The Bystanders

Layout Created at .net with LIVE preview!!



"Skeletal, unsettling, atmospheric jerk rock from Newcastle, with doomy bass that a) makes our spleens rumble, and b) makes us want to stand in front of the mirror pulling Peter Hook poses. Damn good."NME



"Hot on the heels of The Futureheads, Maximo Park and Golden Virgins, The Bystanders are the latest band from our area set to make it big on the national music scene. We've seen them a few times recently and we like them a lot. So, when NME start boasting where you saw them first, now you know." - A Love Supreme

.



"Chester-le-Street is one of the northern-most towns in England, and a rather sleepy one at that. Not the sort of place where you'd expect a lot of good music to come from. Still, locals Paul and Steve decided to form a band and named it The Bystanders (after the social exclusion that a 70's haircut can bring in a backward town). Together with Deen, Nikk and Tom, they created a self-produced demo CD which gave them a break on the thriving North East seen. The music is a mixture of influences from all over the past 25 years: from post-punk to Madchester to Britpop.



They are this week on Naked Alien's Red Sofa with Designed To Fall Apart, a track most reminiscent of Joy Division, with gloomy synths, a catchy guitar riff and dark vocals. You can find it, plus two other tracks, on their own website as well as on their MySpace. - Naked Alien