Biographies came into the Denton scene in the middle part of last year with a seemingly built in audience. Though they are neophytes, both as a band and as individuals (their oldest member is 23), they have a certain experimental bravery informed by their pre-emo idols; those certain David Bazans and Jeremy Enigcks, and their fans, typically aged mid to early 20's, seem to pick up on that.
They put out their first album, a self-titled, eight song EP they released on March 30th , at The Labb in Denton. It's filled with pensive contemplation and life-affirming monologues weaving over and under severe arpeggios and dramatic musical turns of phrase a la earlier Sunny Day Real Estate or Pedro The Lion. It's easy to imagine being comforted by this album amidst the throes of a first heartbreak.
And yet as seriously as the music presents itself, this sextet out of Denton is pure jokester off stage. With Chance Maggard, formerly of the alt/experimental rock band Baruch the Scribe, as their unofficial leader (Maggard would never say this, but it's just the way it is), and five other members with varying musical resumes of their own, they like to keep it loose and airy when they're not working their asses off writing music or figuring out new ways of configuring stage schematics and theatrics.
"The way I look at it, I want the album and the live show to all go hand in hand," said Maggard. "I look up to bands who do that, I guess, and doing it any other way, like having the album separate from the live performance, having them all be separate entities... I guess what I want to say is that we had the intention of making the album, and then what you go to see at the live show be this same feeling." It bears saying that the six of them made this album with home equipment in a livingroom/bedroom in Denton, a fact they are all proud of.
That sentiment is apt, as a live show for Biographies always consists of darkly thematic lighting and other visual stimulation: glitter on a lone tom hit with the anger of psycho timpani; devices of that nature.
"I really like bands that put forth that effort, you know? When people go to see the bands, they go to see the bands," said guitarist Ethan McClure. "For them [visually stimulating bands] to present their music in a way that's captivating, we really try to bring that aspect into our own shows. We really try to step it up every show."
For the time being, interest in this band has only grown, and that's a hefty statement considering that one of their first shows nearly sold out Hailey's in Denton. The potential for this band to do something really big is high on the xy axis, especially when you calculate their age to lyrical/musical maturity ratio.
This May is a good time to catch one of their shows and purchase their new EP. On the 4th, they headline an eight band bill at the Austere Magazine Does Neo Woodstock outdoor party, and then the 11th at Banter in Denton and on the 27th at Dallas' Club Dada. For good measure, here is their first music video, "First Born."
Biographies- First Born (Official Music Video) from Shy Guy Media on Vimeo.
