Prides

With almost ten years of experience each, Scottish trio Prides are finally cementing a very well-deserved place in the cool end of Glasgow's pop scene after exciting the nation with their 3-track debut EP 'The Seeds You Sow'. 

The band have been signed to Island Records since vocalist Stewart Brock and drummer Lewis Gardner formed a project called Midnight Lion back in 2004. It started out as part of a university music course but later developed and, on the introduction of guitarist Callum Wiseman, they formed the appropriately titled new three-piece Prides in 2013. Over the course of the year, they have been working on their recently released EP 'The Seeds You Sow', which they preceded with lead single 'Out of the Blue'; a strong, synth-laden epic that's proven to be an astoundingly impressive introduction to their sound.

Listen to 'Out Of The Blue' here:

The EP's anthemic lead track is another that has captured the souls of pop lovers with its hearty vocals, infectious melody and powerful drums. 'The lead track relates to a situation I found myself in a few years ago and the title saying of "you reap the seeds you sow"', Stewart revealed to us in an interview. 'It's about trying to deal with situations that we find ourselves in in life.' The EP was produced in their 'kitch-come-studio' by Lewis, who became Stewart's immediate choice after their decade long professional relationship. 'As we got better and developed, it just happened that Lewis got an idea for how the music should sound, and it just worked for us to do it ourselves', he explained.

Watch the video for 'The Seeds You Sow'

Prides have certainly got a lot to be proud of with such cohesive and skilful solidarity between the various layers of their songs, using often despondent lyrics with dynamic and uplifting pop melodies in a bid to be 'as expansive as possible'.

'We want it to be exciting whilst we are writing it and if it's not, we give up. It has to excite you before it excites anybody else', Lewis said, with Stewart adding, 'I like to look at bands like The Cure; the undercurrent of their music was sadness and yet they had some great pop songs.' That illustration certainly rings true on 'The Seeds You Sow' - particularly with one track, 'Cold Blooded', which is a prime example of melancholy vocals combined with a strong rhythm and uplifting synth tones. If one thing's for sure about Prides, though, it's that they're an honest bunch when it comes to songwriting, insisting, 'You have to put yourself out there completely.'

Prides 2014

Listen to 'Cold Blooded' here:

So, what have we got to look forward to from Prides this year? They'll be on tour in the US this month (March 2014), making an appearance at SXSW festival and hitting the road with RAC and Speak for a few dates, as well as performing in their home city of Glasgow alongside Vigo Thieves and hitting Inverness' beer-fuelled Brew at the Bog festival in May. 'We are really looking forward to how people react to us because it still feels like a new project for us, and we want to play every festival going and get burned by the sun', says Stewart.

They're also set to unveil a debut album in the coming months, though no title has been decided and we still have a while to wait for a release date. 'I think that we are pretty much there with track listing and stuff and hopefully we will get a few more releases after this EP which will bring us closer towards the album', they inform us. We certainly cannot wait!

Read the full interview here

Tour dates:
7-14 March - SXSW - Austin, TX
16 March - Prophet Bar Main Street - Dallas, TX *
18 March - Terminal West at King Plow - Atlanta, GA *
19 March - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
20 March - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC *
21 March - The Sinclair - Cambridge, MA *
23 March - First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA *
24 March - Rough Trade - Brooklyn, NY
25 March - Webster Hall - New York, NY (w/ RAC and Panama Wedding)
29 March - ABC - Glasgow, UK (w/ Vigo Thieves)
03 May - Brew at the Bog 2014 - Inverness, UK 

* w/ RAC and Speak

Listen to 'The Seeds You Sow' (The Hics Remix) here: