Isle of Man-based alternative rock band Postcode recently released their new EP ‘Acoustic Zebraland’.
Recorded by vocalist Marie Reynolds and guitarists Mikie Daugherty and Kieran Ball, ‘Acoustic Zebraland’ is the first record of new material the band have released since 2015 and precedes a new full-band album that is currently in production. The EP contains three brand new songs along with a reworking of old favourite ‘Mclusky Youth’ which has proved to be a live favourite in recent years. Check out the EP below!
We managed to catch up with vocalist Marie Reynolds and guitarist Mikie Daugherty as they talked about the latest release and more!
How has the release of Acoustic Zebraland gone down with fans so far?
Marie Reynolds (Vocals): We’ve had good feedback from people that have followed us locally but it would be nice to get more exposure, it’s hard living on the Isle of Man though.
Mikie Daugherty (Guitar): It’s gone down really well so far, we’ve had had some nice feedback saying it’s one of our best.
Kieran Ball (Guitar): I’m not too sure how the release has gone down with fans, I’m probably the most disconnected with how releases land. I’ve seen some nice comments from label mate Brian Bordello out of off of The Bordellos and some other local musicians. I hope there are some people who have picked up the record and enjoyed what they’ve heard.
Can you tell something about the EP no one else knows?
MD: We were actually going to release an EP called ‘Acoustic Zebraland’ way back in 2009 with Filthy Little Angels records, but it didn’t work out. Those tracks eventually found their way onto our ‘Zebranthology’ collection, but it is only now that we have had the chance to use the title for a record.
KB: Something that no-one else knows about the record? That would be hard as I think Mikie knows everything about this record. Erm… maybe ‘Mclusky Youth’ – people might not know that this arrangement kind of started off as a joke because of how fast and loud the original is. We realised that we enjoyed playing the track this way and have probably played the acoustic version more than the original in the last 4 years!
What’s your favourite track from the EP?
MR: ‘Buried’.
MD: ‘Buried’. I like it most as a song and I also really like the guitars on it and the way they work together.
KB: That is difficult to pick because I love each track for different reasons. I think ‘Buried’ would be my favourite. I really love how the guitars work together for the first section of the song. I also find the lyrics stuck in my head quite often.
Is the EP is on a name your price basis, is this something you think most up and coming bands should do?
MR: It works for us but sometimes I feel like it devalues a band if they don’t say what they think they’re worth, against that though is the desire to get your music heard.
MD: I’m not going to tell other people what to do, but doing it this way works for us.
If you could work with any band on a new song, who would it be and why?
MR: The Breeders because Kim.
MD: That’s always quite a difficult question to answer. If we’re talking current bands then I’ve been listening to I Like Trains a lot this year, so working with them would be cool, though they already have three guitarists, so that could be overkill.
KB: I would love to work with The Cure. Robert Smith is a god like genius whose lyrics can conjure the most vivid images in your head. It seems insane to me that the same band who wrote ‘Friday I’m In Love’ and ‘Let’s Go To Bed’ can also be responsible for songs like ‘One Hundred Years’ or ‘Give Me It’. I don’t know what I’d be bringing to the table but then again Lol Tolhurst was in the band for years without contributing anything useful so who knows?
What was the first ever gig you went to?
MR: Grouch at The Eagle in Port Erin. First UK gig was Inspiral Carpets.
MD: I will have been to a few local gigs first that I don’t really remember now, but the first big gig I saw was R.E.M. on the Monster tour.
KB: The first “gig” I ever went to was a local multi band night at a local town hall in a town called Pt St Mary in about 2003 called Californication. It was vet loud and full of local alternative garage bands. I got thrown of the stage by the lead singer of one of the heavier bands. He picked me up over his head to do it which was fun. In terms of first big gig it would have been Reading Festival ’06 which had a pretty good lineup.
What’s the music scene like in Isle of Man?
MR: Lacking.
MD: There are a lot of talented bands and artists here, but it doesn’t seem like there’s much of a unified scene here anymore.
KB: The music scene on the island is a weird one, there are tons of very talented musician who all gig fairly regularly and there are a whole host of open mics and music related events and yet the “scene” element seems to be lacking a bit. It doesn’t always feel like a community more like lots of individuals doing their own thing. Audience are varied some night having full houses and others being dead. I’m not sure what scenes are like further afield but I can certainly be hit and miss here.
Will you be touring at all this year?
MR: Unfortunately not, maybe we’ll do some big mad thing when I’m 60.
MD: There are no plans to tour at the moment, in fact I guess you could say that we actually have plans not to tour. We are in the midst of recording a new full-length album with the full band though, which we hope will be finished later in the year.
KB: Postcode will almost certainly not be touring this year as we have taken a hiatus from live performance to focus on recording and other musical endeavours, however there may be a rare acoustic gig at some point. We’ll just have to wait and see!