After several blistering performances that have seen them sell out venues on both sides of the Atlantic, including 2 consecutive nights at London’s Brixton Academy and NYC’s Bowery Ballroom, along with smash hit performances two consecutive years at SXSW 07 & 08, The Pigeon Detectives are coming back to the states. One can say it’s due to popular demand, and we’re just saying, it’s about time.
About time indeed, Spin snapped them for their summer issue at a massive show at Millennium Square in their hometown of Leeds. Meanwhile they’ve been playing to massive crowds all summer at Glastonbury, V Festival, T In the Park and an exclusive set at Leeds Festival. The band has now announced a show at London’s Alexandra Palace. With its capacity of up to 14,000 people, by comparison its almost appropriate to say that a trek around the US to the likes of the Abbey Pub in Chicago and The Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn in nothing more than a van or by train would be a bit shabby. Not to these guys though, they just do what it takes to bring their monstrous live sound to those that yearn for nothing short of pure musical energy set in an intimate environment.
“singer Matt Bowen causes mayhem, climbing speaker stacks, setting off fire extinguishers and demanding (and getting) full-scale crowd invasions. The result is an exhilarating spectacle.â€
Drowned in Sound
“The band’s enthusiasm was equally matched by the crowd’s, with the audience dancing as much as the lead singer (“It’s called bouncingâ€), and with what seemed like the whole room singing the line “going out with†from the chorus of “I Found Out.†And though not unexpected, the floor turned into an outright mosh pit for “Take Her Back.†Sentimentalist
Pigeon Detectives are embarking on a mini-tour in September to promote the release of their brand new EP, “This is an Emergencyâ€. The four-track EP will see a digital release in the US on September 9th.
This is an Emergency Video: http://www.nme.com/video/id/oFQyx8rlDQk/search/pigeon
In a perfect world, rock groups would meet at junior-high, share rites of passage at teenage parties, then become a best-selling band after five years rehearsing in bedrooms and back-rooms. They would then release brilliant, life-affirming pop records and refuse all offers from major labels, preferring to stay on a trusted independent.
Impossible? Clearly, you haven’t met The Pigeon Detectives. With their first album positioning within the top three in the UK charts, ‘Wait For Me’ is still selling by the lorry-load, they’re major league pop stars. For this newly famous five, 2007 passed in the sort of blur, which they readily acknowledge they’ll never see again. In twelve short months they’ve played everywhere from Glastonbury to Tokyo, brushed shoulders with Macca at the Q Awards and ended the year gate-crashing the nation’s front-room on Top of the Pops.
Their sophomore masterpiece, “Emergencyâ€, was released in the UK on May 26th, 2008; exactly two days shy of a year after their platinum selling debut ‘Wait For Me’ came out. After crashing into the charts at number three it has already achieved gold status and is still selling fast. They’ve continued their world domination with the single, “This is an Emergencyâ€, headlining the UK’s NME Awards tour, playing to sold out crowds, attended by over 70,000 people.
A four-track EP entitled after the single, “This is an Emergency†will be released digitally on September 9th and available only from www.thepigeondetectives.com, www.myspace.com/thepigeondetectives and www.danceontheradio.com.
The Pigeon Detectives are: Matt Bowman, vocals; Oliver Main, guitar; Ryan Wilson; rhythm guitar; Dave Best; bass; Jimmi Naylor, drums.
September Tour dates
9/11- Popscene – San Francisco, CA
9/13- Spaceland – Los Angeles, CA
“The Pigeon Detectives realise that, in the crowded market in which they operate, their rapid rise has been premised on sheer strength of tunes.†NME
“Rammed back-to-back with hits, the Detectives aren’t meant to have you stroking your chin, pensive in thought about the future direction of new music.†The Fly