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an end of 2009 interview w/ Molly Shea of Acrylics (and all woman supergroup Girl Crisis!)

by Bill Pearis

DOWNLOAD: Acrylics – Molly’s Vertigo (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Acrylics – All of the Fire (MP3)

Acrylics
Acrylics

Where a lot of current Brooklyn bands are getting noticed for innovation, Acrylics‘ Molly Shea and Jason Klauber focus on classic pop songwriting. They’re quite good at it too, as you can hear on their debut EP, All of the Fire, which came out on Terrible Records, a new label co-founded by Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor. He also produced the record. You can download the title track above, along with “Molly’s Vertigo” which isn’t on the EP but is also pretty damn catchy. Molly Shea looks back on 2009 via our year-end questionnaire…

You released your debut EP in 2009. How’d that go?
Great. It’s still amazes us that you can spend a week recording and then a few months later, it’s on vinyl, and lots of people have heard it on the internet. Magic.

What were your favorite albums of 2009?
All of the Beatles Remasters, Bob Dylan’s Christmas album.

What was the best show you saw in 2009?
Elvis Costello Spectacle taping at The Apollo with Levon Helm, Nick Lowe, Richard Thompson, and Allen Toussaint as guests.

What was your most memorable musical moment of 2009?
Two moments stand out. 1) Being part of the John Lennon tribute night that Max McDonald from Psychic put on at Glasslands on December 8th. If you missed it this year, don’t miss it next year. And 2) Singing in Girl Crisis, the ongoing collaboration between various talented women in Brooklyn where we cover famous songs in a mostly a cappela arrangement and Bek Anderen films the performance on super 8 film. The musicians include Caroline Polachek of Chairlift, Class Actress, Au Revoir Simone, This Frontier Needs Heroes, Telepathe, Lights, Leah Cary, Spider. Most recently we did Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” and the result was eerie, full of our own unique harmonies.

Girl Crisis – Wicked Game

What about non-musical moment?
Climbing a little mountain in the Adirondacks.

Favorite place to play in NYC?
Bowery Ballroom still.

What’s the best and worst thing about being in a band in NYC in 2009?
Best thing is that there’s so many other bands. Worst thing is that there are so many other bands.

Favorite Michael Jackson song?
“Billy Jean”

What is the proper way to incorporate “Meh” into your band name?
Mehcrylics. Duh.

Shitgaze, Glo-fi or Dark Wave?
No comment

Plans/predictions for 2010?
Write the best songs we’ve ever written.

Acrylics – “Molly’s Vertigo”/”Rockaway Beach”

Girl Crisis – “Smooth Operator”