Richie Follin combines gutsy rock'n'roll with gilt-edged tragedy in his latest incarnation, one-man band Guards
Who are they?
As with Wolf Gang, two weeks ago, they are actually a he. Guards is New York-based Californian Richie James Follin, who makes a sound he variously calls "current vintage" and "pop wave doom".
What on earth is that?
Well, the scant publicity material so far further describes Guards as "primal rock'n'roll meets C86", which isn't far off. We'd also like to throw in early 60s girl groups, Joe Meek's productions and those eerie ballads about car crashes that were weirdly popular 50 years or so ago.
Quite a combination. How did that come about?
Follin ? and his sister Madeleine from the not entirely dissimilar new band Cults, who guests on the Guards EP ? had a rock'n'roll upbringing; their stepdad was Paul Kostabi from White Zombie. Through him they got to hang out with bands from Devo and the Ramones to Metallica and Soundgarden ? a sleazy, primal rock collision that has become part of the Follin musical persona.
But why a one-man band?
Guards isn't his first project. Follin played with California band Willowz and made a solo album, Battle, based on his uncle's war past. But Guards allows the multi-instrumentalist to recruit other members as he pleases, be that Chairlift's Caroline Polachek on the echo-laden Trophy Queen or his sister's band on the riff-twanging Sail It Slow.
Where can I hear them?
You can download the seven-track Guards EP for free at http://guards. bandcamp.com. Guards tour the UK in February.
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