Pitchfork

[Posted Tuesday, September 23rd, 2003 05:00:00 Pitchfork Central Time]

As any Elephant 6 aficionado knows, Apples In Stereo songwriter/vocalist/drummer Hilarie Sidney has suffered somewhat from the John Entwistle syndrome-- no, really, think her "Winter Must Be Cold" to Entwistle's "Boris the Spider." With her contributions usually limited to one or two tracks an album with the Apples, Sidney had been looking for an outlet for her songs, and found it when she met Per Ole Bratset, guitarist for Norwegian band Palermo.

After meeting at an Apples show in Oslo, they began communicating via e-mail and writing songs by sending four-track recordings back and forth. Bratset has since moved to the U.S., and they've spent the last four months recording and playing some initial shows as The High Water Marks. In a phone interview, Sidney elaborated on the new band and her motivations: "I'm just really excited to be doing something new," Sidney told Pitchfork. "Per and I collaborate on pretty much all of the songs, and the whole process just goes really fast. With the Apples, everything seems to take a really long time-- that's just how it works with us-- but I've really been inspired to write more, now that I have an outlet for it. We're recording stuff all the time."

The High Water Marks consist of Sidney on guitar and vocals, Bratset on guitar and vocals, Jim Lindsay (Oranger, Preston School of Industry) on drums, and Mike Snowden (Von Hemmling) on bass. They've already completed their first album, which is currently untitled, with plans to mix and master it with the Apples' Robert Schneider at Pet Sounds (his Lexington, KY home studio) this fall or winter. According to Sidney, The High Water Marks are currently in negotiations for their debut to be released on LA's Eenie Meenie Records, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, it'll be out around March 2004. They're also planning to record several more songs in October for an upcoming EP, and Sidney says they hope to make it out to CMJ next month for some live shows as well. Songs recorded for inclusion on the record include:

Good I Feel Bad
About the Ocean
Slow Hand (No, Not That One)
Five Thousand
Second Time
Feel Everything
High Water Marks
6th of July
National Time
Things to Do
The Leaves
Queen of Verlaine
Suicide

The High Water Marks is not Sidney's first side project-- in 1995, she teamed with friend Lisa Janssen to form Secret Square, whose self-titled debut single and EP were both released on Elephant 6 within a year of being recorded. However, the project proved to be short-lived and Sidney's songwriting continued to grace Apples albums and EP's with memorable tracks like "Silver Chain," "Questions and Answers," "20 Cases Suggestive Of..." and "I Want."

As reported in yesterday's Newswire, Schneider also has a new side project, Ulysses, and plans to issue seven-inch singles from both his own band and The High Water Marks on his new label Optical Records Mfg. in the coming year. The Apples In Stereo, though currently on hiatus and with members split between Denver, CO and Lexington, are also set to reconvene in early 2004 for a possible tour and to record tracks for their fifth full-length (already tentatively titled The Novelty of the Manor, according to unofficial fansite Elephant6.com).