Maybeshewill are an English

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

band from

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, England. Their music is characterised by the use of programmed and sampled electronic elements alongside guitars, bass, keyboards and drums.

History

Maybeshewill were formed by guitarists Robin Southby and John Helps whilst the pair were studying music technology together at De Montfort University in 2005.Dedman, Renfry (2016)
Maybeshewill Interview: ‘It's really nice to be able to go out at this point and finish on a high’
, '' The Independent'', 21 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016 They released their first record ''Japanese Spy Transcript'' on the band's own label,

Robot Needs Home Maybeshewill are an English post-rock band from Leicester, England. Their music is characterised by the use of programmed and sampled electronic elements alongside guitars, bass, keyboards and drums. History Maybeshewill were formed by guitar ...

Records in 2006 with Tanya Byrne on bass guitar and Lawrie Malen on drums. The four-track EP was well received by the press and attracted the attention of Nottingham's

Field Records Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(also home to

Public Relations Exercise Public Relations Exercise were a Leicester, England based post-hardcore/alternative rock group. A five-piece combining aspects of math rock, layered with penetrative and socially observant lyrics. History The band began as a product of the d ...

) who released "The Paris Hilton Sex Tape" (taken from the record) as part of a split 7-inch single with

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...

later that year. In August 2006 a re-mastered version of ''Japanese Spy Transcript'' was released in Japan on the XTAL label (also home to Yndi halda and

You Slut! In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from the Proto- ...

) which was set up specifically for the release by The Media Factory Group. Shortly after this release the band dissolved temporarily. In May 2007, Helps and Southby began working with drummer James Collins (formerly a member of

Fight Fire With Water Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

) and bassist Andrew Jackson, along with a number of guest vocalists and musicians on an album entitled ''Not for Want of Trying''. The record was released on Monday 12 May 2008 through Field Records, and was chosen by BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens as his album of the week in its release week. "The Paris Hilton Sex Tape" also featured on the cover CD of June's edition of '' Rock Sound'' magazine. Thirteen months later on 7 June 2009, the band released their second album ''Sing the Word Hope in Four-Part Harmony'' through Field Records, with Victoria Sztuka taking Andrew Jacksons place on bass guitar. This was a heavier record which saw them continue to try to break away from the

tag with which they are often labelled. The record was received well by both press and fans alike, but did receive some criticism for failing to depart substantially enough from the band's established sound. After the release of ''Sing The Word Hope'', the band returned to the three-piece line-up of James Collins, John Helps and Robin Southby for a brief period before they were joined in 2009 by Jamie Ward, a former member of Kyte and

Tired Irie Tired may refer to: Emotional or physical state * Fatigue, a feeling of exhaustion * Sleepy, having the need for sleep Geography * Tired Mountain, a mountain in Alaska Music EPs * ''Tired'' (EP), a 2002 EP by Monkey Majik Songs * "Tired" (Al ...

who was to guide the recording session for their third album, as well as fill the vacant position of bassist. In 2011 the band became a five-piece with long-time collaborator Matthew Daly performing live keyboards. In May 2011, the band released ''I Was Here for a Moment, Then I Was Gone'', their third full-length record. According to press releases, the band approached the record as if it were their first album – ignoring any criticism of their previous work, be it positive or negative, and distancing themselves from any expectation of what they might produce. Produced by Jamie Ward the record was the first to be recorded in traditional studio spaces and consequently is more polished than any previous recordings. Live strings and brass were provided by members of

Her Name Is Calla Her Name Is Calla were an English post-rock band based in the English cities of Leicester and Leeds, England. History After playing live throughout the United Kingdom to much critical acclaim, touring with iLiKETRAiNS and The Twilight Sad, Cu ...

and Fight Fire With Water, adding more organic sounds to the bands electronic palette. The album received universally positive reviews from the music press, was played in its entirety twice on Kerrang Radio and gained Maybeshewill ''Rock Sounds 'Band of the Week' accolade two weeks running. In March 2014, the band announced that they would release their fourth studio album through German based record label

Superball Music Superball Music is a German independent record label, launched on 1 October 2007. Superball Myspace page states that Superball have attracted significant attention for bringing out Oceansize's third album '' Frames'', which was a commercial s ...

. The album's title, ''Fair Youth'', and release date, 25 August 2014, were announced in June 2014. Maybeshewill toured very regularly across the UK, Europe and Asia. This has seen them pair up with And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead,

Lite Lite may refer to: Food and drugs *Diet food, food or beverage that is part of a weight loss program or diet *Diet soda, a version of soda pop *Low-alcohol beer, beer with little or no alcohol content **Miller Lite, a brand of light beer *Lights ...

, Long Distance Calling, Earthtone9, &U&I, And So I Watch You From Afar and Cats & Cats & Cats (amongst others) on various excursions. They have also appeared at The Great Escape,

Summer Sundae Weekender Summer Sundae (also called the Summer Sundae Weekender) was an annual music festival held in Leicester, England which initially focused on indie, alternative, and local music. The festival began as a one-dayer in 2001 and grew year on year sin ...

, Truck Festival,

Brainwash Festival Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwashin ...

2000trees 2000trees is an independent rock music festival held over three days at Upcote Farm, Withington, near Cheltenham in Gloucestershire, with a focus on upcoming and underground acts. It won the Grass Roots Festival Award at the UK Festival Awards ...

Hockley Hustle The Hockley Hustle is an annual, one-day music and arts festival held at multiple venues in Nottingham and centred around the Hockley area. Running since 2006, it has raised over £150,000 for various charities and communities History The festi ...

, ArcTanGent and Dot To Dot Festivals. In September 2015, the band announced that they would be disbanding after a brief final tour. On 24 June 2018, the band played a special, one off show in the Queen Elizabeth Hall at London’s Southbank Centre as part of

Robert Smith Robert Smith or Bob Smith, or similar, may refer to: Business * Robert MacKay Smith (1802–1888), Scottish businessman, meteorologist and philanthropist who founded Glasgow University's Mackay Smith Prizes * Robert Barr Smith (1824–1915), ...

's Meltdown. In January 2020, the band announced their reformation, as well as an appearance to ArcTanGent Festival. The festival was cancelled, however, they have started working on new material together. In November 2021 the band released their fifth studio album ''No Feeling Is Final''.

Robot Needs Home

Since their inception Maybeshewill have operated the 'business' elements of the band under the name Robot Needs Home. This 'label' set up by guitarist John Helps runs many of the band's affairs, but also works to support the wider music community which the band is part of. Continuing the band's own D.I.Y. ethos, the label works on the basis of 'promotion by association', collecting together artists who share a common ethic, and encouraging collaboration. As well as operating as a record label, Robot Needs Home provides booking and management services to other bands, and promotes shows in and around the city of

, including the Maybeshewill curated

White Noise Festival White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. W ...

. The label has released most of Maybeshewill's smaller and digital releases, as well as their debut EP ''Japanese Spy Transcript''.

Musical style

The band have described their sound as "instrumental rock with electronics", while

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

described them as sounding "like Mogwai would if the latter had ever found love in an arthouse cinema. And then were beaten around the head with a keyboard". Comparisons have also been made with

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...

,Haydock, Mike (2008)
Maybeshewill: ''Not For Want Of Trying''
",

, 17 June 2008, retrieved 27 September 2009 and 65daysofstatic were often mentioned by reviewers as a likely influence on their earlier work.Bonetti, Alessandro (2008)
Maybeshewill Not For Want Of Trying
", Kronic, 5 June 2008, retrieved 27 September 2009 Their tracks often include samples of film or other dialogue; "Not for Want of Trying" contains a sample from '' Network'', while ''Sing the Word Hope in Four Part Harmony'' includes samples of broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, and excerpts from '' Young Winston''.Newbound, Tim (2009)
Reviews Maybeshewill – ‘Sing the Word Hope in Four-Part Harmony’
, '' Rock Sound'', retrieved 27 September 2009maniac_fm (2009)
Journal → Maybeshewill Lyrics
, 11 July 2009, retrieved 22 October 2013

Members

; Current members *James Collins (drums) *Matthew Daly (keyboards) *John Helps (guitar) *Robin Southby (guitar) *Jamie Ward (bass) ; Former members *Victoria Sztuka (bass) *Andrew Jackson (bass) *Dave Voss (drums) *Lawrie Malen (drums) *Tanya Byrne (bass) *Kris Tearse (drums) *Scott West (guitar)

Discography

; Albums *''

Not for Want of Trying ''Not for Want of Trying'' is the debut album from UK instrumental rock band Maybeshewill, released on 12 May 2008. Track listing Production The title track 'Not For Want Of Trying' samples Howard Beale's 'mad as hell' speech from the 19 ...

'' (2008) *''

Sing the Word Hope in Four-Part Harmony ''Sing the Word Hope in Four-Part Harmony'' is the second album by the British instrumental rock band Maybeshewill Maybeshewill are an English post-rock band from Leicester, England. Their music is characterised by the use of programmed ...

'' (2009) *''

I Was Here For a Moment, Then I Was Gone ''I Was Here for a Moment, Then I Was Gone'' is the third studio album by English post-rock band Maybeshewill. It was released on 11 June 2011 by Function Records. Critical reception ''I Was Here for a Moment, Then I Was Gone'' was met with "ge ...

'' (2011) *''Fair Youth'' (2014) *''No Feeling Is Final'' (2021) ; EPs *''Japanese Spy Transcript'' (EP) (

XTAL A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macrosc ...

JP) (August 2006) ; Singles and minor releases *Ann Arbor / Maybeshewill (split 7-inch single) (

) (July 2006) *"Seraphim & Cherubim"/"Heartflusters" (CD-R single) (

) (September 2007) *''Anti-Semantics: The Remixes Vol. 1'' (CD-R EP) (

) (May 2008) *''Amateur Grammatics: The Remixes Vol. 2'' (CD-R EP) (

) (October 2008) *Maybeshewill / Her Name is Calla (split 12-inch single) (

) (November 2008) *''The Remixes 2005 – 2010'' (CD-R album) (

) (April 2010) *"To The Skies From A Hillside" (7-inch single) (

) (October 2010) *"Critical Distance" (7-inch single) (Function Records) (March 2011) *"Red Paper Lanterns" (7-inch single) (Function Records) (March 2012) * ; Compilations *''Kill All Humans'' (CD-R Compilation) (

) (September 2007) *''Notes 1'' (Mini CD-R and Art Compilation) (Notes) (Unknown 2009) *''Tellison – Contact! Contact! Remixed'' (Remix Compilation) (

Drums Don't Kill Records A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

) (January 2009) *''White Noise One'' (CD-R Compilation) (

) (May 2009) *''Truck 12'' (Compilation) (June 2009) *''Not for Want of Trying + 4'' (

UK & EU) (October 2009) *''White Noise Two'' (CD-R Compilation) (

) (December 2009) *''Off The Cuff'' (Compilation) ( Big Scary Monsters) (August 2010) *''Exports01'' (Compilation) (

) (June 2011)

References

External links

* {{Authority control English rock music groups English post-rock groups English electronic music groups Musical groups from Leicester Musical groups established in 2005 Musical groups disestablished in 2016 Superball Music artists