On The Verge

Still Corners

London, England
Intense Dream Pop
www.myspace.com/stillcorners

“A friend of mine lent me a box set a few years ago called Mondo Morricone, which is three CDs of [film composer] Ennio Morricone’s work,” recalls Greg Hughes, multi-instrumentalist and chief songwriter for London’s Still Corners, in regard to the creative touchstone for their cinematic Sub Pop debut, Creatures of an Hour. “It was a big basis for [the album] in terms of vibe and atmosphere. I never gave it back.” The group just wrapped a short winter tour in the U.K. Live, these young Brits take their Ennio-inspired dream pop to another level of intensity, bolstered by an intricate gear combination that Hughes utilizes for his guitar, which comes across like the Cocteau Twins channeled into one of Yo La Tengo’s Painful era monitors. “I use an America Deluxe Telecaster and I put it through an API Lunchbox that goes into a 527 compressor, and it really thickens the sound,” he reveals. “I also use a few tape plugs by Nebula for further saturation. The amp I use is a Fender Blues Junior, which I also love. I’m sort of a Fender nerd.”