We're not the von Trapp family

The Staves can probably look to the future with more optimism than most, but still have to deal with old prejudices

A POISONED CHALICE? A spurious title? A hiding to nothing? Who’d be a hotly tipped music act these days? In the past few months, Ireland has been visited by three of 2012’s most critically lauded music acts: Azealia Banks, Michael Kiwanuka, and The Staves. Each has been praised to the hilt by those arbiters of taste whose job it is to direct us to the acts “most likely to”. The sting in the tale is statistics indicate that at least one of these acts will, within the space of two years, enter the twilight zone of could-have-been/should-have-been. Take note of the fact that in 2008, on March 2nd, two hotly tipped female singers made their respective debuts in Dublin.

Adele played Crawdaddy, and Duffy played the Academy. We know of the commercial reach of Grammy-laden Adele, but where, oh where is Duffy these days? And so we come to The Staves, three twentysomething Hertfordshire sisters (Camilla, Jessica, Emily Staveley-Taylor) whose combined love of English and American folk has resulted in as smooth a mash-up of Joni Mitchell, Sandy Denny, James Taylor, Carole King, Vashti Bunyan and Crosby, Stills, Nash Young as you can imagine. With a new EP out shortly and a debut album scheduled for a September release, it’s a safe bet to claim that by the end of 2012 The Staves will not only be celebrating a very good year, but also peering into 2013 with more optimism than most.

As sisters who don’t adhere to received pop music norms, they confirm that preconceptions are all too inevitable. “Some think we’re wholesome, fairly twee,” says Camilla. “We get quite a lot of people,” says Emily, “saying they thought we’d be really sweet, a family band like the von Trapps.” And this from Jessica: “When people find out we’re sisters there’s a big ‘Aaahhh, how angelic, how cute.’ But we never feel like that at all.”

The Staves also differ in that they are family who have had to learn the dynamics of being in a band, rather than being friends, acquaintances or strangers having to learn the process of how to exist together as a band without tearing each other’s heads off.

“I don’t know how telepathic it is,” remarks Emily, “but when you know someone inside out and back-to-front since the day they were born, then you don’t need to see what direction their eyes go in order to understand what they’re thinking or what they require.”

There have been matters along the way, however, that have irked the trio. The first one is the virtually constant reference to the music of Laura Marling. Signed to London-based indie label Communion (which was by co-founded by Ben Lovett of Mumford and Sons), the trio understands the point of such references. “We’re all fans,” says Jessica, “and she’s done a lot for our kind of music in that she has opened young people’s minds to it. She does her own thing, and she’s cool; if people compare us it’s nice, although it can be a bit intimidating.”

“And it’s better that the other comparison,” concedes Emily with a sigh, “which was ‘Fleet Foxes with tits’.” Ah, yes. With boring regularity, the dreary aspect of sexism within the music industry raises its head. We’d all like to think such nonsense no longer exists, but try telling that to three smart young women who have been told by men, in no uncertain terms in the past few years, to, says Camilla, “Stop dressing like we’ve just come out of rehearsals.” The pressures, as such, range from overt to subtle to ridiculous. The latter includes the advice, reveals Emily, “of being seen before we’re heard, that we should dress like The Supremes, and then people will listen”. Jessica says: “If we were three brothers no one would dream of saying the things some people say to us.”

“We’re not interested in that,” says Emily, “and it’s got nothing to do with who we are as people or the music we’re making. What to do? You just say no, very firmly, from day one, and continue saying no, and soon enough people will stop asking.”

The Motherlode EP is released through Communion/Atlantic tomorrow. The Staves play Dublin’s Sugar Club on April 24th