The Blue Aeroplanes hit the US shores for the first time in 13 years with appearances at South by SouthWest Music and Media Conference. A long time part of the Bristol, England, music scene that spawned great bands like Massive Attack, Portishead, and Tricky, the Aeroplanes hold a special place in the British rock and roll mantle.

With a new album in the can, When Things Are Good, sounding like a collision between the Hold Steady, Lou Reed with a British accent and Bright Eyes, the Aeroplanes are heading to Austin with their greatest statement of intent yet. The new material includes the monstrous punk-pop soon-to-be classic “25 Kinds Of Love”, the funky, Skynyrd-y groove of “One World Passport” and deceptively jaunty Hollywood critique “Great Movie Cliches.” The new repertoire also includes songs about novelists, cancer, 22 year-old Scarlett Johanssen lookalikes, birthday suits, LA hotel love, Paul Klee and the Devil.

Formed in the early 1980’s from the ashes of notable Bristol post-punk poetic pranksters the Art Objects, the Blue Aeroplanes have ignored the dictates of fashion (or common sense) ever since with their unique blend of rock, pop, folk, poetry, dance, art and mayhem. Their classic first album Bop Art appeared on their own label in 1984 and was rapidly picked up by the Abstract (US) and Fire (UK) labels.

Tolerance and Spitting Out Miracles followed, spawning a huge UK and European following leading to the band’s 1990 signing to Ensign Records (Chrysalis in the US). Tours with REM and the Church and the release of UK chart albums Swagger and Beatsongs followed, before a series of label issues forced the cancellation of their first American headlining tour, just as their trans-Atlantic pop cross-over single “Yr Own World” was receiving strong airplay across the country.

Out of step with both Brit-Pop and grunge, the band signed to Beggars Banquet and released Life Model and Rough Music in 1994 and 1995. At this point, things became slightly murky and confused as a succession of incidents including death, madness, divorce and family problems (the Aeroplanes membership has involved more than a dozen siblings, almost certainly a record) resulted in leader Gerard Langley retreating to Bristol, England to write his definitive (though still unfinished) History Of Rock Music.

Gerard’s solo album, Record Player (kick-started by an Aeroplanes line-up refusing to play Status Quo’s ‘Paper Plane’) followed in 1999 before the Blue Aeroplanes re-convened on record with a folk-punk setting of a 12-part poem Gerard had written about the effects of the English Civil War on contemporary life. The resulting Cavaliers album was successful enough for the band to sign (ironically enough) to EMI to release the critically-acclaimed Swagger Deluxe and Altitude albums ( 2006). Released in the UK only, the absence of a US release led to a parting of the ways with EMI. (With the band retaining all rights to the ‘Altitude’ album outside the UK).