" I saw this amazing gig last night in Hammersmith", say singer Justine, "band called Special Needs. Have you heard of them?"
Have I? I'm only kind of half working for the label who are putting out their debut single 'Sylvia' (out some time in September), and happened to be at the very same gig (The Rocks & the guy who invaded Windsor Castle dressed as Osama Bin Laden played too).
Anyway, their fantastic taste in new bands aside, M.A.S.S. are a very special band in their own right, fusing garage punk and 50s rock 'n' roll in a manner so simple and catchy you can't quite work out why no-one's done it like this before, and topping it off with Justine's jawdroppingly beautiful vocals (someone who can
M.A.S.S.
ARE:
Justine Berry - Vocals
Jonny Green - Guitar/Vocals
Andy Miller - Guitar
Paul Hegland - Bass
Stuart MacMillan - Drums
DISCOGRAPHY
Singles
Hey Gravity
Live a Little/Give Me a Break
Testify
REVIEWS
Live
Hackney
Ocean, w/ The Favours + Turismo
Truck
Fest
Singles
Testify
LINKS
Official
Site
M.A.S.S. Fan Club
Purr
- Label site
M.A.S.S.
Yahoo Group
actually sing fronting a rock band? Who would have thought it?)
Of course,
being a female fronted underground rock band, all of their reviews have
mentioned the Yeah Yeah Yeahs;
" It's useful in a way, it kind of breaks a wave, but we just don't
sound anything like them." claims Jonny.
" The only similarity between us is that I'm a woman." adds Justine, "Although, I must admit, I don't mind the Blondie comparisons."
M.A.S.S. are fresh from a tour of France, where
they've
recently played a huge festival, supporting The Libertines, so is it much
of a culture clash coming back to a festival this small?
JG: "It's nice here, everyone seems to know each other. The French
thing was great though, it really seems to be happening for us out there,
the atmosphere's good too. I like the French attitude to drinking, where
they grow up in a culture where you have a glass of wine as part of your
meal. Over here people just seem to drink to get pissed sometimes."
As for the future, there's an album on the way, and more touring, and if the new material's as good as previous singles 'Hey Gravity' and 'Live a Little', they may well get through to the M.A.S.S.es after all.
Interview & Pictures by Paul Madden