The Once Over Twice are:
Jon C Wilson drums
Darren Johns vocal,
guitar, words
Neil Ewart guitar,
vocal
Andy Mullin bass,
vocal
Let’s not get above ourselves.
The Once Over Twice are too long in the tooth, and too cynical,
to pretend to be anything other than what they are: a Devon band
consisting of four caucasian men who are striving to forge something
fresh, passionate and positive within a post-punk framework.
It’s not rocket science, nor is it mind-blowingly pioneering,
but it does have purity, integrity and raw power by the fucking
truckload. And that’s what truly matters, at least to them
and the people who like them.
Here are some possibly irrelevant slices of
history...
Darren and Jon have played together since 1997. Made album 'Big
And Clever' under the name Chomsky. Line-up and name change (don't
ask). A stint at Sawmills Studios, Cornwall in 1999 resulted in
the 'Swing Like Children' single (never released). A great experience
but it left the band feeling removed from their hard-edge ethos.
Another line-up and final name change. Recorded four songs at the
local musicians cooperative (PMC Studio) in 2002. The resulting
'Strikes And Gutters' EP at last started to hint at the band's
live intensity. After glowing accolades while still in demo form,
it was officially released through Org Records in January 2003.
It was producer's Single Of The Week on Steve Lamacq's Evening
Session and John Kennedy's Xfm show. Kerrang! gave the EP 4 Ks
and commented that "something special is happening here."
Playing, and often striking up friendships,
all over the place with the likes of Jetplane
Landing, thisGIRL, Five Knuckle, The Arrivals,
Capdown, Orca, Bluetip, NoComply, Southpaw, Samiam,
Hell Is For Heroes, Capitol City Dusters and
Fugazi has substantially honed the band's skills
and awareness of what has to be done and how
to do it. Everything is in place. Song-writing
has become a more shared experience as righteous,
primal and spastic jams transform into rough-hewn
gems. With a respectful nod to the DC mindset,
a wink at first wave LA punk, a leftist/humanist
slant and a penchant for classic rock’n’roll,
The Once Over Twice are ready to share their
collected experiences.
The debut album 'Special Moments To Detonate
Themselves' was released through In At The Deep
End Records on 2nd August 2004 after being very
well received on the fringes by the likes of
Fracture and Rancid News. Reviews so far have
been very positive. Drowned In Sound said it
was "the best album you’ll buy all
year, bar none", Rock Sound commented that "the
bands they state as influences would regard this
as one fine album", while Big Cheese called
it "aggressive, complex and overwhelmingly
accessible". Songs from the album have been
played on the Lock-up and Donna Legge's Radio
One show in Northern Ireland. The band plan to
release a single from the album - ‘The
Adult Crash’ - in the near future.
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