The Brent Flood are a four-piece guitar band whose indy epics bring to mind the forceful indy momentum of Interpol, Doves and Morning Runner.
Currently based in South London, the band’s roots are international: Manchester, Northern Ireland, Japan and Switzerland.
Singer Jay Marsh was born in Manchester before his dad’s expertise as a knee surgeon took the family to the violence of Northern Ireland at the time. Bassist Ed Cairns spent his childhood in Osaka, Japan - grumbling about having to learn English and getting caught up in the great Kobe earthquake - before his family relocated to the UK “just in time for Britpop.” The pair met guitarist Robin Chesterman while still in school and The Brent Flood became the city’s youngest wedding band for hire. They even attempted a tour of Corfu where they ended up doing kitchen work in the club they’d been asked to play (the landlord had apparently skipped the country to escape debts). The boys made their getaway when the entire town was evacuated due to a forest fire.
But neither natural disasters not the debt collectors could keep them from moving to London where drummer Dan Roth completed the lineup. Dan had left the uninspiring Swiss pop scene to seek musical nourishment from England’s green and pleasant land. How surprised he was when he ended up in Tooting, languishing down at the darkest depths of the Northern Line. The newly-formed-four-piece found an abandoned brewery and, with the help of £600 worth of cement and waterproofing agent, turned it into a rhearsal and chill-out space.
The best place to find The Brent Flood is at their monthly club night in Tooting - now guaranteed capacity affairs. This year they also toured the length and breadth of the UK twice, recently won a coveted Indy Award and have been introduced by Tom Robinson on 6Music.
Their debut EP KatyMcCain (out 01/08 on The Animal Farm) showcases powerful, emotionallcharged pop gems perfect for getting swept up in the moment with the rest of the crowd.
www.myspace.com/thebrentflood