Pelican

Pelican
Background information
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genre(s)	Sludge metal, stoner rock, post-metal
Years active	2001–present
Label(s)	Hydra Head, Southern Lord
Associated acts	Tusk, Isis, Russian Circles
Website	Hydrahead Records site
Members
Trevor de Brauw Bryan Herweg Larry Herweg Laurent Schroeder-Lebec

Pelican is a four-piece instrumental band from Chicago, Illinois who have since relocated to Los Angeles.^[1] The band is known for its dense combinations of different melodies and extended track lengths. Their distinctive sound draws from stoner rock, doom metal as well as post-rock and many other influences. Larry Herweg, Trevor de Brauw, and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec also make up three-quarters of the band Tusk.

Previously signed to Hydra Head Records (which is owned and operated by Aaron Turner of Isis), Pelican is now part of the Southern Lord Records roster.^[2] The label has also announced that Pelican will embark on a tour with new labelmates Wolves in the Throne Room and that their first release for their new label is an EP entitled "Ephemeral", which was released June 6, 2009^[3]. Trevor de Brauw has stated that the new material will be darker, heavier and more "riff oriented", than on more recent recordings, and Southern Lord has also stated that an undisclosed guest guitarist who "is very influential to the band" will be making an appearance on the new recording as well. Pictures of the recent studio sessions on the Pelican website show the band playing with Earth guitarist Dylan Carlson.

Genre

Regarding the band's genre, de Brauw said, "I don’t think of Pelican as a metal band... I feel like we're part of a trajectory of Midwest bands that kind of blend aggression with a pop sensibility, so while it's easy to classify us with instrumental bands, we're not instrumental by design. We just didn't know how to put vocals in our music and for it to sound right."^[4]

Speaking on the plethora of labels used to describe Pelican's genre, bassist Bryan Herweg states that "it's flattering, really", and that "I take that as nobody being able to classify what we're doing. I really don't want to be fixed in one genre."^[5]

As for the instrumental nature of the band, Herweg states that "I think there are limitations that come with having a vocalist. If we had some big burly man in front screaming, we'd be classified as metal. If we had some scrawny guy we'd be emo. As it is, no one can pin us down."^[5] Touring has evolved the band's style from "drawn-out... slow-building" to "more direct and faster, and straight to the point" material to provide more energy on stage.^[4]

Current members

• Trevor de Brauw - guitar
• Bryan Herweg - bass
• Larry Herweg - drums
• Laurent Schroeder-Lebec - guitar

Discography

Full lengths

• Australasia (2003)
• The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw (2005)
• City of Echoes (2007)

EPs

• Pelican (2001)
• March into the Sea (2005)
• Pink Mammoth (2007)
• Ephemeral (2009)

Splits

• Pelican / Scissorfight / The Austerity Program (2003)
• Pelican / Playing Enemy (2005)
• Pelican / Mono (2005)
• These Arms Are Snakes / Pelican (2008)
• Young Widows / Pelican (2009)

DVDs

• Live in Chicago 06/11/03 (2005)
• After the Ceiling Cracked (Live in London) (2008)

Multi-Format Sets

• After the Ceiling Cracked (2008)

Notes

Additional reading

Andrew Parks (July 2007, issue 33). "Pelican". Decibel. http://www.decibelmagazine.com/features/jul2007/pelican.aspx. 

External links

• Official website
• Hydra Head Records
• Pelican and other Hydra Head Records merchandise

• Pelican at MySpace
• Pelican at last.fm
• Pelican discography at MusicBrainz
• Pelican at Allmusic
• Obnoxious Listeners: Pelican

Interview with Laurent Schroeder of Pelican on Metal Insider