Pelican Drummer Discusses Vocals, Negative Reviews
As is often the case with any band that switches formulas from record to record, Pelican is either doing everything right or everything wrong. Having gone from the sludgy heaviness of their earlier records to the multi-textured layers of their more recent efforts, the band has clearly evolved. On their latest release, 'What We All Come to Need,' the band that had been instrumental to to that point surprised fans by closing the album with a track that included vocals (supplied by the Life and Times frontman Allen Epley, who Noisecreep recently spoke to about his involvement). While most longtime fans had no problem with the song, some found it on par with Slayer doing a ballad.
In a recent interview, drummer Larry Herwig discussed the bands flirtation with vocals, saying, "There are people who think it's awesome and people who don't. It's still pretty early to say, but I'm definitely not opposed to it and I like how it came out."
Herwig doesn't dismiss the idea of using vocals again on future records, adding, "I could see us probably doing it again. All the guys in the band are really psyched on that song. I would say on the next record that we release we'll probably have another song like that. I don't think it would be a whole record of songs with vocals, but why not throw in another one and try it again."
Herwig also defends himself against a particularly scathing review of Pelican's 2007 release, 'City of Echos,' where his drumming was skewered for the entire five paragraphs. "No one has ever said s--- like that guy has said, and because it was [online music site] Pitchfork and was seen by so many people, it caused so much nonsense," Herwig admits. "For the last two years I feel like I have to constantly defend myself. It's pretty irritating and pretty annoying."