Nosferatu D2 were an English indie rock band from Croydon, Surrey, England. They were active from 2005 to 2007 and remained unsigned during that time.[1][2][3] The band experienced posthumous acclaim and interest when the debuting Audio Antihero record label issued their unreleased debut album We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise.[4][5][6]
Nosferatu D2 | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Croydon, London, England |
| Genres | Indie rock, Lo-Fi, Alternative |
| Years active | 2005–2007 |
| Labels | Audio Antihero |
| Past members | Ben Parker Adam Parker |
| Website | www.nosferatud2.bandcamp.com |
Pre-Nosferatu D2 years (1999–2004)
Brothers, Ben (guitar/vocals) and Adam Parker (drums) originally made music together in a trio called Tempertwig.[7][8] They performed live in London[9] and released several demos and a 7" split with Air Formation)[10][11][12] which was aired on BBC Radio 1 by Steve Lamacq.[13][14] The band split in 2004.[15][16]
Active years (2005–2007)
After the end of Tempertwig, Ben and Adam Parker formed Nosferatu D2 and began to play shows and demo new material, some of which was aired on XFM by John Kennedy[17] and BBC Radio 1 by Huw Stephens.[18] One of these demos received a praising review from James McMahon of NME[19] and Art Brut member Chris Chinchilla.[20]
During the band's lifespan, they played a show with Air Formation[21] and opened for Los Campesinos! and Sky Larkin at The Spitz.[22][23] Afterwards, Los Campesinos! gave Nosferatu D2 a "thanks to" credit on their debut "Hold on Now, Youngster..." LP released through Wichita Records.[23]
After Ben Parker began writing and recording under the Superman Revenge Squad name (taken from the comic book organisations of the same name), Nosferatu D2 would quietly disband.[24][25]
Debut album/posthumous acclaim (2009)
In 2009, Nosferatu D2's unreleased We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On To Block Out The Noise album was issued by the newly-founded Audio Antihero record label, more than two years after they had separated.[26]
This announcement was by praised by Gareth Campesinos! on the Los Campesinos! website[27] and numerous Hype Machine sites.[28]
The album itself was critically acclaimed. Drowned In Sound gave it 9/10 and called it "some kind of alchemy, not to be repeated";[3] The 405 awarded them 9/10 and suggested it could: "one of those forgotten albums that will be hailed as influential come five or ten years";[29] This Is Fake DIY graded it 8/10,[30] The Music Fix described it as a "lo-fi masterpiece" with a 9/10 grading;[31] Music Emissions graded it 10/10;[17] The Organ stated "I do like this, like it lots actually",[32] Scotland's The Skinny awarded it 4/5;[33] and The Line Of Best Fit stated that "your record collection is incomplete without its inclusion."[5] Gareth Campesinos! again praised the album on Pitchfork in his best of 2009 picks.[2]
The album was also well received by radio in the UK and internationally by radio with songs from the album given multiple airings on BBC 6 Music,[34][15][35] Dandelion Radio,[36] NME Radio,[37] ResonanceFM,[38] Florida's WVUM FM,[39] Melbourne's Triple R FM,[40] Kooba Radio,[41] BSM Rocks! Radio,[42] the inaugural God Is In The TV podcast.[43] Jon Solomon's show on Princeton's WPRB FM,[44][45] Vancouver's CITR-FM, Philadelphia's WKDU[46] and The Wrong Rock Show on South Africa's Bush Radio.[47]
The album and its story subsequently became the several radio features. In January 2011, Tom Robinson interviewed Ben Parker and Audio Antihero's Jamie Halliday about the album on the "I Need An Antihero" edition of BBC Introducing;[6][14] in August 2011, Miami's WVUMFM aired an Audio Antihero special with Jamie Halliday on Nosferatu D2 and others;[39] and in August 2012 BBC World Service/PRI's "The World" produced a feature story on the Nosferatu D2 album which included interviews with the artist and label.[4][48]
The album was the subject of a "Buried Treasures" article for the Faded Glamour culture site[49] and a "Lost Bands" article in Rhubarb Bomb's "The City Consumes Us (2007-2012)" book.[50][51] Label-mate Benjamin Shaw would also cover their "It's Christmas Time (For God's Sake)."[52]
"It's Christmas Time (For God's Sake)" was also included in the Darren Hayman (Hefner/The French) and FIKA Recording 2011 Digital Advent Calendar, alongside fellow Audio Antihero artists including Jack Hayter, Fighting Kites, Paul Hawkins, Ian Button, Broken Shoulder and Benjamin Shaw.[53] In 2019, it was included in God Is In The TV Zine's "Top 12 Alternative Christmas Songs" list.[54]
Further releases
Though the band have not recorded since their split and have stated that they will not reform[55] they have contributed unreleased recordings to charity compilations to raise money for FSID,[56][57][58] Shelterbox, Save The Children, Red Cross, Japan Society[59][60] and New York businesses following Hurricane Sandy.[61][62]
In September 2012, the band re-issued remastered recordings of their final show as "Nosferatu D2 – Live At The Spitz" through Audio Antihero.[63][64]
In 2015, their debut album was reissued on cassette by Audio Antihero alongside an EP of non-album recordings entitled "Older, Wiser, Sadder" – which was praised by Drowned in Sound.[65][66]
Other projects from the Parker brothers
In March 2019, Audio Antihero and Randy Sadage Records compiled the majority of the Tempertwig recordings for the "Fake Nostalgia: An Anthology of Broken Stuff" release.[67][68][69] The compilation album was followed with the "Films Without Plotlines" EP which contained their remaining unreleased recordings.[70][71][72]
The Tempertwig releases received a positive press and radio response,[73][74][14] including support from Adafruit Industries[15] and airplay from Dandelion Radio,[75] Amazing Radio,[34] WPRB[76] and Steve Lamacq at BBC Radio 6 Music.[77]
Post-Nosferatu D2, Ben and Adam Parker reunited for the There is Nothing More Frightening Than the Passing of Time album by The Superman Revenge Squad Band, an expanded version of Ben Parker's Superman Revenge Squad solo project.[78][79] The album received positive reviews from Bearded Magazine[80] and others[81][82] and FM4[83] and Gideon Coe, Tom Robinson and Steve Lamacq on BBC 6 Music.[84][85][86]
In 2023, Ben and Adam Parker announced their participation in a new group called My Best Unbeaten Brother. In May of that year, they self-released "The Practice Room Recordings"[87] before contributing a new song to Joyzine's "20 Years of Joy Vol. 2" compilation,[88][89] which was then released as a standalone single.[90][91][92]
Discography
Albums and EPs
- We're Gonna Walk Around This City With Our Headphones On to Block Out the Noise (Audio Antihero, 2009)
- Older, Wiser, Sadder – EP (Audio Antihero, 2015)
Live albums
- Live at the Spitz (05/03/2007) (Audio Antihero, 2012)
Compilation appearances
- Bob Hope Would|Bob Hope Would – for Japan (Audio Antihero, 2011) – contributes "The Kids From FAME" / "Older, Wiser, Sadder" / "A Man at War With Himself"
- Christmas In Haworth: An Advent Calendar from Darren Hayman, Fika Recordings and Friends (Fika Recordings, 2011) - contributes "It's Christmas Time (For God's Sake)"
- Some.Alternate.Universe – for FSID (Audio Antihero, 2012) – contributes "A Footnote" (Demo)
- Audio Antihero's Commercial Suicide Sampler (Audio Antihero, 2012) – contributes "Springsteen"
- The Hüsker Doo-wop EP for New York (Audio Antihero/Hear It For NY, 2012) – contributes "Older, Wiser, Sadder"
- Into the Light: Volume Three for Pussy Riot (Unwashed Territories, 2012) – contributes "It's Christmas Time (For God's Sake)"
- Five Long Years (Audio Antihero, 2014) - contributes "Broken Tamagotchi"
- Elder Statesman: Nine Long Years of Audio Antihero Records (Audio Antihero, 2019) – contributes "Springsteen"