Biography
Formed toward the end of 1999 in Sydney, Australia, the group Ides of Space began life under the moniker Firehosereel. Almost immediately after coming together, the musicians entered a university band contest that proved unsuccessful. In 2000, they refined their roster and adopted the name Ides of Space. The lineup featured Dave The handling bass duties, Anthony The on drums, Martin Barker on keyboards, Mark Ayoub playing guitars, and Patrick Haid contributing on both guitars and vocals. Partnering with Wayne Connolly, they laid down enough tracks for a full album, which appeared across a pair of EPs issued in Australia. American imprint Better Looking later merged those EPs into the 2001 album There Are No New Clouds. Observers were quick to praise the youthful ensemble's sophistication, noting how their sound bridged early-nineties British shoegaze acts with mid-nineties American indie groups, giving the impression that the band had bypassed typical developmental struggles altogether.