Pitchfork: Morning Benders Change Name to Pop Etc.

Pop Etc Talk Name Change, New Album

Hear two new tracks from the band formerly known as the Morning Benders

By 

Larry Fitzmaurice

 on April 9, 2012 at 12:00 p.m.

Photo by Michael Lavine

 Pop Etc: "Halfway to Heaven" (via SoundCloud)

A few things have changed for San Francisco indie pop band the Morning Benders. First off,they're not called the Morning Benders anymore. And even though they still consider themselves a San Francisco band, they've moved to Brooklyn, where they've been since shortly after the release of their 2010 breakthrough Big Echo. Bassist Tim Or amicably left the band, too-- which makes them a three-piece under the new name Pop Etc. Their self-titled debut under the freshly minted moniker is out on June 12 in the U.S. and a day before in the UK courtesy of Rough Trade. Check out two new tracks from the record, "Halfway to Heaven" (above) and "Everything Is Gone" (below).

The band ditched their old name because the term "bender" has homophobic connotations in the UK. But "Pop Etc" makes even more sense when you consider the band's drastic sonic switch on the new LP: the reverb-soaked guitars and golden harmonies of Big Echo are long gone, replaced with bright synths, high-octane pop melodies, and watery R&B reconfigurations. Although the group produced the album largely by themselves, they also brought aboard Danger Mouse and A-list studio man Andrew Dawson (Kanye West, Lil Wayne) to offer behind-the-boards expertise. They're pretty serious about this whole pop thing.

We recently sat down with bandleader Chris Chu at a cafe in Williamsburg.

Pitchfork: What was your thought process as far as changing the band's name?

Chris Chu: The weight of our old name sunk in over time. We thought about it a lot, because in America "benders" obviously doesn't mean anything homophobic, and most of our fans are here. As time passed, though, we had people in the UK and Europe shouting stuff at shows and calling us fags. I'm not the kind of guy that would yell "don't say that" at someone on the street and cuss them out, but when it comes to our band name and the creative identity we want to align ourselves with, it was just getting to this point where we felt like "the Morning Benders" made us look like something we weren't. It's a coincidence, but there's a show in the UK called "The Inbetweeners", where the tagline is "Morning, benders!" I've never seen the show, but people would ask us if that reference was intentional or not, too.

Pitchfork: Were you worried that changing the name of your band might be a detriment to the band itself?

CC: It's really hard to get the word out about changing your name. Just the other day, we ran into someone on the street that said, "Hey, you guys are the Morning Benders, right?" We were like, "Yeah, but we changed our name." There are so many people out there who aren't tapped into this stuff on the internet, and may never find out. Everyone [at the label] went through the same thought process as us. They were like, "Shit, man. We just spent so much time getting the Morning Benders' name out there." But it just felt like we couldn't do anything else, and this was the time to do it.

"In the indie world, it's been a trend to obscure your message;
people over-use effects to cover up what they're trying to say.
To me, that feels really noncommittal."

Pitchfork: How has the general reaction to the name change been?

CC: When we first announced it, there was a lot of positive feedback. Some of the negative comments suggested that we "sold out," or that we were pressured by "the Man" or some bigger thing to change our name. In reality, though, our brand as the Morning Benders is obviously more valuable than a random new brand that no one's heard about. The idea that we didn't do it for our own reasons is just ridiculous.

People have also come out to say a lot of homophobic stuff, like, "Your new name is much gayer." That's just disgusting. When I see those comments, I feel empowered that this is why we had to do this-- to show people that it's not funny, that it's a problem, and it's detrimental to progress.

Pitchfork: Do you feel like those negative reactions are indicative of indie culture's attitude towards speaking out against homophobia as a whole?

CC: I wouldn't make any blanket statement about the scene, but there are bad people out there. There's a lot of different kinds of people that associate themselves with indie culture who don't always have views that align with your own. As Pop Etc, we want to bring together as many people as possible. In the indie world, it's been a trend to obscure your message-- it's happened more and more recently, with the whole lo-fi movement and rediscovery of reverb. People over-use effects to cover up what they're trying to say. To me, that feels really noncommittal. It's like pretending that you're apathetic about something, even if you care about it. It's about being afraid, really. That's the problem with the culture. There's not anyone that's just saying, "This is what I am, and here it is."

"When I was a kid, I liked Boyz II Men's II because it made me happy and sounded cool. Now, I think it's amazingly well-crafted music."

Pitchfork: The music you guys are making as Pop Etc is very different from what you were doing before.

CC: Definitely. Over the last few years, I rediscovered music that I loved from when I was a kid: Boyz II Men, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper. Boyz II Men's II was my first album, and I was immediately taken aback by how it felt very familiar and nostalgic, but also completely new. What's incredible is that there's a lot of music that I go back to now that I don't have the same response to. I'll listen to Green Day, but purely for nostalgia. However, listening to Boyz II Men was like, "Whoa!" There's this whole slew of stuff that went over my head when I was a kid. At the time, I liked it because it made me happy and it sounded cool. Now, I think it's really amazingly well-crafted music.

 Pop Etc: "Everything Is Gone" (via SoundCloud)

Pitchfork: Do you worry about how fans will receive the new material?

CC: It's something I struggle with a lot. We're just so grateful to have our fans. But in the end, I don't feel like I need to necessarily work to give them something that will please them. I can't really think about that. If I did, the results would be some watered-down attempt at "Excuses", or whatever it is that people want from me. I think people will connect with seeing artists that really believe in what they're doing and are excited about it. We've committed to our new sound, and we're not ashamed. We're not trying to sneak anything by anybody. We are what we are-- and, hopefully, you'll like it.

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thissmallplanet/newmusictoday says: at first listen, i prefer the old guitar-oriented indie rock (and band name) of Morning Benders to the synth pop of Pop Etc.

...and changing the name because a few people in England shouted at their shows that they were "gender benders"? who cares? why give in to bullies?

oh well, all will be forgiven if you only go back to your guitars...