The songs and musings of Roy Orbison are nuggets of a lost, bygone age, and one rarely referenced by artists of this generation. A shame and a gross disservice, but Orbison is a songwriter whose influence can still instil intrigue, where the likes of Dylan, Waits, Cash and Young have tragically become a badge for the everyday troubadour.

Humble American, James Apollo is one such artist who evokes the classic otherworldy timelessness of a young Orbison. A lofty suggestion, but a telling one if told in the right context. Apollo's music certainly evokes the atmosphere of a smoky, musty speakeasy, plentiful fingers of whisky, and a croon pitched to the heart.

"As a kid, my folks would take me up to a little town of Branson Missouri on Saturday nights where there'd be a band playing. It was sort of like a poor man's Las Vegas, which is saying a lot. I couldn't stand the corny country songs they'd play, but I think a few of those rhinestones must have gotten caught in my eye."

To submerse oneself in Apollo's back catalogue is a fascinating experience. Akin to the storytelling of Richard Hawley, but with a distinctively American flavour, Apollo is all about setting the wrong tone and his songwriting oft finds itself reverberating around the oblique,

"Find a note nailed to the door that says she's not coming back. Walk out to look for her and get chased by a dog. Jump in front of a moving truck, and lay real flat on the pavement. Listen to the grease, the wheels and the wind. My process is to never try and write songs. That's how bad songs are written."

A pessimist frequently writes the memorable songs. Apollo has every reason to be pessimistic as vivid snapshots that carve a fall guy mentality shapes his very output. Breaking both legs in a motorcycle crash to living out of a boat when the money and land ran dry, it's these very experiences that are the catalyst for his sombre creations.

And it's the imagery of New York that sets the scene throughout the songs plotting his immediate history. Observations, moods, and weathered documents of a city in the bleak smoke regularly engulf Apollo's soulful compositions, and are all details that demand reference,

"I used to think Coney Island was an amusement park that closed down in the 50s. Thing is, it never did close down, it just looks that way. It's like a little Reno, waiting a short hop from the big dreams of The City." Apollo reflects.

A shuffle through Apollo's two long players and assorted EPs provides a gloriously unhinged listen. The likes of 'Call Off The Violins', 'Better To Be Born Lucky', and 'I've Got It Easy' could and should be from another era. Classic songs with classic imagery making the anticipation of his third album in the Spring, his British debut, all the more palpable. Written under a tree in the Utah Canyons in the shadows of Butch Cassidy's hideout expect further expansive documentation of moments we all should cherish, all with Orbison's ghost looking down on him.

"I tend to wait till the world wells up around me, and in me, and there's no place else for it to go."

Desolation never sounded so appealing.

It’s official. The effervescent hype that so often surrounds new bands has been formally left behind by Local Natives. A five piece pop rock band from Silverlake, they’ve earned themselves enough followers to counteract the hysteria and simultaneously acquire their performing stars and stripes. Recoiling from comparisons to Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend, on the imminent release of their debut album Gorilla Manor they’ve wilfully gone on to create a freestanding platform of their own.

Bouncing euphoric harmonies off equally buoyant rhythms, their pop happy power is definitely infectious. Spreading genuine elation through their live performances, their lyrics swing from barber shop counterparts to unexpected yelling which all in all, makes for a seemingly faultless mix of musical styles.

What are the inspirations behind your music?

I don't know that where the music comes from or what drives it is something you can explain. I think everyone has a purpose and some people know it and some don't, but the five of us are very lucky to have such a passion for making music; to know a purpose that suits us. As far as the words in the songs, they are all about experiences we've had personally.

Is the song writing collaborative or solely done by one member?

We know a lot of bands that have one or two main songwriters, but with us it's not like that. We all write and contribute to every song, making each one a unique entity because it comes from the combination of five unique minds. It does make the process go a lot slower, but we know there's no other way we can do it, so we just sack up and take 6 months on one song. 　

How did you come to form Local Natives? Where does the name originate from?

The five of us have been jamming for three and a half years in some capacity, and a little over a year ago recorded some songs we were really proud of. We felt like the songs were there and that being a "real" band made sense, so we all moved into a house together, quit or got fired from some jobs, left school and started taking things seriously. We needed a name and Andy came up with Local Natives, which we all dug because it gave this sense of a community, or a collective of common-goaled people trying to build something from the ground up.　 　

Any rock and roll moments to date?

We just got our first front cover for this Swedish music magazine called Sonic. The photos look fine enough; I just wish we could read it. 　

How do you feel about the comparisons made between you and Fleet Foxes?

The highlight of one of the biggest bands of last year was that they did harmonies, so since we do some, it makes a lot of sense. I don't think we necessarily sound like them musically, but they're a great band, so we're flattered. I just hope we don't get written off as a hype band, which they got a lot of last year, but they blew people away live and rose above it, which is what we hope to do. 　 　

Who else are you listening to at the moment?

I picked up the new Patrick Watson album in London because we were going to play with him at CMJ, and fell in love with it. When we saw him play, his band was incredible and his voice was even better live than on record. They rented a baby grand piano especially for his performance, and I said to myself, "I've got a new goal in life!"

If you weren't in a band what would you all be doing?

Ryan would be at an ad agency, Matt would be the art director of Vogue (youngest ever), Andy would be designing skateboards, Taylor would be selling weapons for the government, and I would be running from the law for kidnapping (I love dogs). 　

Has the debut release been a long time in the making or a quick progression?

Well, we thought that we had written a full album over a year ago, and since then we've re-recorded, re-mixed, and written some new songs, so really the album has been about two years in the making. Definitely a long time for us to wait, but with everything that has happened so far, it seems to have worked in our favour to handle the release the way we have.

What's next for the band after the release of your debut album?

I can imagine a lot of touring, touring, and more touring.　 　

Can you give us three random facts about the band?

I used to play drums in a hardcore band in high school, Taylor used to "scream" for one, and Matt has a pet rat named Burpy Christ. She is a sweetheart.

Gorilla Manor is out on Rough Trade on 2nd November.

by Rachel Edwards