Spray Paint are three guys who enjoy the simple things in life: loud rock music, beer and baseball. But the Austin band’s style of music is anything but simple. Threateningly off-kilter and weird, their post-punk jerks and baulks leaving the listener both exhilarated and flummoxed. To use a baseball analogy, it’s like hitting a stand up double after bunting off an Eephus pitch.After releasing a whole bunch of cool stuff on a bunch of cool labels including S-S, Upset the Rhythm, Homeless and Monofonus Press, they are releasing their new album Feel the Clamps on ace Memphis label Goner.Take a listen to the album below and read an interview with the band’s Cory Plump.Noisey: The title is a good indicator of the album’s sound. It’s like a slow vice that clamps down around your head. Is there any particular meaning or reference?
Cory Plump: I jotted down the lyric when visiting my hometown in rural Indiana. It's not a very open minded area.There is a heavy and not good feeling I get there. "Walking in I feel the clamps".How does it feel to have an album out on Goner? I’m sure you have been a fan of the label for a while.
It is very exciting. We've been fortunate to work with great people over the last few years. Memphis is a great place and we have a lot of very good friends there. The Goner folks are some of the nicest and most passionate people in the biz. They can hold their liquor as well. We’ve done Goner Fest a couple of times and it became obvious we should work together. We are stoked.You released two albums last year. Where does the Feel the Clamps songs fit in/compare to those recordings?
Feel The Clamps in our opinion is our best record to date. I think it combines the two previous albums in a way. Punters on a Barge was more home recorded and we got out of comfort zone a bit with drum machines, keyboards, samples, and recording techniques. We recorded the new one and last years Dopers with Chris Woodhouse and he has a very intense almost military like approach (partially because our budget only allows us 4/5 days to completely finish the records). I think the minimal depressing mood of Dopers is present on clamps, but we were able to stretch out.From song titles such as “Bogans” and “Heaps of Ice” to the sound on tracks like "Shovelling” that has a feedtime vibe to it. It seems like your Australian tour of last year has had an impact.
Actually the song “Bin Man Dreams” had a working title of "feedtime song". Playing with them and Cuntz in Sydney was a very high musical highlight of my life thus far. As far as language yes we love regional colloquialisms/idioms, and we found Australia to be particularly rich in that department. Most of our lyrics are stolen bits of conversation we happen to make note of. If taken out of context it could seem violent/sexually suggestive when in fact it's mundane gibberish. It's strange, but yes we loved Australia, and we're just blown away by the quality of bands we played with. There seemed to be a high rate of mean sounding bands. America has too much pizza/BBQ rock.You are currently on a tour. By now you must have played a lot of those Midwestern towns a bunch of times. Have you seen your audience change much?
Hmm well I've noticed a lot less people show up when we aren't touring with Protomartyr. The Midwest is weird man.Madison or Milwaukee?
Are you asking like a versus question or where we are? We played Madison last night and we are driving to Chicago right now. Give me Milwaukee 8 days a week. Best bars in America. The shows are mediocre but it's a guaranteed good time/hangover. Also you can't front on that Brewers logo.I know you are baseball fans. Is “Screwed Batsman” about anyone in particular?
Yeah we caught a game a couple days ago in St.Louis! Song wise it's a cricket reference. This was the first thing we recorded and the tape machine was set to the wrong speed so it's a screwed version of "Heavy Loiter" in the chopped/screwed sense.
May 30 Dover at Wrong Brain
June 2 Baltimore at Wind Up Space
June 3 Columbus at Ace of Cups
June 4 Cincinnati at MOTR Pub
June 5 Nashville at DRKMTTR
June 10 Brooklyn at Union Pool (Northside Festival)
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Cory Plump: I jotted down the lyric when visiting my hometown in rural Indiana. It's not a very open minded area.There is a heavy and not good feeling I get there. "Walking in I feel the clamps".How does it feel to have an album out on Goner? I’m sure you have been a fan of the label for a while.
It is very exciting. We've been fortunate to work with great people over the last few years. Memphis is a great place and we have a lot of very good friends there. The Goner folks are some of the nicest and most passionate people in the biz. They can hold their liquor as well. We’ve done Goner Fest a couple of times and it became obvious we should work together. We are stoked.You released two albums last year. Where does the Feel the Clamps songs fit in/compare to those recordings?
Feel The Clamps in our opinion is our best record to date. I think it combines the two previous albums in a way. Punters on a Barge was more home recorded and we got out of comfort zone a bit with drum machines, keyboards, samples, and recording techniques. We recorded the new one and last years Dopers with Chris Woodhouse and he has a very intense almost military like approach (partially because our budget only allows us 4/5 days to completely finish the records). I think the minimal depressing mood of Dopers is present on clamps, but we were able to stretch out.
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Actually the song “Bin Man Dreams” had a working title of "feedtime song". Playing with them and Cuntz in Sydney was a very high musical highlight of my life thus far. As far as language yes we love regional colloquialisms/idioms, and we found Australia to be particularly rich in that department. Most of our lyrics are stolen bits of conversation we happen to make note of. If taken out of context it could seem violent/sexually suggestive when in fact it's mundane gibberish. It's strange, but yes we loved Australia, and we're just blown away by the quality of bands we played with. There seemed to be a high rate of mean sounding bands. America has too much pizza/BBQ rock.You are currently on a tour. By now you must have played a lot of those Midwestern towns a bunch of times. Have you seen your audience change much?
Hmm well I've noticed a lot less people show up when we aren't touring with Protomartyr. The Midwest is weird man.Madison or Milwaukee?
Are you asking like a versus question or where we are? We played Madison last night and we are driving to Chicago right now. Give me Milwaukee 8 days a week. Best bars in America. The shows are mediocre but it's a guaranteed good time/hangover. Also you can't front on that Brewers logo.
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Yeah we caught a game a couple days ago in St.Louis! Song wise it's a cricket reference. This was the first thing we recorded and the tape machine was set to the wrong speed so it's a screwed version of "Heavy Loiter" in the chopped/screwed sense.
'Feel the Clamps' is available June 3 through Goner.Spray Paint – 2016 Tour Dates:May 27 Cleveland at Now That’s Class ([Not] Horrible Fest)
May 30 Dover at Wrong Brain
June 2 Baltimore at Wind Up Space
June 3 Columbus at Ace of Cups
June 4 Cincinnati at MOTR Pub
June 5 Nashville at DRKMTTR
June 10 Brooklyn at Union Pool (Northside Festival)