The Cunning & Thee Japanese Schoolgirls

The Cunning make raw, real rock & roll, firing twin barrels of guitar-fueled stomp and anthemic pop melodies on the band’s newest EP, Run Through the Desert.

Although based in Nashville, the Cunning’s four members kickstarted their careers across the globe. Drummer Steve Forrest spent the better part of a decade in the UK, performing with platinum-selling band Placebo, while frontman Sean Cunningham cut his teeth in New Zealand, charting one of the country’s biggest hits of the 21st century as the frontman of ATLAS. Meanwhile, guitarist Dustin Olyan produced records in Toronto and toured extensively as a sideman before heading south to Tennessee, and bassist Gaines Cooper grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, before crisscrossing the country for years as a touring musician. Together, they bring a wide, worldly approach to the Cunning’s rock & roll, which nods to the British crunch of Led Zeppelin one minute and the anthemic American sweep of My Morning Jacket the next.

Working with producer Jay Tooke, the Cunning recorded Run Through the Desert at the former Quadraphonic Studios in Nashville. They tracked most of the songs in one day, recording live in order to highlight their strength as a touring act. There were no gimmicks or studio tricks. Instead, the band combined drums, vocals, bass and electric guitar into the booming bedrock of the Cunning’s sound, then sweetened the mix with Rhodes and the occasional synthesizer. Full of songs about sex, struggle, the supernatural, and the sad state of American politics, Run Through the Desert is the sound of a real band in a room, creating a sound that’s bigger than themselves.

https://open.spotify.com/track/4iTl1gUWnC6GXlQ9h9eSjm?si=G3ukBzKlQ3m39gl0G-51cA