By: Shelby Lum
The Aussie indie rockers, Atlas Genius, aren’t really your standard quartet considering three quarters of the band are brothers. Keith Jeffrey, Michael Jeffrey, Steven Jeffrey, and friend Darren Sell make up the group, but little sibling rivalry seems to exist between the brothers. They actually see it as an advantage to be touring with your family–even for all those long bus rides across the country.
“I think generally it’s actually an advantage in that you can be extra honest,” said guitarist and vocalist, Keith Jeffrey. “Musically I think that can be a good thing in that you can be honest with each other about what you like, and what you don’t like when you are writing songs.” Although Jeffrey did say Sell gets up quite early on days they have off, and since he’s not family, that “honesty is the best policy” idea may not apply, but Jeffrey didn’t seem too upset about the early wake up time.
For Atlas Genius, making a band within the family was nothing shocking. “It was always something we aspired to.” With all the history between the members, the band didn’t take long to crank out a great single “Trojans” which was released last year. The single made waves among the indie community and drew the Aussie band comparisons to Phoenix and The Kooks.
But Atlas Genius has a different flare than other bands. “I think if you write from a place where you are pulling from all your influences you will get a unique sound,” said Jeffrey. “I think that if you set about expressing yourself and let it flow out you are going to have a certain uniqueness.”
2013 is proving to be a huge year for the band. Feb. 8 kicked off their tour with Imagine Dragons, and a nation wide tour of the US, making Atlas Genius excited to see the rest of the states. “You really get deep into the country. We’ve seen so many little towns that you wouldn’t really see otherwise.” Jeffrey also said he is excited to see the Portland in Main after seeing the other Portland on the complete other side of the US in Oregon.
In addition to seeing the country, Atlas Genius will get the chance to experience the alternative rock played by Imagine Dragons. “I think it’s going to be a great one because they are really nice guys,” Jeffrey said. “The vibes are just going to be great.”
Adding to the excitement of the start of the tour is the release of their debut album, When It Was Now, is set to drop on Feb. 19, and the rockers are not letting the day go to waste.
They have landed on spot on the Jimmy Fallon show for the big day as well as doing another album release show in New York the next day.
The single, “If So,” off the album was released on Feb. 5. While the whole album fits together, Jeffrey said there are unique aspects to each track. “I think each song has its own thing happening.”
