EVERY cloud has a silver lining, so says the optimist. One particular cloud meant the end of Manx post-rock heavyweights Planes Over Paris – when singer and synth player Steph Gomaa gave in to wanderlust to leave the island to travel in 2011.
The silver lining is that vocalist and guitarist Paul Salisbury, bass man Martyn Cain and beat keeper Ben O’Hare have re-emerged as Post War Stories, and having heard their demos they appear to be an altogether darker beast than Planes Over Paris.
Ben said: ‘Sound wise, it was quite an obvious route for us. We’re inspired by bands like Levitation and Darkstar that use dub-inspired rhythm sections, and we add big guitar that swirls from side to side – Paul uses a two amp set up.
‘The dance element and synthesizers of Planes Over Paris couldn’t be done with just three of us, so we had to write in a different style. And we do stuff we haven’t tried before like using samples and backing tracks.’
Planes had their swansong with headline slot at The Garden Party last summer – but would they have carried on had Steph not left the island?
‘Probably, but we knew the day would come,’ said Ben. ‘Steph’s a wonderful person, a bit of a flower child, so we knew the hippy trip was coming. And when it did she gave us six months’ notice.’
The best window into what Post War Stories are brewing is through their page on reverbnation.com, which includes a video of the trio jamming the track Ghosts in ‘The Barn’, which looks to be about the coolest rehearsal space this side of Jimi Hendrix’s old garage.
‘Ha ha, the barn is in Ballasalla,’ reveals Ben. ‘It’s big – which is good – but it must be one of the coldest places in the Isle of Man! We learned the hard way that valve amps break if left in the cold long term – but we man up and get our gloves and scarves on to jam through winter evenings.’
The band hope to start gigging from April time (Ben and his wife are expecting their first child in March), and the veterans of the island scene remain as enthusiastic as ever about the state of play in Manx rock ‘n’ roll.
‘It’s amazing how the festival scene has taken off here in the last two years,’ said Ben. ‘We played the first Mannifest at the Nunnery in 2009, it was great, but we wondered if it could ever happen again. Then within a year it had turned into this massive festival.
‘Also The Garden Party is one of the best organised events I’ve ever seen, gold medals all round. It shows what can be done.’