Arnold by Arnold

Arnold began as a three piece in 1997, catching the attention of Creation Records impresario Alan McGee (Oasis, Primal Scream and My Bloody Valentine). McGee gave the members of Arnold one thousand pounds to record a demo, which he released as delivered on the Creation label. The Barn Tapes stirred a lot of critical interest, the band went on tour with Neil Finn and things started in earnest.

The first full album, Hillside, showed clearly the band¡¦s knack for diversity. Rolling Stone described the album as ¡*a record rich in . . . pastoral English psychedelia, the sweet hurt of Big Star and John Martyn, [and] a touch of unplugged Radiohead.¡¨ Unfortunately, McGee folded Creation¡¦s tent at this point, which voided all of the associated licensing deals, leaving Arnold with neither tour support nor label.

Despite these problems the band continued to drum forward. Ariss and Hill, who had served to that point only as live members, were promoted as full time additions and the quintet continued to write and record songs for what would become 2001¡¦s Bahama LP. The release marked a re-pairing with McGee at his new label Poptones. The record was released at the end of the year to exceptional praise from the British press and more promises of great things. Amazingly, Poptones followed Creation and closed its doors as a label in early 2002, leaving Arnold without a home once again.

In early 2002, Arnold began recording and honing an intense live show huddled away in a small studio in west London. The fruits of those few months were released as limited edition EP (released us July 16th) and US and UK fans were treated to an Arnold Live show that up till now had never been seen. As one reviewer put it, "Arnold are a unit, five intuitive musicians who can make a song take flight at the bat of an eyelid..." www.dotmusic.com

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