Biography
The Kingsbury Manx took shape in 1999 within the North Carolina indie rock community that had earlier produced the Archers of Loaf and Superchunk. Ken Stephenson on guitar and vocals, Bill Taylor on guitar and vocals, Ryan Richardson on drums and vocals, and Scott Myers on bass and keyboards had first met as middle-school classmates in Greensboro before pursuing separate college paths. Stephenson and Myers studied creative writing at Wilmington, while Taylor and Richardson attended UNC Chapel Hill. During periodic returns to Greensboro the four began composing and tracking material for a demo. Their opportunity arrived when Howard Greynolds, proprietor of Overcoat Recordings and a former Thrill Jockey staffer, listened to the tape and offered to finance a debut record.
Issued by Overcoat in 2000, The Kingsbury Manx appeared with virtually no accompanying details about the band or its sessions, an absence that lent the release an air of intrigue. Remaining unaffiliated with any regional movement, the quartet fashioned a style that drew on classic sources yet felt fresh. Early Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkel, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds figured among the cited touchstones, yet meticulous craft and detail elevated the songs beyond simple homage. The album registered as one of the year’s notable independent successes, appearing on NME’s Top 50 and Magnet’s list of “Ten Great Albums Buried in 2000.” A brief American tour supporting Elliott Smith ensued. Let You Down followed in 2001; its Japanese edition added the bonus cuts “Dirt and Grime” and “My Shaky Hand.”
The Afternoon Owls EP surfaced in fall 2003, prompting a tour alongside the Sea and Cake. Performances with Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci overlapped with the arrival of the band’s third album, Aztec Discipline (2003). Keyboardist Paul Finn and bassist/drummer Clarque Blomquist joined at this point, replacing the departing Stephenson and Myers. In 2004 the group began shaping material for its next record at Pine Manor, its rehearsal space in Chapel Hill. The songs were tracked at Key Club studios in Michigan; early the following year the band exited Overcoat to join the North Carolina imprint Yep Roc Records. The Key Club recordings were then taken to Chicago, where Wilco’s Mikael Jorgensen handled mixing. The resulting album, The Fast Rise and Fall of the South, appeared in 2005. Following an extended hiatus, the Kingsbury Manx resurfaced in 2009 with Ascenseur Ouvert!, issued on Finn’s Odessa label. Proceeding once more at an unhurried tempo, the sextet delivered its sixth album, Bronze Age, in 2013.
Issued by Overcoat in 2000, The Kingsbury Manx appeared with virtually no accompanying details about the band or its sessions, an absence that lent the release an air of intrigue. Remaining unaffiliated with any regional movement, the quartet fashioned a style that drew on classic sources yet felt fresh. Early Pink Floyd, Simon & Garfunkel, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds figured among the cited touchstones, yet meticulous craft and detail elevated the songs beyond simple homage. The album registered as one of the year’s notable independent successes, appearing on NME’s Top 50 and Magnet’s list of “Ten Great Albums Buried in 2000.” A brief American tour supporting Elliott Smith ensued. Let You Down followed in 2001; its Japanese edition added the bonus cuts “Dirt and Grime” and “My Shaky Hand.”
The Afternoon Owls EP surfaced in fall 2003, prompting a tour alongside the Sea and Cake. Performances with Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci overlapped with the arrival of the band’s third album, Aztec Discipline (2003). Keyboardist Paul Finn and bassist/drummer Clarque Blomquist joined at this point, replacing the departing Stephenson and Myers. In 2004 the group began shaping material for its next record at Pine Manor, its rehearsal space in Chapel Hill. The songs were tracked at Key Club studios in Michigan; early the following year the band exited Overcoat to join the North Carolina imprint Yep Roc Records. The Key Club recordings were then taken to Chicago, where Wilco’s Mikael Jorgensen handled mixing. The resulting album, The Fast Rise and Fall of the South, appeared in 2005. Following an extended hiatus, the Kingsbury Manx resurfaced in 2009 with Ascenseur Ouvert!, issued on Finn’s Odessa label. Proceeding once more at an unhurried tempo, the sextet delivered its sixth album, Bronze Age, in 2013.
Albums
