US indie-pop band Strange Names’ gay frontman: ‘We write a lot about lust’
Birthed in Minneapolis after a chance dorm placement at university, up and coming indie-pop band Strange Names now reside in New York where they spend time playing gigs around the city and knocking back drinks at either Doris or One Last Shag in Brooklyn patiently awaiting the release of their debut album.
Use Your Time Wisely is set for release on May 19th and chronicles the band’s life experiences and feelings. “We write songs about boys, we write songs about girls, songs about lost love and a lot about lust,” says singer Liam Benzvi. “Our songs capture that feeling of being caught up in a moment — a time where you’re breathing faster and you’re frenetic. That kind of channels itself into how we build the musicality of the song around the lyrics.”
Benzvi identifies as gay, but the decision to be open about this did not come easy. “For a while I was very weary of attaching that to the music, only because I believe in the power of universality with regard to a message,” he says. “I never wanted to only tell a gay story or include only a gay audience as I think stories should be open to everyone. I never felt excluded from songs that didn’t necessarily tell my story and I wouldn’t want to do the same to anyone else.”
The sound of Strange Names takes inspiration from a myriad of influences that highlights just how universal these guys want their music to be. “We look up to the likes of Human League and B-52s,” says Liam. Their individual idols, though, showcase a broader spectrum of musicality. Francis Ximenez, guitarist, listens to a lot of Motown and has a particular fondness for both Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello, while drummer Fletcher Aleckson listens to a lot of electronic including Aphex Twin. For Liam Benzvi, his inspiration derives from what he describes as “power women”. “I look more to Cyndi Lauper and Siouxsie and the Banshees.” His dream collaborator? “Janelle Monáe. She’s incredibly savvy, very smart and very creative. I think our voices would sound good together.”
While their fanbase is still growing, it has expanded beyond the teenage girls that filled the early gigs in Minneapolis. “What we were trying to do was not always very cool, even if we thought it was, and so I think that that conviction that we’ve continued to hold has allowed us to expand our fanbase to people in their twenties. We’re never going to pretend to be cool for the sake of it,” says Benzvi.
Strange Names’ gigs are lively affairs: Liam speaks a lot about riling up audiences and wanting to engage them in the show. For him, it is a shared experience between the band and the crowd. Eye contact, in particular, is integral. “That, more than anything else, brings them into your world,” says Liam. “When a lot of artists crowd dive they still avoid eye contact — it’s still just a show, but when you dance with them and engage with them it becomes scary for both us and the audience and that’s so exciting.”
The band is hard at work promoting next single I Can’t Control Myself — an incredibly infectious pop hit-in-waiting (give it a listen below). While they have no announced plans to tour in the UK just yet, it is on the horizon. “We can’t announce anything yet but yeah, definitely soon. We’re very, very excited. We don’t want to exclude anyone from our party.”
You can hear more from Strange Names via their website and keep up with them on their Twitter.
Check out song I Can’t Control Myself below:
WORDS BY KEVIN LONG