Mirrors (UK synth band)

Mirrors are a four-piece synth-pop band from Brighton, signed to Skint Records. They consist of James New aka Noo (lead vox and synth), Ally Young (synth and vox), James Arguile aka Tate (guitar), and Josef Page (electronic drums). The band have been compared to Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark and Depeche Mode, although the band themselves claim to be equally influenced by German electronic music and UK post-punk sounds.
James New and James Arguile were in Bexhill-on-sea-based indie-pop band Mumm-Ra, who had featured on the NME Awards Indie Rock Tour alongside The Horrors, The View and The Automatic, before they split up in 2008. Mirrors were conceptualised out of the ashes of Mumm-Ra before they’d played a note together, with the emphasis being placed on the use of old synthesisers, home-made visuals and sharp-dressing in suits and eyeliner – influenced as much by the artists Gilbert & George as the ubiquitous Kraftwerk.
After forming in early 2009, Mirrors performed their first gig at the Brighton Great Escape festival, and shortly afterwards released their debut single ‘Look At Me’ on Pure Groove – pressed up on one side of seven-inch red vinyl. Their second single, ‘Into The Heart’ b/w ‘Lights & Offerings’, was released on Moshi Moshi Records in late 2009 before the band signed to the Brighton-based Skint Records.
The band released a succession of singles on Skint in 2010, most with accompanying artistic videos. They also released the ‘Broken By Silence EP’ that included some of their early singles packaged together to coincide with the support slot on the Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD) tour in Europe in late 2010. The band also supported Delphic for some other shows in 2010.
Mirrors released their debut album ‘Lights & Offerings’ in February 2011. Self-produced but mixed in New York’s DFA Studios by Rapture collaborator Jonathan Kreinik, it was described by MOJO magazine as “Emotionally literate synth-rock noir… this is strung-out art-pop with rich swoops of immensely danceable melodies, and lyrics of self-deprecation or euphoria.” Uncut magazine hailed its “heartfelt themes of loss and yearning, paired with gorgeous melodies and tough rhythms”.