Conqueror's Ball

If the consensus runs that 2010 has been something of a bummer, More Than Conquerors have clearly missed the memo.

“It’s been the greatest year,” beams drummer, Jamie Neish, “It’s been brilliant.”
The Newtownabbey/Magherlin four-piece can afford to look generously on the past twelve months. Despite only forming at the fag-end of 2009, they spent the time since getting seriously busy – building up a loyal live following, recording a well-received EP, snagging a few high-profile supports, and signing to local label, Smalltown America.
Such rapid progress, however, will not surprise anyone familiar with this crowd. Despite none of the members being over 21, the band can already claim to be old-stagers. After all – not many bands can ‘fess up to having played live on national TV before leaving school.
“We met at a televised Battle of The Bands contest,” reveals Danny Ball, the band’s guitarist. “I was 15 when we took part – I actually needed a chaperone to play. We were all in different groups, but got to know one another and it made sense to hook up. We’ve all come on an awful lot since then. We’re better writers, better performers; we’re much more professional now. And Jamie doesn’t look quite as feminine as he did.”
“We’ve all discovered loads of music in the time since,” adds Jamie. “ I’d actually say I changed more in the years between 18 and 20, than I did in the eighteen years up to that. We met at an important point in our lives. The point where everyone was leaving school and about to grow up. We all had a lot in common – bible-raised, all from Christian families – and I think we really became friends as much as we became bandmates.”
Evidence of this spiky kinship can be found plastered all over their self-titled debut EP – a collection of songs that compensates for in energy and enthusiasm, what it may lack in subtlety.
“It was pretty raw,” says Jamie. “One of our mates is in Mojo Fury, and we were able to use their home studio. We pretty much marched in and banged it out. Kriss (Platt – vocalist) had written a lot of songs that we only really heard for the first time as we sat down to record them. So, it has a really fresh feel, I think.”
While the record was well received locally, its release also laid bare the difficulties faced by bands of a certain level trying to make themselves heard further afield.
Jamie: “We did everything we could to promote it – gigs, telling family and friends. But there’s only so far you can go on your own. We sat down and tried to work out what we needed to go up a level – what PR, what distribution – all that kind of stuff. It was important to think about that, even if it was a bit daunting. Luckily, Smalltown America arrived just about then and we started working for them. They’ve been great. Taken away a lot of pressure and allowed us to concentrate on being a band. They’re really the difference between us being a professional band, and being a bit of a mess.”
The STA influence has already been felt – with The Conquerors’ only recently returned from a stint on the road with the label’s flagship act, Fighting With Wire.
“It was brilliant,” says Jamie. “Fighting With Wire are amazing guys. Everything we don’t know, they do. They’ve given us some brilliant advice. Priceless stuff.”
Such as how to survive your first UK tour.
“Not to be over-dramatic,” adds an over-dramatic, Danny, “but we nearly died on the way home. We got the boat back in the middle of the hurricane last week. We found out afterwards that it was the only vessel sailing that night on the Irish Sea. It was nuts – everyone that went back to their cars found that they’d moved ten feet during the journey.”
Thoughts are now turning towards the small matter of the band’s debut album. Jamie claims that while “it’s all ideas rather than songs at the moment”, everything will be (if you pardon the pun) ship-shape for sessions in the new year. With the release planned for next summer, More Than Conquerors have better reason than most for looking forward to 2011.
“Hopefully we’ll be kept very busy,” says Jamie. “So busy we won’t know what hit us. But it’s going to be the best kind of hectic. I can’t wait.”