Park View: “A lot of voices, a lot of guitars, a lot of dancing.”

Born from jam sessions in their Newcastle University accommodation, Park View are an aptly named indie rock band taking the North East’s music scene by storm. Having already graced the stages of Little Buildings, Cluny 2 and Think Tank, the five-piece band are soon heading back to campus where it all began for NUSU Sessions. I spoke with vocalist Alfie Kelly about all things Park View ahead of the gig.

Playing sets far and wide this summer—most notably Kendal Calling and Y Not festival—Park View are well versed in putting on a good show.

After losing some of their original line up to the throws of life, Alex and Alfie brought Laura, Lewis and Tom together through school and uni. Since the changes, Park View are confidently finding their sound. “It’s brought in a lot of new ideas,” Alfie told me when I asked about their development, “different ways people play, different inspirations. I think we’re starting to knock on the door of something really good.”

When I ask about their inspirations, Alfie gives me names such as The Strokes and Lou Reed, and he highlights Laura’s eccentric taste with a laugh. “She pretty much just name drops the weirdest sounding band ever, every 20 minutes. No one’s ever heard of them.” He also says, “it’s hard to be a Geordie and not say that you’re influenced by Sam Fender. That’s definitely weighed in on our music as well, having someone local actually punching through the scene.”

Everything about Park View’s process shows how much they love creating music together, from the song writing to the singing. “We all write tunes. Someone will just come in with a guitar riff, or a bit of a sound, or maybe even a whole song.” As a band, they build up the music together and play it live before recording it, which Alfie says “gives birth to a bit of new life in a lot of tunes.”

For the rest of the year, Park View are planning on recording. After a year full of live performances, Alfie says, “we’re really trying to focus on the music at the moment. We’re so used to just playing live because it’s what we love to do, so I think it’d be nice to be a bit strict with ourselves… get into the studio and don’t come out until something’s done.”

Before that, though, they will be hitting the stage at NUSU Sessions on 1st October.

While Alfie is Park View’s main vocalist, he assured me that each of them love to take the mic at gigs. “There’ll be a lot of voices, a lot of guitars, and hopefully a lot of dancing,” he said, while sharing what to expect from the band at NUSU Sessions. From the bright, feel-good riffs of their newest single ‘pavement’ to the grungier sound of ‘she doesn’t know’, guitarists Alex and Lewis, bassist Laura and drummer Tom are also all clearly prepared to bring a range of sounds and a lot of quality tunes to the Students’ Union.