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British seaside towns; an inspiration and idle curiosity for generations of writers, poets and musicians, and occasional misery for families stuck in nightmarish bank holiday traffic on winding rain lashed windswept roads. From Philip Larkin to Morrissey, arty types have long been flocking to Victorian promenades to soak up the kitsch cosmetic glamour, take a ride on the dodgems, have a fumble behind the waltzers and get candyfloss in the hair. It’s fitting therefore, that as Gigwise salivates at the prospect of reclining on sun soaked deckchairs over the next few months that one of the south coast’s brightest and most exciting bands is from the place that’s fast becoming the Newport of the noughties, Brighton.
The latest bright young things to tumble out of the city that’s brought us Blood Red Shoes, The Electric Soft Parade, British Sea Power and The Maccabees are Maths Class, an electro indie quintet who specialise in pacy no-wave punk and breathlessly melodic rock with a side helping of oddball metal. The band played Brighton’s The Great Escape Festival this weekend, having only formed just over a year ago in their adopted home. Along with their contemporaries and friends Foals, Maths Class are being tipped for great things. To date, the band has neither a release nor record deal to their name, but whisper it quietly; there’s something adrift in the Brighton air, and we’re not talking about the aroma of hotdogs and toffee apples.
Before the event Maths Class frontman Tim Sketchely explained how the weekend’s gig in Brighton will be the culmination of a year’s worth of work for the quintet. “Well on Saturday, weather permitting,” Tim says in guttural northern tones, “we’ll be playing on top of a bus on Brighton beach and it’s going to be on your radio as far as I know.” Despite his voice not betraying a twinge of fear, the gig will be a further step in the band’s rise over the past twelve months.
“We went to The Great Escape last year, only a few months after the band formed, and we had an amazing time seeing everyone play. We all thought in a year’s time it would be great to play the festival ourselves so it was all in the back of our minds.” The band, who formed at university in Brighton, were added to the line up a short while before it took place. “So much has happened since last year,” Tim offers. “It’s unbelievable in a way to be playing it so soon.”
Maths Class consist of singer and synth player Tim, synth player Piers Cowburn, guitarist Andy Davies, bassist Alex Damms and drummer Rick Tipton. The band formed when Tim moved to Brighton from his native Harrogate to start a music course. Fellow Yorkshireman Piers followed to further his own music career, and the enterprising duo met Andy, Alex and Rick on the Brighton circuit. But despite acknowledging the strong musical output emanating from the city, Tim's mindful to distance Maths Class from being part of a clique. “The Brighton scene is one of the most diverse in the country,” he explains. “So I’m not sure if you can group it together and say there’s a particular sound. Foals we’re really into, and they’ve become good mates of ours. They’re probably the most similar in sound to us, but there’s lots of bands here we admire.”
Tim is evasive in trying to pin down Maths Class’ sound, preferring to cite a list of disparate influences ranging from everyday objects and obscure unsigned American hardcore bands, to the likes of angular rockers At The Drive-in. Their sound is best captured on furiously compulsive rocker ‘We Are The Nightlife’, and electro disco homage 'Absolute Dancer'. “As a band we’re all from completely different backgrounds musically,” explains Tim. “We always say we draw our influences from anything that happens in our day-to-day lives. I’m always pissing around on the internet trying to find new music to listen to so I’ve discovered all these acts probably nobody has heard of.”
The band are continuing to work on new material in their eccentric way, but Tim won't be rushed on a release date despite speculation the band are attracting label attention. "The songs we have just wouldn't come out if they were written in a conventional way," Tim says. "They're not centred on a verse, chorus, verse structure, but come together when we're bouncing ideas off each other. We like to swap instruments too, which gives things a different dimension."
Curiosity abounds, Tim says there's "nothing romantic" behind their name. "I was bored at work and wrote some band names down till we had a few we liked. We settled on Maths Class, as we liked the way it sounded. It's supposed to be said in a northern accent," Tim adds. "If you say it like a southerner would it sounds stupid." He adds that despite the accolades thrown at them over the last 12 months, they’re taking nothing for granted. "People have been saying good, really positive things about us, which is obviously gratifying but we haven't even released anything. To get all this without having put anything out does kind of raise expectation levels for us and people who've been showing an interest."
However, he says Maths Class aren't the type of personalities to be dictated to by the industry. They will stick to their guns. "Some of the songs aren't as accessible as others, but maybe the poppier stuff is a good jumping off point. My mother's a fan of 'We Are The Nightlife', she keeps singing that one. I think she's the only person to tell us to write more songs like that ha, ha. We just enjoy the music we're writing."
