Fang Island was an American indie rock band formed in Providence, Rhode Island, and based in Brooklyn, New York City. The group consisted of the guitarists Jason Bartell and Chris Georges, the bass guitarist Brock Hengin and the drummer Marc St. Sauveur.
Fang Island | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Providence, Rhode Island; Brooklyn, NY, US |
| Genres | Indie rock, progressive rock, math rock, post-rock, instrumental rock |
| Years active | 2005–2015 |
| Labels | Sargent House |
| Past members | Jason Bartell Chris Georges Marc St. Sauveur Nicholas Andrew Sadler Philip Curcuru Pete Watts |
| Website | www.fangisland.com |
Biography
editFang Island began in 2005 as an art project with original members, Philip Curcuru, Chris Georges and Pete Watts, while attending Rhode Island School of Design.[1][2] They were later joined by Bartell, St. Sauveur, Jacober and the guitarist Nick Sadler, a former member of the band Daughters.[3] Fang Island took its name from an article in The Onion.[3] Bartell recalled, "I think it was just a funny blip about Donald Rumsfeld having a secret hideaway, and it was on Fang Island."[3]
The band describes its sound as "everyone high-fiving everyone"[4] and their goal, according to Bartell, is to "make music for people who like music".[5]
The band independently released Day of the Great Leap in 2007, followed by an EP, Sky Gardens, in November 2008. Their song "The Absolute Place" was remixed by Chris Keating of Yeasayer in 2009.[6] Fang Island was named one of the year's top 10 albums by Brian Cook of The Stranger.[7] The album's lead single "Daisy", which has an electro-organ introduction and chanted vocals,[8] was played during a series of commercials promoting the MTV reality show The Buried Life.[9] Adam Pfleider of AbsolutePunk described it as a "wild party" that "listeners will want to relive ... over and over again".[10] Dan Goldin of Decoy Music praised the album for "successfully combining the luster of indie pop music with the technical eccentricities of progressive rock".[11] Ian Cohen in Pitchfork Media called the music on Fang Island "honest and life-affirming and infectious".[9] In 2010, Fang Island performed at the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas,[3] and were named by the social networking analytics site Next Big Sound as the artists who experienced the fastest growth in online fandom during the festival.[12] While in Austin, the band also recorded three songs for a Daytrotter session.[13] Fang Island entered the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart in April 2010.[14]
In a 2012 interview with New York Music News, Bartell admitted the happy undertones of the band's music, saying, "I am pretty ding-dong-doodily-delighted, all the time."[15]
Their song "Chompers" from the album Major is a playable track on the video game Rocksmith 2014[16]
Band members
edit- Former
- Jason Bartell – guitar, vocals (2005–2015)
- Chris Georges – guitar, keyboards, vocals (2005–2015)
- Philip Curcuru – bass guitar, vocals (2005–2011)
- Pete Watts – drums (2005–2009)
- Nicholas Andrew Sadler – guitar, keyboards, vocals (2007–2011)
- Marc St. Sauveur – drums, vocals (2009–2015)
Discography
edit- Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Heat[14] | ||
| 2010 | Fang Island
|
27 |
| 2012 | Major
|
11 |
- EPs
| Year | EP details |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Demo
|
| 2006 | Day of the Great Leap
|
| 2008 | Sky Gardens
|
Music videos
edit| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Daisy" | Carlos Charlie Perez[19] |
| 2010 | "Life Coach" | |
| "Careful Crossers" | ZFCL[20] | |
| 2012 | "Sisterly" | Behn Fannin[21] |
| 2024 | "Starquake" | Chris Georges[22] |
References
edit- ^ Gillespie, Blake (December 9, 2009). "Fang Island – Debut". Impose. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Fang Island – Biography". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Raftery, Liz (March 15, 2010). "Fang Island Interview: SXSW 2010". Spinner. AOL. Archived from the original on November 11, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ "Approved: Fang Island". Complete Music Update. March 25, 2010. Archived from the original on April 14, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
- ^ Young, Susannah (December 3, 2009). "Fang Island – Biography". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ "Yeasayer's Chris Keating Remixes Fang Island". Stereogum. April 29, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ Cook, Brian (December 30, 2009). "My Top Ten Albums of 2009". The Stranger. Archived from the original on March 6, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ "MP3 At 3PM: Fang Island". Magnet. February 20, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ a b Cohen, Ian (March 15, 2010). "Album Reviews – Fang Island – Fang Island". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ Pfleider, Adam (February 26, 2010). "Fang Island – Fang Island – Album Review". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ Goldin, Dan (February 18, 2010). "Fang Island – Fang Island Review". Decoy Music. Archived from the original on February 21, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ Winistorfer, Andrew (March 24, 2010). "Fang Island (And Some Emo Band) The Most-Buzzed Bands From SXSW". Prefix Mag. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
- ^ Zimmerman, Angela (March 23, 2010). "SXSW From the Frontlines of Daytrotter: Fang Island". Crawdaddy!. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
- ^ a b "Fang Island Music News & Info". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
- ^ "Jason Bartell of Fang Island". New York Music News. August 27, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- ^ "Rocksmith 2014 Setlist". Ubisoft. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
- ^ "Mythless' Jason Bartell Talks New EP "Patience Hell," Fang Island, and Maximalism". POST-TRASH. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ "Mythless reveals the Origins of his new song and video "Statue"". Consequence of Sound. February 27, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ "Fang Island Announces U.S. Tour Dates, Van is Stolen". MVRemix Rock. March 2, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ Fitzmaurice, Larry (July 1, 2010). "Video: Fang Island: "Careful Crossers"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved August 14, 2010.
- ^ Fang Island "Sisterly" (Official), archived from the original on December 15, 2021, retrieved October 25, 2019
- ^ Joyful Noise Recordings (October 31, 2024). Fang Island - Starquake (Official Video). Retrieved October 31, 2024 – via YouTube.
External links
edit- Fang Island on Twitter
- Fang Island at Sargent House
- The Onion article from which Fang Island took its name
- Fang Island on Waste Water Music (German site)
