Get yr shoegaze headgear on. California rockers Film School roll through town this Thursday (May 8th) at the Picador, joined by Airiel and killer local acts Foul Tip and Birth Rites. We’ll do a proper preview of that show soon enough but we’d like to take a moment to introduce you to Film School, a band that we’ve been following for several years.
The brainchild of singer / guitarist Greg Bertens, Film School emerged in San Francisco’s space-rock scene with their lo-fi yet lush debut, Brilliant Career (2001). Followed by 2003’s AlwaysNever EP, these early releases showcased an interesting blend of Pavement indie-grit and Pink Floyd textures. Film School steadily established itself as one of San Francisco’s “it” bands and a breakthrough SXSW run in 2005 led to a UK tour alongside the National and an eventual courting by renowned indie label, Beggars Banquet. After signing to Beggars, the band released the self-titled Film School (2006) which brought a grittier and louder guitar sound to the music.
Bertens cleaned house after the first Beggars release, retaining only the original keyboardist, Jason Ruck. Moving down to L.A. for inspiration, Bertens culled together a new lineup and wrote most of 2007’s Hideout, a record that refined the band’s edgy tendencies into a furious but focused sound. The new Film School recalls less of Pavement and Floyd than its other primary influences: Loveless-era My Bloody Valentine and Psychocandy-era Jesus and Mary Chain. On the heels of yet another strong showing at SXSW and a tour with British Sea Power, Film School is currently at a career peak, unfolding loud and unrelenting shoegaze tactics at each of their live shows. It’s an honor to have them come through Iowa City — and trust us, we’ve been working on getting them here for a couple of years now. Stay tuned for an mp3 extravaganza tomorrow. In the meantime devour these wonderful videos…
“Dear Me” video
“Compare” video
dude i warned you about using the “yr”…now you’re going to have to die.