Danish band The William Blakes paying tribute to Wayne Coyne with debut album
The William Blakes
Pop-rockers The William Blakes, who hail from Copenhagen, Denmark, are releasing today their debut album, “Wayne Coyne.”
Yes, the album is named for the frontman of Oklahoma City-based psychedelic rock band The Flaming Lips. Coyne is featured on the cover art and is apparently the subject of the title track.
In a news release, The William Blakes frontman Kristian Leth explains why the band decided to pay such a tribute to Coyne:
“The reason we chose the title ‘Wayne Coyne’ for our debut album, is that he embodies so much of that positive but potent energy that we are tapping into with this music. I always get a little awestruck when this giant in my musical pantheon does his own soundchecks immediately before the concerts, with absolutely no bravado or drama, only to absolutely blow everything up as soon as he and the band rip into ‘Race for the Prize’ or whatever. I first met Mr. Coyne at Roskilde, having my picture taken with him, and his totally down to earth openness and respect for me – a fan – was extremely inspiring. I thought, ‘I want to be like that’ and that’s something we’ve taken to heart with this band. Our music is serious business with grand aspirations and ambitions, but that doesn’t mean that we’re any kind of grand special characters. So we have more fun and put all the energy into the art. And in that regard, Mr. Coyne is a major guru, so the featuring of him on the cover is an exclamation of love and respect.”
The band’s MySpace page lists the Lips as among its influences, along with Bruce Springsteen, Talking Heads, Phil Spector, Brian Eno, Iggy And The Stooges, NEU!, Tears For Fears, Neil Young, Fleetwood Mac, The Informations, Arcade Fire, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Philip K. Dick and Prince. However, the three or four songs I listened to there sound more like ’80s synth-pop than the Lips’ psychedelic rock, avant-garde pop or space-jazz noisemaking.
The album “Wayne Coyne” is available digitally in North America through Speed Of Sound/Last Gang Labels.
-BAM
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Comments
Hi, Samantha -
Probably not as weird as you think. Tuesday was the U.S./Canada release date for the album. I know it was released earlier in Europe, so you, along with this reviewer, probably were able to tap it then. I’ve read other reviews of the album, too, mostly positive. This kind of thing happens, particularly with European bands. Leth wrote on Tuesday a MySpace blog post about the North American release: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=154805538&blogId=518855718. Hope this clears it up for you.
-BAM
Weird. I downloaded this album *this summer* from iTunes. Here’s a review I found online from August. … http://www.chartattack.com/reviews/74310/the-william-blakes-wayne-coyne