Creeping Jean
Dig out your dancing shoes and shake it to Brighton’s most stylish rockers.
The crowdfunding boom over the past decade or so has made it easier than ever for bands to finance studio time. In theory, just post your plea, sit back and wait for the money to roll in. But it seems that particular memo failed to reach Brighton five-piece Creeping Jean, who instead opted for a more creative, and impressively DIY, approach to finding the cash to record their debut.
“We didn’t have twenty to thirty thousand pounds put aside to pay for recording an album,” says singer Olly Tooze. “I own a vintage clothing shop in Brighton and can get really cheap Converse shoes, so we sold those at car boot sales throughout the summer to pay for the album. It was working so well that we still do it now when we can.”
Perhaps this fashion-led focus shouldn’t be a surprise, given the band’s effortless style. Landing somewhere between 60s cult icons Love and modern-day heroes Rival Sons in both look and sound, Creeping Jean are tentatively tiptoeing the tightrope between style and substance.
“You need a balance,” Tooze says. “You nod to your influences without going too far. We love sixties and seventies stuff and nod to it in our dress and sound, but it is 2022. We’re styled on older music and use older equipment but we put a modern take on it.”
He’s right. Their trainer-funded debut When’s The Blowout? burns brightly with the spirit of Love, Led Zeppelin, The Doors et al, but stands apart from the pack thanks to its modern twists. The title track gives a perfect introduction to the band; it’s an upbeat jaunt punctuated with lush 12-string guitar and a vibe that lollops gently from 60s psychedelia to 90s alt.pop. Meanwhile, their much-lauded single Fluorescent Orange Skies takes the sunshine-soaked 60s feel and pops it through a 21st-century filter. “Fluorescent Orange Skies was influenced by the Alabama Shakes record, because it has that sound,” Tooze explains. “It’s a modern band with a vintage sound. People can look at us and think: ‘Oh they’re a sixties and seventies band’, just because of the way we look. But we have this modern production to our sound as well.”
Tooze and co. are now ready to hit the road, even if the pandemic has repeatedly threatened to derail their plans.
“We got a booking agent two months before the first lockdown, we were ready to tour and get on festivals, and then we couldn’t,”the singer sighs. “Last year we picked up a US and European agent but haven’t been able to do anything there due to covid. Things are still moving, though.”
That they are, with headline shows and festival spots lined up throughout 2022. It’s a big year ahead for Creeping Jean, you can bet your last pair of Cons on it. RC
When’s The Blowout? is out on 29 April via Mature Charlton Records.