The Hazey Janes are an

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band from

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Background

The band consists of Andrew Mitchell (vocals, guitar, keyboard), Liam Brennan (drums, vocals, percussion) and siblings Alice Marra (vocals, guitar, keyboard, synthesizer) and Matthew Marra (bass guitar, keyboard, glockenspiel). They formed in 2000 and play a fusion of country-rock and indie-pop, with a penchant for heavy folk harmonies.

Career

In 2004 the band recorded a self-titled mini-album with

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Mark Freegard (Manic Street Preachers, The Breeders, Del Amitri). This was followed in 2006 by their first full-length album, ''Hotel Radio''. Recorded with Paco Loco (

Golden Smog Golden Smog is an alternative country-rock supergroup of loosely connected musicians mostly from the Minneapolis area. At various times, members of Soul Asylum, The Replacements, Wilco, The Jayhawks, Run Westy Run, The Honeydogs and Big Star h ...

The Sadies The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Dallas Good, Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret and Bruce Good, and nephews of Bria ...

, Josh Rouse) in

El Puerto de Santa Maria EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

, Spain, the record met with significant acclaim from '' Q''

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

, ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'', ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'', ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

'' and '' The Word''. In 2006 they performed at

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

Music Festival in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, opening for

Susanna Hoffs Susanna Lee Hoffs (born January 17, 1959) is an American singer and guitarist, best known as a co-founder of the pop-rock band The Bangles. Hoffs founded The Bangles (originally called the Bangs) in 1981 with Debbi and Vicki Peterson. They re ...

The Bangles The Bangles are an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The band recorded several singles that reached the U.S. top 10 during the 1980s, including "Manic Monday" (1986), "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986), " Hazy Shade ...

. In 2007, the band recorded a second album, ''Hands Around The City'', with producer John Agnello (

The Hold Steady The Hold Steady is an American rock band originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota, now based in Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2003. The band consists of Craig Finn (vocals, guitar), Tad Kubler (guitar), Galen Polivka (bass), Bobby Drake (drums), ...

, Sonic Youth, The Walkmen) at Water Music Recorders in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

. The group again performed in Austin at SXSW, this time performing on a bill with The Presidents of the United States of America, and also played their first shows in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and New Jersey. The band have toured throughout the UK, performing both as headlining artists and as support for

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...

Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the media ...

, Idlewild,

Brakes A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

, Aberfeldy and

Gorky's Zygotic Mynci Gorky's Zygotic Mynci were a psychedelic folk and alternative rock band which formed in Carmarthen, Wales, in 1991. The group performed music in both Welsh and English, and they had eight Top 75 singles on the UK Singles Chart during their car ...

. In October 2011 they released their third full-length album, ''The Winter That Was'' through Armellodie Records. The album was self-produced and recorded on the outskirts of Dundee with engineer, Robin Sutherland. The quartet have opened as guests for

WILCO Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...

on the 2012 European leg of their world tour. In 2013 they appeared with and

Deacon Blue Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut album ...

Birmingham Symphony Hall Symphony Hall is a 2,262 seat concert venue in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June 1991, although it had been in use since 15 April 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and host ...

Liverpool Echo Arena Liverpool Arena, known for sponsorship reasons as the M&S Bank Arena, and previously Echo Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the city centre of Liverpool, England. The venue hosts live music, comedy performances and sporting events, and ...

, London's

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

and Glasgow's

The Hydro The OVO Hydro is a multi-purpose indoor arena located within the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland, and is the largest entertainment venue in Scotland. The arena was initially named The Hydro after its main sponsor Scottish Hydro El ...

. In March 2012 the group collaborated with singer-songwriter Michael Marra on an EP entitled ''Houseroom''. The six tracks were recorded over the duration of two days by engineer by Gordon McLean at An Tobar in Tobermory on the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull ( gd, An t-Eilean Muileach ) or just Mull (; gd, Muile, links=no ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Arg ...

. The record was released through Tob Records on 19 March.

Michael Marra Michael Marra (17 February 1952 – 23 October 2012) was a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician from Dundee, Scotland. Known as the Bard of Dundee, Marra was a solo performer who toured the UK and performed in arts centres, theatres, folk clu ...

was the father of band members Alice Marra and Matthew Marra. In 2014, they released their fourth album, ''Language of Faint Theory'', their second release on Armellodie Records. The album was co-produced with Paco Loco and mixed by John Agnello, the team that collaborated on their debut, "Hotel Radio". In June 2016 the band released "The Light Comes Back", a collaborative album with poet, author and playwright

Liz Lochhead Liz Lochhead Hon FRSE (born 26 December 1947) is a Scottish poet, playwright, translator and broadcaster. Between 2011 and 2016 she was the Makar, or National Poet of Scotland, and served as Poet Laureate for Glasgow between 2005 and 2011. E ...

, and saxophonist Steve Kettley through Tob Records. Mitchell records and performs solo as Andrew Wasylyk and is a member of Idlewild.

Discography

Albums

*''The Hazey Janes'' - Mini LP (Measured Records CD, 2004) *''Hotel Radio'' (Measured Records CD, 2006) *''Hands Around The City'' (Unreleased, 2008) *''The Winter That Was'' (Armellodie Records CD/Download, 2011) *''Houseroom'' - Collaboration EP w/ Michael Marra (Tob Records CD, 2012) *''Language of Faint Theory'' (Armellodie Records CD/Vinyl/Download, 2014) *''The Light Comes Back'' - Collaboration album w/ poet, author, playwright Liz Lochhead (Tob Records CD, 2016) *''Hands Around The City Live'' - Recording of a live performance of their unreleased second album (Armellodie Records CD/Download, 2017)

Singles

*"Your Enemy" b/w "Feel Alright" & "Piecebaggers" (written by Chris Hogan) (Measured Records CD, 2006) *"Your Enemy" b/w "

Silly Games Silly may refer to: Places * Silly, Belgium, a town * Silly Department, a department or commune of Sissili Province in southern Burkina Faso Music * Silly (band), an East German rock group from the 1970s * The Sillies, an American punk rock b ...

" (written by

Dennis Bovell Dennis Bovell (born 22 May 1953Huey, Steve"Dennis Bovell Biography" Allmusic. Retrieved 27 December 2014.) is a Barbados-born reggae guitarist, bass player and record producer, based in England. He was a member of the British reggae band Mat ...

) (Measured Records 7", 2006) *"Always There" b/w "Anywhere Today" & "Something Between Us" (Measured Records CD, 2006) *"Always There" b/w "Chasin' Mary Ann" (Measured Records 7", 2006) *"Fire in the Sky" b/w "Love Is Gold" & "Meet on the Ledge" (written by Richard Thompson) (Measured Records Download, 2006) *"New York" b/w "The City Shaped Its Arm Around Her" (Roseangle/TriTone Records 7", 2008) *"Carmelite" (Armellodie Records Download, 2011) *"Girl in the Night" (Armellodie Records Download, 2011) *"The Fathom Line" (Armellodie Records Download, 2014) *"If Ever There Is Gladness" (Armellodie Records Download, 2014) *"All Is Forgotten" b/w "The Fathom Line (TFA Remix)" & "Iwan (Mouchettes Remix)" (Armellodie Records Download, 2014)

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazey Janes, The Scottish indie rock groups Musicians from Dundee