New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The Missendens are a rare breed: a band of likeminded individuals who have all earned their stripes the hard way, treading the boards at countless gigs for countless bands before coming together to create songs of undeniable importance.
Like a lot of great music, The Missendens' tracks began with a lone songwriter strumming away - forgoing sleep, pouring years of passion, life's lessons, successes and failures into chords, melodies and lyrics that pull no punches.
Sydney-based
Craig Hansen grew up on a healthy diet of classic albums, with early guitar inspiration and song writing mojo from The Stone Roses, Bowie, The Rolling Stones, The Smiths, The Sex Pistols, The Byrds, The Patti Smith Group and The Beatles.
Hansen chased his musical dream all the way from Australia to London as a guitarist/songwriter before mind-numbing factory jobs, poverty and overstayed visas saw that band implode just as it was hitting its stride and gaining serious interest.... Just another rock band sob story, but hardship focuses passion and after a stint of soul searching, Hansen emerged determinded to record an album.
Very quickly it became evident that the songs that
Craig had been working on were sonically too big to be done justice by one man.
Friends were called, classified ads were placed, and eventually a band of music obsessed �brothers� was formed. Adam Griffiths was added on bass, with Adam's brother-in-law Gerry Ford ducking and weaving between layered vocal lines and guitar hooks with a unique energy on rhythm guitar.
Sharing drum duties on the recording of the forthcoming self titled album are Keigo Endo, a phenomenally talented drummer from Japan with a million hits on his youtube drumming videos, and Sydney based Argentinean Alejo Alvarez, who provides the kind of drums that only a man with an intricate knowledge of the history of music can. Alejo has joined the band as permanent live drummer.
Co-produced by
Craig Hansen and studio engineer Sean Carey, and recorded in Sydney at Surry Hills� Hercules Street Studios and Camperdown's Church Street Studios, The Missendens self titled debut album, due for release in December 2016, was recorded in a total of 14 studio days over the course of 2 years (the self funded road is a long one!)
'New Horizon' is the second release from the album after initial taster �Rolling Start' made it to number 3 on the US iTunes 'Alternative New Release Chart' last December.
With the musical urgency of the
Sex Pistols along with harmonies reminiscent of classic era Fleetwood Mac, 'New Horizon' is a tempo switching adrenaline rush that stays true to The Missendens manifesto: brutal beauty delivered through driving rhythms, spikey and energetic guitars and thumping bass.
Craig found Japanese drummer Keigo on youtube after watching some of his awesome drumming clips, emailed him some demos and Keigo flew from Tokyo to drum on recording sessions within a month. He also flew out to play at The Missendens first ever gig.
Craig's foot was run over by a car two weeks before the first recording sessions and recorded more than half of the album with three broken bones and on crutches.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/craighansenthemissendens/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/themissendens
Triple J 'Unearthed' Page: https://www.triplejunearthed.com/artist/missendens
