van cleef

There’s a fine tradition of Vans in music: Van Halen, Van Morrison, Vanilla Ice… On the screen too: Van Damme, Van Dyke and of course the greatest cinematic badass of them all, Mr. Lee Van Cleef. As a band, Van Cleef are built on too much TV and not enough sleep, on rock guitars and pop hooks that could take your eye out. Formed in the ‘V’ section of a second-hand record shop in central Dublin in 2006, their common affection for the upbeat pop of early Blur, the acoustic-punk of the Violent Femmes, and the hard rock of Guns N Roses began to produce a flood of 3-chord 3-and-a-half-minute songs celebrating their pop culture obsessions, with titles such as ‘Meet Me in Vietnam’, ‘Scarlett Johansson’ and ‘One of the Cosbys’.

The release of their debut EP ‘No Shame’ in late 2007 led to increased radio play, good press reviews and a higher profile, with debauched Irish and Turkish tours following, as well as high-profile support slots including playing with The Damned on their Twisted Cabaret of The Damned tour. Increasingly confident shows continued across Dublin and Ireland, helping to refine the songs and road test them with growing audiences . Towards the end of 2008, they were ready to enter the studio again and work began with Marc Aubele (Jack L, Jinx Lennon, Bell X1, The Walls) to record a set of their 12 strongest songs. The end result is the first full-length VC album, entitled 'Supervillainesque' which will be released in May 2009, in full and digital formats, with an album launch in The Village, Dublin. Upcoming shows are already lined up for Whelan’s and Crawdaddy in advance of further dates across Ireland and Europe.

Hail to the Cleef!