Red Cavalry

James Peate grew up on 60's rock, but as his taste in music developed he gravitated towards metal. As he grew up he became more interested in the "lyrical content" of a song than anything else. This interest drew Peate towards bands like R.E.M. and Nirvana. Becoming a fan of Nirvana was a turning point for Peate; this was the band that made him want to pick up a guitar. 

Alex James was raised in a home that, for the most part, lacked music. As a teenager he began to take interest in music. When James was 19 he considered dropping out of university to attend a music school in London. He had made a plan with a friend who was a drummer to attend this music school together. His friend was unable to see the plan through because of an injury that impaired his drumming abilities. Fortunately he went back to college where he met Peate. The brief period of time where he was ready to drop out made him realize that music was more than just a hobby. 

Peate and James have always been impressed by albums that came out of the 1960's that were written in super short amounts of time. So they formed Red Cavalry to make an album like that. Alas, So Long is home to 13 songs that were written in 7 days. The duo were never in the same room when the record was written. They made writing an album through the internet work for them.  

Their upcoming album Alas, So Long is heavily inspired by the life of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. One of the first singles from the record, "Red House" is inspired by the story of Rossetti's affair with a bit of a modern take on the story line. Peate explains they wanted to make a song that really stands out, "the tension of the story builds as the narrator makes his confession".  As a whole Alas, So Long will build on the sound Red Cavalry has created with their first record. The songs on the new record create a sound that is cohesive and tied together in theme rather than in story as a concept album would.