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Enigmatic UK dark rockers Pearl Handled Revolver are back with their deeply alluring new album, Tales You Lose, which arrives on Friday 18th April. The Bedford-based quintet (Lee Vernon: Lead Vocals/Harmonica; Simon Rinaldo: Organ/Electric Piano/Synthesizer; Lucas Rinaldo: Bass Guitar/Guitar; Andy Paris: Guitar, Backing Vocals; Chris Thatcher: Drums, Backing Vocals) have just revealed their compelling new single and video, Space Invader. Get to know the band through their own words, below:
What are the origins of Pearl Handled Revolver, how long have you been playing together?
Simon: Lee and I were in a band together called ‘Blunderherd’ for many years. When the band ended we eventually, in 2001 decided to put a new band together, based around Lee’s distinctive vocal character and me complimenting on Hammond organ. The first Pearl Handled Revolver line-up did create an album together called Embryo, which was never officially released. The music we created did have the essence of the Pearl Handled Revolver sound and naturally contained elements of ‘Blunderherd’. You can hear one of these songs ‘Air’ on our recently released re-mixed double album ‘Psychedelic Attic’.
We knew Andy from the local music scene and his style was a perfect fit for the band, we recruited Oli Carter on bass one of my previous bands. We met Chris at a festival, he was playing for a Stoner Rock band called ‘Sulfur’. This lineup created our first three EP’s. We really felt we were developing something new and exciting. We were then signed by an American independent record label and with them we created the first two albums ‘Colossus’ & ‘This Mountain Waits’. Oli met a girl while we were on tour in the Netherlands… and eventually, he left the band to live there.
We continued writing and performing the music for the next two albums as a four-piece, with me playing bass on keyboards and organ bass pedals. We must have played literally hundreds of shows together as a four-piece and recording the albums ‘If The Devil Cast His Net’ and ‘Fantasy Reigns’.
In 2023 we recruited Lucas, who is my eldest son. He was just one year old when we recorded ‘Embryo’. He has literally grown up with the band and as a very skilled multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer, he was the obvious choice to help the band create our fifth album. This line-up is the strongest it has ever been, both in writing, performing, and recording.
What should people expect when they check the band out? How would you describe Pearl Handled Revolver?
Chris: We regularly get people coming up to us after gigs and saying that they were taken Somewhere Else… and they’re not sure where it was, but they loved it. That, to me, is what psychedelic music is about – being displaced and transported away from the material world for a spell.
How did you feel performing your first gig as a band, and how was it?!
Simon: Surreal is the best way to describe it. The first Pearl Handled Revolver gig was at an event hosted by Lord McAlpine. He had his own vintage railway station with a steam train that goes around his grounds, a railway museum (where we performed) an impressive classic car collection, and a giant rhino. His neighbour was Jon Lord from Deep Purple, who we met and I had a long chat with him. A truly lovely guy. I kid you not, this actually happened.
What are you working on at the minute that people can check out?
Chris: Our fifth album ‘Tales You Lose’ is released on 18 April, the first single ‘Space Invader’ is out now and you can check it out on our YouTube channel.
Regarding a similar audience, which band at the minute do you feel that you would be best suited to open for?
Chris: Goat
Simon: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Lucas: Ozric Tentacles
Excluding yourself, which new band would you like to see break out and become a success?
Chris: Teiger… they’re a modern blend of psyche, prog and hypnotic grooves.
Simon: We had a great young band support us recently, called Greensands. They are superb musicians, good songwriters. They seem to be doing quite well locally at the moment.
What frustrates you about the music business?
Chris: the fact that it’s viewed as business. Creativity is an intrinsic Human behaviour and a form of alchemy; business is a construct and basically spreadsheets. And I despise Excel.
What are your first musical memories? And what lightbulb moment made you say “I want to do that”?
Chris: As a kid, whenever my mum played Credence Clearwater Revival ‘Cosmo’s Factory’ I remember being completely mystified, in the best possible way.
Simon: I was inspired by my parent’s record collection, which I especially remember consisted of The Beatles and Santana. These bands were big influences on me. I think when I discovered The Doors everything changed.
Lucas: One of my earliest musical memories is my Dad (Simon in the band) putting on the Supergrass album, ‘I Should Coco’. I always loved the energy of that album.
What was the last gig that you attended as a fan?
Chris: LTJ Bukem
Simon: Ken Pustelnik’s Groundhogs
What current social issues are you particularly passionate about?
Chris: my favourite quote is “For every complicated problem there is a solution that is simple, elegant… and wrong” and I think as we learn that we’re part of a world where almost everything exists on a spectrum – rather than a set of binary positions – we need to learn to respond to it and each other with the same nuance; rather than becoming entrenched in binary, oppositional opinions and stances. The modern world is too complicated to understand in its totality, but it would be easier to navigate collectively if we all listened more.
The album that you have in your album collection/Spotify playlist that would surprise most people?
Chris: D’Angelo – Voodoo
Simon: Pino Daniele – Terra Mia
Lucas: Begnagrad – Begnagrad
Everybody is a fan of something, who or what are you a fan of?
Chris: Leonora Carrington is my hero (surrealist artist, although I don’t think she would’ve wanted to be pigeonholed as such).
Simon: The Stranglers….. and The Doors.
Andy: Andy
Lucas: Recently I have become a fan of true lo-fi music artists (R Stevie Moore, Guided By Voices, Cleaners From Venus) I think because I have dedicated so much time and energy learning what makes music sound good, it is refreshing to hear music that doesn’t sound technically ‘good’.
What new music have you been enjoying recently?
Chris: Arooj Aftab – Night Reigns, Mdou Moctar – Funeral for Justice
Simon: Amyl & The Sniffers – Cartoon Darkness
Lucas: Squid – Cowards, Geordie Greep – The New Sound, Forever Pavot & XP the
Marxman – Forever XP
Connect with Pearl Handled Revolver, HERE
