It's one of those nights. We're sitting upstairs in the dressing room of Belfast's Limelight with AC Acoustics - the Glasgow based four piece here tonight as support to Placebo - as the venue below fills to capacity. The scenario is that Placebo have gone top 10 with 'Nancy Boy' and this venue could have been sold out twice over. Helpfully for AC Acoustics, Brian Molko wore a 'Stunt Girl' T-shirt on Top Of The Pops, so there's an outside chance of some crowd recognition when they play that fab single from late '96. Tours like this inevitably help their popularity, so have the Placebo audience been getting into what AC Acoustics are about?
"This tour has been great, everywhere is sold out and Placebo's crowd have been into what we've been doing," enthuses Paul Campion, guitarist and vocalist with the band. "We toured with them at the end of '96 as well and they're really good to tour with, everyone knows each other now, and likes each others music - so we get on!"
That's the tour credentials established, but lets double back a little. AC Acoustics have been together for a few years now, actually forming an experimental line-up (including sax and violin) as far back as 1988. After providing music for installations and multimedia projects they split up, only for Paul Campion to give it another go in 1992. Original member Caz Riley (bass) returned and Dave Gormley (drums) was drafted in from the ranks of fellow Glaswegians Thrum. The music had become tighter - based around buzzsaw guitars and Paul's mesmerising vocal style - and they soon hooked up with Elemental records who released the 'Sweatlodge MV' single in December 1993.
The mini-album 'Able Treasury' (stand-out track 'Mother Head Sander') came out in May 1994 and was followed in December by the wonderful 'Hand Passes Plenty' single. And that was it, all quiet until Mark Raine was added on lead guitar, these Placebo dates happened and a tour only 7" of 'I Messiah, Am Jailer' emerged. So what has been happening in the meantime, and how have things changed?
"We've actually been in cryogenic storage since then! I feel as if we've just come off the 'Hand Passes Plenty' tour!" says drummer Dave.
Caz (bass) detects some musical change though, "I think nowadays we have a better balance between our poppy side and our experimental side, we used to be more experimental."
Paul disagrees. "That's not necessarily true. I think that 'Able Treasury' has tons of great pop songs on it. Progress is too strong a word for it. There was always a lot of variety in what we did and that still remains, but we keep evolving and there's definitely a lot of evolution between the sound of each record. A lot of people don't consider themselves to change, and we didn't actually sit down and make a concious decision to write a certain piece of music. Stay with the music and if it comes out different then that's that."
When the band began there seemed to be very little interesting music coming out of Glasgow - now there's loads. What do you think about this?
"There has always been a lot of music in Glasgow," says Paul. "As far as what is currently happening, I think that we can take some credit for starting that, because at that particular point when we got signed most of the current bands already existed. It was the end of the Teenage Fanclub era, nobody had really done anything significant or got signed since they had, and we were the first to break that deadlock. As a result of that, other bands got signed. I'd like to think that we had a musical influence on them too!"
"Thankfully it means that you don't have to be a Simple Minds or a Wet Wet Wet to get signed anymore," adds Mark, the band's most recent recruit. "Glasgow's always been a vibrant musical city, and good alternative stuff was around even going back to the likes of the Pastels. It's just seems that nowadays people recognise it more."
Paul continues, "it's a good place because it's not London and you usually have a longer time to develop your music. There aren't many cases of a band getting signed after three gigs or whatever."
One thing I like about AC Acoustics is the sense of intrigue created by the enigmatic lyrics and song titles. The fab new album 'Victory Parts' includes a lyric sheet and shows off all the words of 'published poet' Paul Campion. So are the lyrics all Paul's work?
"We help him pull the letters out of a hat", jokes Dave.
"That's not true, I pick them out myself!," says Paul. "Well, they make sense to me. I think songs that put a bit of effort in are more worthy of respect than the usual run-of-the-mill 'baby I love you' choruses. I think I have a relationship with the songs as entities as themselves. I see them as plays for several voices, they have several characters rather than just me. I like the lyrics to read well, rather than the usual Primary School stuff."
Just as we're getting very deep, Brian Molko starts drumming on the walls and the interview draws to an abrupt close. Our ten minutes are up and it's showtime. On stage it's easy to see why the Placebo fans get into what AC Acoustics are doing. The same adenalin rush is there, but where Placebo have the whole androgynous image to play with, AC Acoustics are a more reserved entertainment - almost hiding behind Paul's enigmatic vocals and drawing you in. Prolonged listening to 'Victory Parts' shows more and more levels to their songs. In this two-dimensional music world there are few with their imagination. Savour it while you can.
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