Digging Deep Into Three Dimensional Tanx

Just call Three Dimensional Tanx the international mystery men of music.

Aka 3D Tanx, the Lancaster, UK-based group sports precisely the kind of sound we dig around here at Garagerocktopia – mostly uptempo, fairly short songs, infused with plenty of wha-wha-soaked guitars, hard-charging beats and rhythms and spacey keyboards. 

The group’s music is plenty artistic, yet also a lot of fun to listen to. Why they would have an audience is not at all mysterious.

We’d run down who plays what, but by design they are a bit opaque about their identities. While not quite as all about the intrigue as, say, the Residents – they do show their faces in public and on their Facebook page – they simply go by their first names of Richard, Simon (aka Spacey), Pete, Sean and Loz. Richard and Spacey talked to Garagerocktopia via email, and declined to divulge surnames or instruments.

Formed in 2000, 3D Tanx has garnered no shortage of praise from fans and critics alike. They’ve been known to make a splash at a festival or two, sometimes upstaging more well-known acts.

As with other bands we’ve profiled, describing the band’s sound requires a second of thought. Certainly, the out-front keyboards easily recall Daryl Hooper of the Seeds at his most frenetic, but the beats veer a little more in a punk direction.

While most fans of ‘60s garage rock, or its subsequent revivals in the ‘80s and 2000s could easily get with the 3D Tanx sound, band all volunteer an appreciation for a wide variety of music. Band members explained the various ingredients that make up their splashy stew of sound.

“There is certainly a big 60’s psych & garage element,” volunteers Spacey, “but there’s a ton of other influences too, including 70’s punk. By that, I don’t mean the Clash or speeded up Chuck Berry riffs, but more the proto-punk of the Stooges… and some of the punk-era bands like the Saints and the Stranglers, along with a lot of post-punk. There’s a psych influence in bands like the TV Personalities, Swell Maps and the stripped-down garage of early Blurt.”

“We don’t see the point of being an out and out version of anything in particular – you might as well be in a covers band. We’ve got tons of influences, but we want to do try and be something new. We’ve been doing this for a long time now, and as far as we’re concerned – we have a Tanx sound.”

Explained Richard, “Collectively, we draw from the entire history of rock and roll. We like visceral stuff that rocks, has balls, energy and is fun and has a sense of humour.”

Listening to 3D Tanx, one might detect a whiff of the so-called “Madchester” sound, a ‘60s-influenced wave of artists that drew international attention in the early ‘90s. Hailing from Lancaster, which like Manchester is in the north of England, band members said the similarities in their sounds were shared lineage, not a deliberate effort to employ that sound.

“I was in my early teens when Madchester happened,” explained Richard. “It was certainly something I was into a lot at the time. I was born in Manchester, and lived in nearby Preston then.”

“Those bands drew heavily from garage and psychedelia themselves, and as I’ve grown older, I’ve gone back to the original sources. In those pre-internet days, we relied more on what writer Simon Reynolds calls “portal bands” – bands that would turn you onto their influences, and open up new avenues. Another big influence on, say, the Happy Mondays and the Charlatans was Can – which we’re also big fans of. I still love ‘Some Friendly’ and ‘Bummed.’”

“We’re certainly not consciously trying to emulate Madchester bands, or anyone else for that matter. Even when we start with a riff that sounds a bit like something else, once we’re all involved, it gets Tanx’d up and sounds like us – we’re not ‘trying to make’ it sound like anything – apart from us.”

Adds Spacey: “As far as ‘Madchester’ goes, it’s no way deliberate – we share influences with those bands. Those bands grew up listening to similar stuff to ourselves. Also, we’re from the North of England and have a similar accent.”

The band’s latest album is Attack, released late in 2016. The album is a wonderfully solid and eclectic mix of sounds. It truly is one of those albums you have to listen to appreciate, and the more you listen to it, the more you appreciate it. For many observers, it’s the band’s best effort yet.

“Attack is a lot more concise,” declared Spacey. “Maybe it’s a subconscious effort to distance ourselves from a lot of the neo-psych that’s been happening. I can listen to, say, ‘Mother Sky’ for hours, but it bores me to tears with some of those bands being endlessly repetitive just for the sake of it.”

“We’re taking ourselves back the days of the 30-to-35-minute album. Get an idea down, don’t labour the point and then finish. There’s no grand statement to it. It’s just where we are at the moment.”

With Attack’s solid assortment of cuts, it’s tough to pick a stand-out. Our personal favorite here is the rocker “Pink Spaceship,” though truth be told, we’ll probably pick other favorites and then go back and forth as time goes on. The keyboard-driven “Spacey’s Cure” also burrows its way through your brain, that is, if “Son of Go” isn’t in its way.

Richard said that Attack has allowed the band the chance to tighten up the sound and create something a little more down-to-earth than the band’s previous release, 2014’s self-titled album.

“By necessity, the previous album was recorded more piecemeal, different rooms, different times,” he revealed. “As a result, we had to work a bit harder to make the tracks work. So there were a lot more overdubs. Also, the band was in a transitional period where Pete and I had replaced original guitarist David.”

“With Attack, we’d played more as a band, and in most cases, the songs were more road-tested. We wanted to record the whole album in the same room, and we got all five of us recording the basic tracks at the same time to try and capture more of the live energy. There were some overdubs, but the majority of what you hear was done live to try and give a more organic feel.”

“One self-critical thing of the previous album was that two or three songs could have been tightened up a bit – on Attack, we tried to make sure that we cut out the sonic flab.”

Changing up the album’s sound, though, are cuts like “Breathe Brother Breathe,” which is fairly straight-up second-wave British punk. The appropriately titled “Trip Hazard” is a most groovy instrumental that recalls equal parts Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and early-stage Genesis.

In fact, “Trip Hazard”  will soon be out on a seven-inch single that is being lathe cut by hand. Only 50 will be sold by psychedelic specialty label Fruits de Mer Records, starting August 10^th.

As only too many bands can tell you, having challenging but cool music makes it tougher, rather than easier, to get any kind of airplay. Rock and Roll is rarely a meritocracy. 3D Tanx know this all too well, though their music has occasionally wafted through the hallowed airwaves of BBC6. So, like other bands, they’ve had to assemble a wide array of outlets to get their music heard.

“We’ve been ignored by the vast majority of mainstream media,” agreed Richard. “But, we’ve been played all over the world -- USA, Australia, UK, and various places in mainland Europe on FM radio stations, and  also online radio, podcasts and so on. We’ve also been in fanzines, blogs and magazines. We’re on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and god knows what else.

“We make an effort to reach out to people that might like what we do. We don’t expect to “make it” in the old-fashioned sense, but just hope that we get our music out there in the right channels for people who like that kind of thing.”

Northern England has its own distinct -- and powerful – rock and roll legacy, particlularly in cities like the aforementioned Manchester, as well as not-too-distant Liverpool. This makes it possible for a band to make its mark without having to maintain a second residence in London. Band members explained that, while being up north poses some challenges, Lancaster’s actually not a bad place to base a rock and roll band.

“Generally we like being out on a limb, like we are musically,” said Spacey. “Lancaster is a decent-sized town with some really good venues for its size. On the other hand, because we’re not in London or Manchester, it’s harder to get in with the promoters and journalists.

Richard pointed to Lancaster’s proximity to other cities with storied rock legacies, plus it’s own population in which many devotees of cool music can be found.

“We also have two universities which bring in plenty of diversity and culture,” said Richard. “Plus we have an Arts Cinema and Theatre, various live music venues and so on. Many employees of the shops, bars and cafés are university graduates.”

“Despite all this, we’re regarded as being somewhat parochial, backwater types by London and Manchester tastemakers and writers.”

Band members report that they are already beginning work on their next set of songs, with a 2018 release being hoped for. The plan, they say, is to get even more raw and more stripped down. They also frequently tour the UK, playing gigs and festivals all over. 

“We play regularly in our home town,” said Richard. “We get out across the UK when we can. We’ve played London, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, Chester, Rugby and various festivals. We’d love to play more gigs. If you’re a promoter or booking agent – get in touch!”