Figurines is an

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band from

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, formed in the mid-1990s. The band released their first EP, ''The Detour'', in 2001 and their first full-length album, ''Shake a Mountain'', in 2004. The band began to receive national attention in Denmark around the time of the full-length release, and began touring Germany in 2003. Their second full-length, ''Skeleton'', was released in 2005 on Danish label Morningside Records and German label Pop-U-Loud, and on US label

The Control Group The Control Group is an independent record label, founded by Nabil Ayers in Seattle, Washington in 2002. Notable artists who have released albums on The Control Group include El Perro del Mar, Lykke Li, Cate Le Bon, Alice Boman and Wildbird ...

in 2006. The band began a North American tour after being nominated for a

Canadian Music Week Canadian Music Week (or CMW) is an industry conference and music festival held over ten days in Toronto and Ontario, Canada. History Canadian Music Week began in 1981 and has grown to become one of Canada's largest and most influential media a ...

Indie award and has since performed at the Indies ceremony, SXSW,

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the no ...

, and in cities in the US, Canada, and Europe. The band has also received positive press from

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

, and Spin, among others. Figurines's sound has been most often compared to that of Pavement, Modest Mouse, and Built to Spill. The band released their third record ''When the Deer Wore Blue'' in 2007 with Chicago-based co-producer/engineer Jeremy Lemos, who has worked with Smog, Jim O'Rourke, Loose Fur, and many other Windy City acts in the past. The new material is more psychedelic than previous efforts, but remains faithful to the melodic-pop sounds of ''Skeleton'' and ''Shake a Mountain'' on several tracks, including "Hey, Girl", the first single from the record. In 2010 they released their 4th record titled "Figurines".

Discography

Albums

*2004: ''

Shake a Mountain Shake may refer to: * Handshake * Milkshake * Tremor * Shakes (wood), cracks in timber * Shake (shingle), a wooden shingle made from split logs Shake, The Shakes, Shaking, or Shakin' may refer to: Geography * Shake, Zimbabwe * Shake, another ...

'' *2005: '' Skeleton'' *2007: ''

When the Deer Wore Blue ''When The Deer Wore Blue'' is an album by Figurines A figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or sma ...

'' (DEN #20 in Danish Albums Chart) *2010: ''

Figurines A figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many medi ...

EPs

*2001: ''The Detour'' (EP) *2007: ''Hey Girl'' (EP) *2010: ''Lucky to Love'' (EP)

Singles

*2006: "Silver Ponds" (7" single) *2007: "Hey Girl"

Members

The band started as a quintet, but later on has functioned as a trio. Mathias Nielsen in BT.dk: Tilbage på hesten
;Current members *

Christian Hjelm Christian Hjelm originating from Vestbjerg, Nordjylland, Denmark is a Danish singer and guitar player who has developed a solo career and has released a number of singles and had his debut album ''Før Vi Blev Lette'' recorded at Studio-R in C ...

– vocals and guitar * Claus Salling Johansen – guitar, backing vocals, originally also drums * Jens Ramon - guitar, synths ;Past members * Andreas Toft - bass * Kristian Volden – drums, percussion * Mads Kjærgaard – bass * Mathe Fischer The Figurines were formed in the mid-1990s when Christian Hjelm, Claus Salling Johansen and Andreas Toft all began to "jam" together. Originally all the Figurines guitarists. Eventually Toft switched over to bass and Claus swapped to drums until Kristian Volden joined the band. In May 2006, Andreas left the band and Mads Kjærgaard and Mathe Fischer joined. In 2007 Mathe Fischer left the band after a one-year stay, and Jens Ramon joined. They went to Sweden in "Silence studios" (an analog studio), where they were living separated from normal life, while they were working on their next release ''

'' produced by Jeremy Lemos (who later worked with Sonic Youth). After touring they began making songs for their new album. Then Kristian Volden and Mads Kjærgaard left the Figurines, and band turned into a trio. The trio released ''Figurines'' in 2010.

In popular culture

The song "The Air We Breathe" was featured on season 1 episode 13 of the TV-show ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

''.

References

External links

* {{Authority control

Paper Bag Records artists