Tim Hughes talks to Jack Goldstein on the eve of a triumphant homecoming gig for Oxford’s very own space rangers, Fixers.
IN a little over two years, Fixers have accomplished what few bands would scarcely dare dream.
The Oxford lads, who cut their teeth playing pub backrooms to a handful of people, are on a rocketship-ride to cosmic stardom. The band’s spacey blend of sunshine pop, psychedelia and dance grooves has set them on a course for the stars, seeing them signed to the influential Vertigo label, and earning them admirers at shows everywhere from Abbey Road Studios to the Reading Festival and the cooler clubs of New York.
Tonight they touch down for another ‘fix’ of what does us good, with a hometown show at the O2 Academy.
The gig accompanies the release of acid-soaked debut We’ll be the Moon – an eagerly-awaited aural concoction of long-standing gems and new tunes. The album is a shimmering slice of loveliness, referencing Brian Wilson and Animal Collective while stubbornly charting a slightly surreal course all its own, flavoured with Japanese pop and Middle Eastern melodies.
And the band – Jack Goldstein, Jason Warner, Christopher Dawson, Roo Bhasin and Michael Thompson – can’t wait to get it out.
“It’s going to be fun,” says Jack, talking from his home in Eynsham.
“And we have a brand new set which we haven't tried out – but which is tailor-made for Oxford. It’s going to be a real party!”
While undoubtedly being one of the musical events of Oxford’s year, ticket-holders for tonight’s gig have extra reason to celebrate. Firstly, it comes a couple of days after Jack’s 26th birthday. And, more significantly, it’s the only one not to have been cancelled this month, following a disagreement between the band and their publisher which has decimated their UK tour.
“We lost out on some money and had to cancel most of the tour,” says Jack. “But we are still playing Oxford, which is the main thing. We are also hunkering down and focusing on our new music.”
The show finds Jack in a philosophical frame of mind, and the band, who are already halfway through their next album, at a crossroads.
“We are looking at the next chapter,” he says.
“I don’t think musicians have the right to be righteous and purport to know everything. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and lump it. But it feels like we are in a position we belong in.”
The album follows highly-acclaimed EPs Here Comes 2001 So Let's All Head For The Sun and Imperial Goddess of Mercy, and singles Swimmhaus Johannesburg and Crystals.
Their brand of avant-garde pop is inspired as much by what they have read as what they are listening to. And while it’s all intelligent stuff, it never loses sight of its sense of fun.
“I have always been obsessed with sound,” Jack goes on. “I love psychedelia but, as a genre, it seems to fall into that trap of having an amazing sound but terrible songs.
“Our aim has been to bridge that gap between great sound and aural intricacy, and also great songs.”
So how does he account for the band’s steep ascent – a journey which has seen them become Oxford’s hottest new band?
“It was all that time I spent as a teenage cider drinker with nothing to do,” he says. “By the time we started this band I was 24 and glad not to be in the park drinking White Lightning!
“We’ve never been a band without aspiration,” he says more seriously. “But forget all that celestial babble about reaching for the stars...our aspirations are much more reserved. It’s more important to aspire to make great music than to make loads of people hear it. And it’s so important to be on the same level as the audience.
“It’s easy to read the audience as we feel the same way about our songs as they do.
“I do wish I could see my band – just once,” he adds. “But that would involve either an out-of-body experience, or someone else taking my place...which might not be such a good idea..”
So what has been the highlight of the past couple of years?
“Playing in New York,” he says. “Just being there was cool. So much weird stuff happened too, like seeing Kanye West in the street.”
But for more madcap adventures, they didn’t have to look far from home.
“One of the funniest incidents was when Roo fell off the top of the van and broke his ankle,” he recalls with mischievous relish.
“Our party-to-professionalism ratio was not quite right then. Thankfully, we are a bit calmer now!”
* Fixers play the O2 Academy, Cowley Road, Oxford, tonight. Support comes from Pet Moon, Beta Blocker and The Body Clock.
Tickets are £7.50 from ticketweb.co.uk We’ll Be The Moon is out now on Vertigo
