In the two years since they started the band, guttural indie-rock trio Callis have built quite the reputation for their compelling live act. So how would they describe the Callis experience?
Bryn, bass: “It’s a cacophony of noise and confusion.”
Tyler, drums: “A spectacle.”
Dean, vocals and guitar: “It sounds narcissistic but we know we sound better live than on record. Everybody says it.”
Translating a high-energy live sound to record can be a challenge – one that Callis have become somewhat familiar with.
Dean: “The guy who did our demos for the Sex Yoga EP said ‘You all just naturally control the dynamics.’ He thought we were hitting the pedals, but we weren’t. It’s just the energy.”
In attempting to capture such viscerality, Callis have drawn on the talents of numerous individuals, including The Strokes’ producer Gordon Raphael.
Dean: “I heard he was in Hebden Bridge so I thought it doesn’t hurt to send an email, not expecting anything back. You send about a thousand and get about five back. But he really liked our demos.”
As it turned out, Gordon Raphael liked the demos so much he wanted to work up the songs in the same space they were originally recorded, which happened to be a six by six garage in Burnley.
Dean: “He’s very naturally eccentric, Gordon. We met him in the park, got him a coffee. We just had a walk, chatting about some surreal stuff, like Sub Pop and obviously The Strokes came up.”
Tyler: “It’s pretty cool to have your music listened to and, I guess, validated by someone who’s recorded such a big band. At that point we’d only recorded one song.”
Callis have their musical roots doused in post-punk spirit. They used to hang out and jam with Stephen ‘Sage’ Hartley, guitarist in the band Notsensibles, who had a hit with the single I’m In Love With Margaret Thatcher.
Dean: “That was my introduction to music, being at Sage’s house. We were like 15, 16, listening to records and whatnot. When we used to jam, the music that was on, it was always post-punk, 80s, Depeche Mode, Velvet Underground.”
Tyler: “It was very sort of rhythmic, very bass and drums-driven.”
Dean: “It’s funny that we’ve come back round to that. Tyler and Bryn are in a separate band called Bulbeater, which is more doom. With Callis, we were trying to find that middle ground at first. So we did a bit of grunge, a bit of post-punky stuff and now we’ve come to this. Our sound is much more full now, well-rounded.”
Bryn – “If you’re talking Venn diagram-wise, and we’ve got a band in the middle of the three of us, I’d want to say someone like Joy Division.”
Following the psych wooziness of debut single Dramaskin and their Cure-gilded second single Dream Sequence, the band’s latest offering, Summer Bones, is a bold art-rock mosaic of crisply-cut rhythms and prog-dappled guitar. In all, it has a rawness reminiscent of that 80s alt-rock scene, and yet the polish and soaring ambition of post-millennium, dark-indie bands like White Lies, Editors or Foals.
Dean’s vocals on Summer Bones create a hypnotic soothing call to the wild and wounded, with lyrics drawing on the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet. It’s something of a departure in lyrical theme for the band who frequently find themselves immersed in their locality and, in particular, the region’s looming landscape and stalwart community ethics.
Their logo, a depiction of inner bark, and the accompanying font, reflect their connection to nature. They are named after nearby Callis Wood.
Dean: “All my suggestions for band names got vetoed. One of them was Dramaskin, the name of our debut single. One was Goblin Face. The Wizard of Whirlaw.”
Callis rehearse at Robinwood Studios in Todmorden. They have a song called Shinrin-Yoku, which is Japanese for ‘forest baby’, based on the walk up to Bridestones Moor. Another, Godfrey, recounts the story of Alan Godfrey, the local police officer at the centre of a famous alleged UFO sighting in 1980.
They have many affiliations with the town. Most fascinatingly of all, Tyler was Mayor of Todmorden for a year, up to May 2024.
Tyler: “It was wonderful. I joined the town council and after a week, they said ‘You seem to know a lot of people. You seem up for it. Why don’t you do it?’ It’s one of those opportunities where you think ‘Well, this is really unique and special and is it going to come around again?’ I got really immersed in the community. There’s so much going on in Tod.”
Dean: “It was all coffee mornings and drinking sherry.”
Tyler: “We sponsored a wonderful charity. I can’t sing their praises enough. It’s called Empowered People. They’re a cycling charity. And we did things like the Mayor’s Charity Ball. I say ‘ball’, it was quite a subversive thing. We did it at the Unitarian Church. AnalogueTrash and a few others helped organise the bands and we played at the end. I was there rocking up in the Mayor’s chains on the drums. How special is that? Everyone in the community coming together for this weird event in a beautiful building. That capped it off. I miss it so much. It’s time-consuming, really tiring and you’ve got to prioritise things, but it was so good.”
As to the future, Callis are firmly focused on their new set of material, which has been steadily taking shape through the year.
Dean: “We had a couple of months of self-reflection. Listening back, we discussed it, the EP captured a great energy and it was good for that time. You know, musicians are quite emotional. You get stuck in your own head. We just thought we fancied a change and it didn’t really represent what we are now.”
Tyler: “Musically, you grow and then you reflect on songs you’ve done in the past and how you can improve them. It’s a continuous process.”
Dean: “We’ve got a brand new set. The only songs that you’d know are Dream Sequence and Summer Bones. The rest are new.”
Dean: “I would like to record and do the video for one of our new songs Heavy Drugs or another new one which is called Behind The Times, although that name’s a bit lame. It would be nice to record them where we rehearse, at Robinwood. It’s great there. Billy Glew, who runs it, is a legend.”
As they’ve developed their new set, Callis have been testing the waters regularly with shows at familiar local venues.
Bryn: “The sound for us at The Trades Club was really good. And The Grayston Unity, for such a tiny room, genuinely has a very good sound. You think it might bounce off the walls.”
Dean: “You know what’s funny in that venue, at the back where the drums are, it looks like somebody’s front room. So when you turn around, you’ve got to kind of trick your mind that you’re not chilling out playing at home. You’re actually playing in a venue. It gives it a charm.”
For news of future gigs and further releases, follow Callis on Instagram.
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