BRIX & THE EXTRICATED – Share new track “Moonrise Kingdom” – Listen HERE

BRIX & THE EXTRICATED - Share new track "Moonrise Kingdom" - Listen HERE
Photo by Melanie-Smith

Brix & The Extricated will release their new single ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ on 15th September on Blang Records. Brix & the Extricated have – in the words of an old Fall lyric – something of a “track record”. Brix Smith Start is one of the few true female rock icons of the indie and alternative era, an inspiration for generations of women, not just those who play music. Her best-selling 2016 autobiography, The Rise, The Fall And The Rise, detailed a hugely eventful life including the years in which she was married to Fall singer Mark E. Smith and wrote songs and played guitar in the group. Steve Hanley’s own acclaimed memoir, 2014’s The Big Week, revealed what is was really like to spend 18 years in the Fall, the longest spell of any member of the iconic and influential Salford group.

‘Moonrise Kingdom’ is a gorgeous dreamy piece of music, with hypnotic undertones and psychedelic edges. It shows the breadth, delicacy and musicianship of The Extricated as a band. Another former member of The Fall, Steve Trafford, wrote the music, which was originally titled ‘Midnight In Aspen’ and featured on 2005 album ‘Fall Heads Roll’.

Listen to “Moonrise Kingdom” BELOW:

Brix elaborates, “Steve said, ‘This is the best song I’ve ever written and I don’t want it to go to waste.’” So when Brix & The Extricated began writing the album ‘Part 2’, under Steve’s instructions, Brix completely reworked the song with new lyrics and a melody and the result is one of Part 2’s strongest songs. “I was so moved by it that it took me just two hours to write. The inspiration for the lyrics came from a movie by Wes Anderson of the same name. I wanted the song to be a love song about the aching passion of youth, a time when the possibility of life’s adventure seemed limitless and soaring. I wanted to set this scene of fierce longing, against the backdrop of the savage beauty of the land, and the vast powerful sea.”

Once the melody and lyrics were done, Brix travelled up to Manchester to meet up with the rest of the band – Stephen Hanley (bass), his brother Paul Hanley (drums and another Fall refugee) and Jason Brown (guitar) – and play them what she’d written. They wrote their parts and the final version fell into place. Steve Trafford added a tight blended harmony to Brix’s vocal part on the chorus, and the song changed and morphed again into more of a duet, echoing the passionate connection of the protagonists.

‘Moonrise Kingdom’ debuted live on Brix & The Extricated’s first tour in November 2015. The band honed it on the road, where it softened down some and the musical dynamics became more delicate. By the time they arrived at Blueprint recording studios in Manchester in November 2016 it had evolved into what it is today.

“It’s the perfect song for the end of summer,” Brix says. “Those long days when the sun sets low and the moon rises high. The very moment when day and night converge, and the golden glow of dreamtime is cast upon the earth.”

2017 has already seen Brix reaching a new audience with her fantastically received BBC 6Music show (sitting in for Guy Garvey). And now with this sonic juggernaut of an album that infuses hypnotic brutality with sunlight, harmony, hooks and riffs, Brix & The Extricated will not only enthrall and delight their current fans but they are sure to win an army of new ones.

‘Part 2’ is released on 22nd September 2017 on Blang Records.

Live Dates

31st Aug End Of The Road Festival Dorset
8th Sept Trades Club Hebden Bridge
19th Sept UEA w/ Jesus and Mary Chain Norwich
22nd Sept Rough Trade Nottingham In Store Nottingham
23rd Sept Rough Trade East In Store London
27th Sept Roadmender w/ Jesus and Mary Chain Northampton
1st Oct Rock City w/ Jesus and Mary Chain Nottingham
14th Oct Georgian Theatre Stockton on Tees
2nd Nov Sticky Mikes Brighton
3rd Nov Oslo London
4th Nov Cellar Oxford
8th Nov Newhampton Arts Centre Wolverhampton
9th Nov Thekla Bristol
10th Nov Bodega Nottingham
11th Nov The Cookie Leicester
17th Nov Cluny Newcastle
18th Nov Academy 3 Manchester
24th Nov Stereo Glasgow
25th Nov Beat Generator Dundee

Stephen Hanley (The Big Midweek – Route Pubs) and Brix Smith Start (The Rise, The Fall, And The Rise – Faber & Faber) have both written critically acclaimed, best-selling memoirs, about their lives as musicians and their years in The Fall, which are widely available.

Xsnoize Author
Mark Millar is the founder of XS Noize and looks after the daily running of the website as well as hosting interviews for the weekly XS Noize Podcast. Mark's favourite album is Achtung Baby by U2.

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