alternative

These New Puritans

1 festival played →

Barnett brothers' art-rock project, which traded post-punk austerity for bassoons, taiko drums and choral arrangement — composition as much as band.

These New Puritans formed in Southend-on-Sea, England, in 2005, centred on twin brothers Jack and George Barnett, sons of a builder and an art teacher. The two had made music together since childhood, working through karaoke microphones and bongos before recording electronic tracks as Mick the Asbestos, and formed the band proper with childhood friend Tom Hein.

Their early work drew on angular post-punk and electronic rhythm, with Jack Barnett citing hip hop production, particularly Wu-Tang Clan and Timbaland, alongside Aphex Twin's electronic music as reference points for the debut album, Beat Pyramid. Successive records moved further from conventional rock instrumentation toward composed, orchestrated music.

For the second album, Hidden, Jack Barnett taught himself musical notation to score parts for bassoon and other woodwind, aiming for a sound he described as dancehall meeting Steve Reich. Live performances of the record added a brass and woodwind ensemble, taiko drums, a children's choir, three vibraphonists and Foley techniques, staged at venues including the Barbican Centre, the Pompidou Centre and Berghain.

The band's records are typically arranged in detail rather than assembled from live-band performance, and their sound has been described in terms of contemporary classical composition as often as rock. Jack Barnett handles most of the writing and vocals, with George Barnett on drums; other past members have included keyboardist Sophie Sleigh-Johnson and vocalist Elisa Rodrigues.

Read more

alternative