Hueman / Cyclefly

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Cyclefly were always something of a cult band. Although the Irish/French rockers released two critically-acclaimed albums (1999s Generation Sap and 2001s Crave) and toured continuously, playing shows with the likes of Tool, Will Haven and even making appearance on Ozzfest 2002s main stage, they perpetually seemed on the verge of breaking into the big time. However the mainstream was always just out of reach and even though Cyclefly were a competent band and a familiar name on the Irish and British scenes they seemed caught in a rut. Then all of a sudden soon after that Ozzfest appearance they disappeared without a trace.

There were no postings on the groups’ official web site and there were no announcements from the stage saying that they intended to take a break. It was as if Cyclefly had slid off the face of the earth. A few weeks ago through murmurs began to spread through the underground. They started off quietly and sparse on details. That the band had been down in the O’Shea brothers’ home County of Cork, regrouping and writing new material was one of the first to surface. Then, strangely enough rumours that the band had split up started. People didn’t know what to believe, especially when their name started to be mentioned in the same sentence as the mysterious Hueman. Well the time has come to put an end to these rumours and half-truths because the band have returned from limbo and they want to set the record straight about the death of Cyclefly and the birth of Hueman.

In the stone-walled cellar basement of the Eamonn Dorans venue in Dublin Christian Montagne, long-serving bassist, and new boy, James Welch, sauntered over to conduct the interview, quickly joined by, Kieran, the groups newly acquired drummer and second unfamiliar face in the group. Frontman Declan, with his hair now blonde, as opposed to the familiar red it had been since year dot, and his brother Ciaran, guitarist and principal songwriter, are both over by the stage unwinding after sound check. Neither seems eager to talk and it’s left to Christian to fill in the hole that is the last two years. To get out of their record deal the band split up, NoNo Presta (guitarist and proud owner of probably one of the greatest names in the history of rock) and Jean-Mi Cavallo (drums) leaving on a permanent basis. The remaining members of the band moved back to Cork where they began writing and recording the songs which Hueman are about to bring into the light of day.

Along the way two old friends of the O’Shea brothers and fellow Cork men were brought into the fold. James was asked to come down to the studio in Cork where the remnants of Cyclefly were holed up, to do a bit of guitar and vocal work. “I just really liked the songs they were doing, I was always a fan anyway like”, he says in his broad Cork accent, “but I kind of really liked the new stuff. Myself and Declan started writing vocals and bit of guitars with Ciaran and it sounded really good, so I joined up.” Hueman’s other new face, drummer Kieran, has been with the group for the past 17 months or so. The rebirth of the band according to the drummer was an organic process, with everything falling into place nicely. With “47 songs and 5 on the back boiler” (Kieran – “I counted them”) written, a few gigs were organised as a transition period, the fading out of Cyclefly and the phasing in of Hueman if you will.

Christian, the French twang in his voice heavily present, believes that the new songs are “different than Cyclefly that’s why we are changing to Hueman - it’s a bit different to what we used to do. It’s more melodic, it’s more quiet. It’s way quieter! It’s just a progression of things; you can’t bang your guitar all your life. It is one day… well I can’t really talk because I am not a writer but I am talking for the lads who write the song(s). This is the time when your thinking ‘fuck that fucking wall of fucking distorted guitar, let’s try to do something better’.”

Readers who are familiar with Cyclefly’s second and final album Crave will be able to spot the thread that links those songs to Hueman’s songs. It is the same thread that Placebo followed throughout their career. The mindless full on blaze of destruction is gone, replaced by a more subtle approach. Melodies are used to create textures and mood, the twin vocals are never overdone (don’t think nu-metal here) and a slight Depeche Mode electronic influence can now be heard at the heart of the band. Every now and then the band revert back to the wall of noise and it’s good but they have grown out of such childish notions, now preferring instead to let the songs speak for themselves. They still rock, but there are no brightly pointed signposts this time to tell the audience when to rock out. Even without the full on distorted blast you can tell this stuff kicks. [END]