“You know when we came to Australia in 2007, we were supporting Funeral For A Friend and expected nobody to know us, and the response we received and the fans that came to see us was mind-blowing.” Bayside vocalist/guitarist Anthony Raneri says from his home in New York, explaining the reception his band received when they first played Australia. Thank god for the internet, because the Bayside story is anything but lined with gold trim and attention.

Formed in 2000 in the same area as their name in New York, Bayside have consistently been lauded by critics while still remaining ostensibly an underground group. Considering the fact that they do not produce the same fanfare and attention of other acts, they have nevertheless developed the critical appreciation that only a few bands in the genre are lucky to receive.

“When we first began, we considered touring our state, and then touring our country a big achievement. Now we have toured to parts of the world that are so far removed from our home to appreciative crowds,” says Raneri. “I never thought that would ever happen.”

That being said, Raneri is refusing to rest on his laurels. Now that their original goals have been achieved and exceeded, there must be bigger fish to fry for the New York quartet. Not so, he says.

“I don’t have any more expectations anymore, everything from here on in is just icing on the cake.”

Following on from the amazing response that Bayside received with their 2007 album The Walking Wounded, last year’s Shudder hammered home that when it comes to writing quirky upbeat pop punk with a dash of morose and melancholic lyrics, few compare to Anthony Raneri and his band.

Raneri, an astute and humble human being during the entirety of our conversation, explains that Shudder exudes far more of a punk rock aesthetic than its predecessor due its recording process.

“It’s because of the way we wrote Shudder – we wanted it to be raw and energetic,” explains Raneri. “We had more of an idea of what we were doing this time around. We wrote it fast which is where the ‘punk’ feel comes from.”

What is also of note is how close together the two albums were, not to mention the fact that Bayside also released a live album on the same day as Shudder, which is a unique marketing ploy to say the least.

“Yeah, you could say we’ve been in a creative vein the last year,” Raneri laughs.

They have slowly risen into the upper echelons of their genre in the last two years, but Bayside have their feet firmly planted. They have a long journey ahead of them yet, and while Raneri might hold no expectations for the future, it might have some expectations for him. Because with an album as good as Shudder, it’s going to take a lot to top it next time around.

Go watch BAYSIDE tear The Soundwave Festival a new one at RNA Showgrounds on Feb 21. Their stunning new album SHUDDER is out now through Victory/Stomp. www.myspace.com/bayside

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