"I've never considered myself a religious man," the Polyphonic Spree's founder Tim DeLaughter (b. 18 November 1965, Dallas, Texas, USA; ex-Tripping Daisy) announced in i-D magazine, upon the release of the Texas-based band's 2002 debut The Beginning Stages Of ..., "but this band is showing me that I am truly religious, in the sense of having an uplifting positive attitude towards life." Formed with ex-Tripping Daisy members Mark Pirro and Brian Wakeland, the Polyphonic Spree comprises up to 27 band members, that include schoolteachers, hospital workers and set designers among their ranks, the self-styled "choral symphonic pop group" coalesced in just three weeks after DeLaughter was booked as support on a tour with friends Grandaddy. At the project's inception, DeLaughter had not even planned on being directly involved. Rather, the enigmatic force behind the band says he was just going to put it together and watch: "This band cultivated itself," he asserts, "I truly believe that there is nothing like this band in the world." As if to make explicit DeLaughter's claim that "It isn't just music anymore. It's like a movement, a spirit that's being conveyed," and prompting (denied) rumours that they are a genuine cult, the group appear on stage in flowing, white, homemade robes. "The white robes are very simple," DeLaughter explained to i-D magazine, "The colour is pure and unites us and puts the focus on the music."
The Polyphonic Spree features a 10-piece choir, brass section, a classical harp and woodwind alongside more conventional instruments. Their joyous, devotional music, which has spanned three albums, is curiously resonant of the cult 70s recordings by the Langley Schools Music Project or the Muppets, if Kermit, Miss Piggy et al were to sing lines like "Take some time/Get away/Suicide is a shame" or to suffix their recordings with La Monte Young-inspired lengthy drones.
