Lemuria: Past And Present Collide

The '90s are so hot right now. At every turn, Madchester revivalists are battling for space with Sonic Youth-aping indie rockers. Amid the chaos, Lemuria have pieced together a jigsaw of influences from the decade's alt-rock and emo explosions, repurposing them into their own charming, off-kilter tunes.

Their third full-length, 'The Distance Is So Big', arrived in June and features some of the best songs yet to emerge from their collective mind. Fronted by guitarist Sheena Ozzella and drummer Alex Kerns, who share vocal duties, and rounded out by bass player Max Gregor, Lemuria have forged a comfortable niche for themselves as purveyors of smart, witty music that crosses the borders of punk and indie.

'The Distance Is So Big' was recorded with J. Robbins, of Jawbox and Burning Airlines, at the helm, while as part of the Buffalo natives' recent UK tour they were asked to open for the legendary Texas Is The Reason at their final shows. If that tells you anything, it's that Lemuria aren't a cheap copy, they're the real thing. They have their influences, but they're able to sculpt something fresh from the constituent parts.

“We've grown as musicians,” Kerns said. “As the records have come out we've been capable, or getting closer and closer to being capable, of creating what we want to create. When we first started the band we were just learning how to play. We've been developing our relationship together as musicians. Texas Is The Reason is definitely a really good match for us as a band to play with."

Gregor added: “That era of mid-90s emo, which now is probably considered more indie-rock, generally is something that was a big influence on Lemuria, still is. I associate that with the Promise Ring, that whole legacy of Kinsella brothers music that came out of Chicago.”

The pairing with Robbins was perhaps even more of a good fit. Having produced classic records by Jets To Brazil, the Promise Ring, the Dismemberment Plan and Small Brown Bike, as well as recent releases from Bridge and Tunnel and the Riot Before, his sphere of influence overlaps perfectly with Lemuria's. 'The Distance Is So Big' is their third collaboration, following 'Pebble' and the Record Store Day 7”, 'Varoom Allure'.

"The first time I just wrote him an email and he just wrote back,” Kerns said. “At that time I think MySpace was still around and he just checked us out. This time, going in, it was so relaxed. So easy going. It was a combination of his songwriting and producing skills are what brought us to him, Jawbox and his history of other things he's produced, like Jets to Brazil, the Promise Ring.”

Robbins donned his 'producer' cap more frequently during the recording process on 'The Distance Is So Big', but still managed to allow Lemuria the space to figure out exactly where they wanted to take the album.

“He was very involved with a lot of the ideas that were formulated and certain parts of songs he would suggest different angles on,” Gregor said. “At the same time, he's not the most heavy handed producer so it was more collaborative than it was us taking cues from him. Spitballing, tossing around ideas.”

Prior to releasing 'Pebble', the band jumped from Asian Man to Bridge Nine, a label with a fine reputation as purveyors of hardcore. Lemuria don't really fit in. For both parties, though, that's a good thing. As Kerns notes, the fusion of hardcore and indie-rock at label level has been done before, and worked before.

“I guess it's similar to what happened in the '90s with Jade Tree, that was a hardcore label and then all of a sudden they had Jets To Brazil, Promise Ring and all those bands,” Kerns said. “I guess that is happening with Bridge Nine, where they've gotten to the point that they want to branch out into other things to keep their interest in the label.”

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