass guitars, keyboard
- James Dobson - vocals, keyboard, guitar, bass guitar, violin - left November 2006
- Greg Jong - vocals, guitars - left early 2005
- Jamie Willcox - vocals, guitars - joined April 2005
- Andrew Courtney - drums - left November 2006
- Paul Glover - drums - joined late 2006
Pure Reason Revolution began life as a Reading outfit named The Sunset Sound, which featured the Courtney brothers, Chloe Alper and, for a short while, Jim Dobson. Jon and Andrew Courtney had previously played with pop guitar band Gel, and were signed by Seymour Stein to his Sire record label, home of Madonna, The Undertones, The Ramones and Ice-T. Chloe used to front the Period Pains, who scored a minor hit with an anti-Spice Girls song.
The band was completed by Tom Leathes (vocals, guitar) and Bob Cooper (bass guitar). Debut single Moving picked up radio airplay on Radio 1 (where the band was championed by alternative-music guru Steve Lamacq), XFM and LA's KROQ. The Reading Chronicle's Weekender section described the band's sound as "sugary sweet swaggering guitars" and "breezy, sophisticated harmonised guitar pop" and compared the band to the Beach Boys playing Nirvana songs.
Whilst at Westminster University, Jon met Jim Dobson and Greg Jong and discovered they were musically compatible. Pure Reason Revolution (hereafter 'PRR') was born. The band went through a number of name changes before settling on PRR including "the Wow" and "Pendulum Dawn".
The band signed to Alan McGee's Poptones label for a one-off release of Apprentice of the Universe (no 12 in the indie charts, no 74 nationally).
Signing to SonyBMG in autumn 2004, the following year saw the band releasing two singles - the 12-minute long Bright Ambassadors of Morning (the title is from a line in Pink Floyd's Echoes on the Meddle album), and The Intention Craft - plus one mini-album, Cautionary Tales for the Brave. This was released to make up for delays in recording that meant the band would miss its original launch window. The use of so many of the proposed album tracks on a mini-album led the band to develop some new material for the album, including "The Twyncyn/Trembling Willows". Releases were on the band's own Holograph imprint, via SonyBMG.
In March 2005, the band played the South-by-Southwest festival in Texas, before heading out for several dates in the clubs, and wore a groove in the British club circuit with its hard touring. During this time, PRR supported Mew, Evanesence, Hope of the States, The Race, Secret Machines, Bryan Adams and Oceansize as well as headlining their own gigs, and recorded sessions for Mark Radcliffe's Radio Two show and XFM. In spring 2005, Jong left the band, to be replaced by another Westminster pal Jamie Willcox, though it is Jong's work featured on recorded output up to, and including, Cautionary Tales for the Brave. Both Jong and Willcox receive credits on the The Dark Third album, though neither has an individual 'Thank You' section.
The band regularly allows fans to listen to streaming material via its MySpace website, including works in progress and exclusive Christmas tracks.
The first full-length album, The Dark Third was released in the UK on April 10th 2006, and was produced by Paul Northfield (Rush, Porcupine Tree, Gentle Giant, Hole). A US version of the album containing the original, pre-Cautionary Tales mooted tracklisting and amended artwork was released in the USA on 25 July 2006.
On February 16th 2007 the European version was released under licence to, and by, Inside Out music.
- Apprentice of the Universe (2004) (Via Poptones)
- The Bright Ambassadors of Morning (2005) (Via Holograph)
- The Intention Craft (2005) (Via Holograph)
- Victorious Cupid (2007) (Download only via MySpace)
- Cautionary Tales for the Brave (2005) (Via Holograph)
- The Dark Third (2006) (Via Holograph)
- Nimos & Tambos (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- "Nimos & Tambos", from The Dark Third
- Victorious Cupid (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- "Victorious Cupid" (single)
- Problems playing the files? See media help.