NEW YORK--When the smoke cleared in the major-label bidding war over Girls Against Boys a few years back, Geffen emerged the victor. But with one more album promised to its longtime home Touch and Go, the New York quartet resisted the temptation to transfer immediately, choosing instead to craft an indie swan song with the pressure off (Billboard, Jan. 27, 1996).
The result, "House of GVSB," racked up critical acclaim and the group's strongest sales to date (70,000 copies worldwide, according to Touch and Go). Although market potential has since seemed to constrict for the sort of grainy, grinding smart-core the band made its name on, the timing for GVSB's Geffen debut--"Freak*On*Ica," due June 2--is still opportune, according to the group's front man, Scott McCloud.
"Modern rock radio has gotten even more rigid over the past couple of years, but I think that helps our cause in terms of all the hype blowing over and our record just being judged for the quality of the music," McCloud says. "Expectations for some huge success right off have lessened, and it seems more than ever like we're an alternative to what's going on in the mainstream. And that's the space where we're most comfortable."
The success of an uncompromising act like Radiohead is inspiring, McCloud adds: "Like us, they're not really a singles band, but they've been able to reach a lot of people by keeping true to what it is they do. Our new record is bigger-sounding than anything we've ever done, and my vocals are more polished, for sure, but the album isn't an easy listen by any stretch. The listener still has to bring something to it, in order to get the most out of it."
Freak*on*ica was produced by Nick Launay, the Australian veteran of epochal albums by the Birthday Party, Public Image Ltd., Killing Joke, and Gang of Four--all keen influences on vocalist/guitarist McCloud and his bandmates, keyboardist/bassist Eli Janney, bassist Johnny Temple, and drummer Alexis Fleisig.
As the twist on "electronica" in its title helps indicate, Freak*on*ica comes across like its makers are up on the now sound but attuned to a more organic muse--one in keeping with their tag as purveyors of rock-hard soundtracks for nocturnal pursuits. The lead single, "Park Avenue," and such standout tracks as "Roxy" and "Exile" are ace calling cards for the album's sinewy mix of lewd noise and suave appeal.
According to Geffen's U.S. marketing chief, Robert Smith, Freak*on*ica is a major priority for the label, with an 18-month commitment. "A lot of people in a small world know everything about Girls Against Boys," he says. "But a lot of people out in the larger world don't know who they are beyond maybe a picture in a magazine. We know that it's going to take time and timing to broaden that awareness, and we're taking pains to set the album up right."
GVSB has already worked hard with the press, having done recent interviews with magazine from Ray Gun to Elle. And Smith says Geffen's alternative distribution reps--who have had some success with recent sets by the Crystal Method and Propellerheads--will push Freak*on*ica hard at US chains and indie retail. One attention-getting item is a limited-edition version of the album in translucent blue vinyl; the double-LP set will be available by May 19 at such shops as Other Music in New York's Greenwich Village, where co-owner Josh Madell says customers have been asking about new GVSB product for months.
"Park Avenue" just shipped to modern and mainstream rock radio, with a video for the song directed by Nick Gordon (Roni Size) going to MTV and local outlets shortly. The album will be serviced to the web of college stations that helped make "House of GVSB" and its predecessors, "Cruise Yourself" and "Venus Luxure No. 1 Baby," left-of-the-dial classics. The single won't be available commercially except in Europe, where it comes out May 5 with B-sides of the non-album tracks "EPR" and "American White Dwarf (a Janney remix of the album's "American Black Hole"). In Japan, Freak*on*ica will be released with "American White Dwarf" as a bonus track.
"Super-fire," the first single from "House of GVSB," garnered GVSB its first real exposure on commercial radio. KLZR (the Laser) Lawrence, Kan., was one of the modern rock stations to spin "Super-fire," taking a cue from the following the band had cultivated during its many stops in town and the substantial airplay devoted to its albums by the University of Kansas' KJHK. "Park Avenue" may have a Bowie-in-Berlin sound, as opposed to the hip-level heat of "Super-fire," but KLZR PD Roger "the Dodger" Formanek says GVSB "has enough fans here that we wouldn't think twice about giving the song a shot."
Having played some 150 gigs outside the U.S. in the past few years, GVSB has picked up strong followings in the U.K., the Benelux, France, and Greece. According to Geffen's head of international marketing, Mel Posner, the label plans to take full advantage of the band's foothold in those countries and is sponsering forays to such new territory as Scandinavia and Spain.
GVSB is in Europe on a promotional tour before beginning its European club shows with a round of U.K. dates in late May. A trek through the major cities of the Continent follows through June, with a subsequent North American club jaunt taking up the bulk of the summer and including the band's first substantial Canadian tour. A return trip to Europe for such festivals as the Netherlands' Pinkpop comes in late summer; the fall brings shows in Australia and Japan.
Girls Against Boys are booked in the U.S. by New York-based Creative Performance Group and in Europe by CNL of Nottingham, England. The group is managed by Gold Mountain in New York; its songs are published by Girls Against Boys Music (BMI), with a new co-publishing deal pending.