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| Strange Collective |
'Strange Collective' went from being Liverpool's best-kept secret to kingpins of the
heavy psych scene. At first the band were reluctant even to divulge their names, with the personnel alternating frequently from its initial
inception. Vocalist Alex explains, "We had Louie first, then Robbo, then Sam, now Parry on
bass. On drums we had Sam, then Parry came in, now Sian is in there. It
follows a strong tradition of our members coming from different bands." There then came a settled line-up of Andrew Gordon Parry on bass guitar, Alex Wynne on vocals and guitar, Ali Horn on guitar and Sian Plummer on drums.
This foursome of garage rockers were still mildly elusive in the cultural climate of social
media, yet were a band that needed seeing to be believed. Stage
invasions and raucous wig-outs were the norm when they were on top form.
Coming out from their self-assigned shroud
of secrecy, their rumbustious launch onto the Liverpool music scene in early 2014 was heralded by a 54-second YouTube clip of four
blurry figures lost in the squall of what we found out to be a trademark
'Strange Collective' jam.
Andrew Parry said, "We'd all been playing around the city for a few years in various
bands so managed to get some nice supports for our first few shows."
After capturing the imagination of the hordes at the 2014 Liverpool Psych
Fest, where they were one of the stand out drawers, the fiery, sweaty ball of energy that is 'Strange Collective' began to
assert themselves as many people's ones-to-watch this time round.
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| Playing 'Wasted' at Liverpool Psych Fest |
Signed to independent label Salvation Records, they unleashed their debut single a year after their
first performance. Released in February 2015, 'Sun' epitomised their infectious blend of mischievous riffage and the quartet quickly built up
a healthy following in the North West playing alongside krautrock icons
'Silver Apples' and US garage lunatics 'The Black Lips'. It was no surprise that they quickly became the local support
act of choice for those operating within the broad church of
psychedelia. Consistently they impressed with a seemingly
endless streak of high-profile supports that included 'The Black Lips',
'Clinic', 'Silver Apples' and those most catchily named Aussies, 'King Gizzard And The
Lizard Wizard'. This extended run of diverse live opportunities, coupled
with a taste for full-blooded headline shows, ensured a wave of
adulation for the band who were very much purveyors of their own branch of
garage psych worship.
Their gigs have nearly always been the stuff of legend, not just that
they've held momentous all-dayers which have included a raft of new
artists and bands, cementing their status as one of the bands that cultivated a communal thread among the mavericks and misfits within
Merseyside.
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| Super Touchy EP |
'Freaks and geeks' gathered on the 2nd of July 2016 on the Dock Road at Invisible Wind Factory, the new HQ of the Kazimier collective, as these local psych-stained garage rockers launched their debut EP, 'Super Touchy', released on July 1st 2016, was described as a stunning debut from a collective who manage to be both strange and beautiful.
After five glorious years in which they seemed to course
through Merseyside music like an unmanned pirate ship, at a gig at the record store 81 Renshaw, the band announced
their split in January 2019. "After 5 long years, 'Strange Collective' are shutting up shop. Nice
one to anyone who came down to a show and partied with us, every band we
played with, every promoter that put us on and every member we’ve ever
had. The final live performance will be this Saturday 2nd February."
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