Brothers Andrew and Dan Calloway make up the band England in 1819.
Photo courtesy of the England in 1819
Proud Larry’s is ringing in the spring semester tonight with the internationally touring England in 1819 and Oxford’s own Pale East. Pale East will open with its symphonic Southern melodies followed by the post-indie-pop England in 1819.
England in 1819 is a rising band just off of a summer-long hiatus during which it wrote and recorded its newest album, “Fireball Electric Tomorrow.” Though the two leaders, brothers Andrew and Dan Calloway, grew up in England, the band was birthed in Baton Rouge as a nine-piece orchestral cluster consisting of an oboe, French horn, piano, bass, drums, guitar and an opera singer. Since its launch, however, it has dropped down to only Dan and Andrew but kept its unique “grandwave” quality.
“When we were the large band, we were kind of post-rock, atmospheric,” vocalist Andrew Calloway said. “Now that we’ve shifted down and added electronics underneath everything, it has kept the atmosphere and spaciousness of the music but it has electronic drums underneath, so it’s almost pop-ish.”
With Dan on the bass and French horn and Andrew playing the synthesizer and guitar as well as singing, the band has kept its purring, addictive nature. The lyrics can be almost nonsensical when read alone, but accompanied by the harmony of the music they bring a variable sense of quiescence. The rhythmic, poetic attributes are supplemented with an upbeat, lively undertone.
“I usually write thinking about large amounts of time really, I don’t write about my day or week or even month,” Andrew said. “I write about years and larger amounts of time and emotion.”
Such a writing style drew Dan and Andrew far away from city life when they composed “Fireball Electric Tomorrow.” They spent the whole summer in a cabin in North Carolina, separated from the rush of touring life.
“I write from a very internal place. If I have space to get into my own head a little bit, that’s all I need to write,” Andrew said.
For this reason, among others, isolation was the perfect atmosphere for the birthing of new ideas.
After the summer of seclusion, however, England in 1819 came back to life, roaring through towns in both America and Canada. With a new city each night, the band certainly has a lot to look forward to.
“My favorite part of touring is just meeting people,” Andrew said. “Just going to a different city, different night gives you an amazing perspective. You’re meeting all these people and everybody has their own story and they’re living their life. That’s the best part, being out in the world and connecting with people.”
