Blood Oranges + Waxhouse @ Forum

This is a FREE gig at Forum
127-129 Devonshire Street
Sheffield
S3 7SB

/// Blood Oranges

As the saying goes, variety is the spice of life, and so when Ben Lewis and Rose Alexander from Blood Oranges talk about their influences, it seems that their differences might just be what makes the band work.

“Rose is in love with Maximo Park, being from the north east, and Brand New, but she also loves a bit of jazz,” says Ben (vocals, guitar and keys). “Ben is a huge Belle & Sebastian fan,” continues Rose (vocals, guitar and keys). “As well as loving 80s indie popish stuff like The Wedding Present, The Smiths and The Cure. Jack (Gordon, drums) is a massive Pixies fan and even has a tattoo of them, as well as a Radiohead tattoo, Sarah (Bell, bass) is big on her new music stuff and regularly goes to little gigs around Leeds.”

Blood Oranges are the latest new Leeds indie band to be hop footing between some truly decent support slots - Two Door Cinema Club, Hot Club De Paris, Pulled Apart By Horses, Xiu Xiu, Primitives and Vivian Girls to name a few.

Ben and Rose started writing together after meeting at University and finding a shared love for soaking up the Leeds music scene. One year on and they nesting into the fold playing at Live at Leeds and being included on both a Plumptom Rocks and a Dance To The Radio release later this year. But all that is just a nice by-product of wanting to play danceable music with their friends (“Ed from Just Handshakes… is practically a fifth band member,” they say).

“What we all really want to do is make good fun indie pop really, stuff that people can get up to, instead of just staring at the floor,” says Ben. “Making fun, danceable music that can be lyrically complex, yet not pretentious, is something that we aim to do.”

'An intelligent music fans band, guys with beards will like them, and boys in skinny jeans will pretend to like them. Older music fans will also like them because of their influences. The music is catchy and fresh, whilst the vocals are quite unusual for the modern age: emotional and haunting, they really draw you in!' Strangeways

'C86 Pop Hits - Like Los Campesinos if they'd layed off the energy drinks!' Children For Breakfast

'Evoking memories of the C86 scene. Boy/Girl vocals that we love so much, the recordings are innocent, shambolic and romantic. We are looking forward to catching them very soon!' Good Form Club