Hieronymus are a band. They play what they want to play. Their mission: to escape that ever-popular tendency of being pigeon-holed, stereotyped or categorised. Luckily for them there is no ONE word that sums up their luscious soundscapes: a mixture of melodic pop and folk, with a smidgen of country, and a dash of electronica and indie. From Ramone’s sounding power chords to Erasure-like piano loops, Hieronymus keep their songs varied to entertain themselves and others. Ok Ok, you still can’t get around the question “Who or What do they sound like?” Well, lead singer, Katherine, is frequently compared with Karen Carpenter, Natalie Imbruglio, Harriet Wheeler (The Sundays), Nerino Pallot and KT Tunstall to name a few.

Oxford, England is their home but lead singer Katherine originally hails from a small town in Georgia - claiming she's not really a redneck but strangely always wears scarves. She went to university in Athens (home to R.E.M., Vigilantes of Love and the B-52's) where her love for music took her by the throat and wouldn't let go. Soon after graduating Katherine found herself living and working in Oxford. While doing her first ‘proper’ job she met guitarist and future co-songwriter Jonathan Chalstrey. During that time she was doing backing vocals for a local band whose biggest claim to fame was supporting Paul Carrack. Jonathan, who had played in various bands in London and Oxford for most of his adult life, had a suitcase full of songs, could see star quality and convinced Katherine they should form their own band. Bass player Paul Parry came on board and that first concoction called Moose County was born.

The band’s first break came quickly when a scratchy home-made demo was sent off and accepted so that in 1997 they played their 2nd ever gig at BBC Radio One Sound City Oxford. In those early days their country-tinged sound distinctly stood out in a town awash with indie bands. Over the next three years the band worked hard recording, gigging and perfecting their songs and sounds.

In the summer of 2000 Quail Records noticed them at the 12 Bar Club in London and asked them to contribute to a folk compilation CD called ‘Women of Heart and Mind’, which received great reviews from Q and fRoots:

After a change in ‘personnel’ and new direction in sound with the purchase of an old synthesiser the band changed its name to Hieronymus. Stepping out in their new guise, they performed in Oxford’s premier music festival for new artists, the Oxford Punt to rave reviews in May 2001. They soon became local folky pop heroes. Encouraged by the great feedback Hieronymus set to work on a full length album.

In 2001 Hieronymus released their debut full length album, ‘Alone in This Tree’ to some great reviews

After releasing and promoting ‘Alone in This Tree’ Hieronymus were keen to get right back into the studio. They started writing and recording another album in various studios in and around Oxford. Little did they know it would be a four year process! But that’s exactly how long ‘Save the day’ took to make. It was a long journey and along the way they sadly said goodbye to their longstanding drummer, Mark Narusson. They decided therefore to bring in the help of a few local drumming legends such a John Haliday fromThe Candyskins and Greig Stewart from The Guillemots (who are currently riding high along a popularity wave in the UK.)

Hieronymus has always been in touch with their roots and as such it was an honour for them to also have guest violinist Ric Sanders play on three of the tracks. Ric who is one of the members of legendary Fairport Convention brought beauty and light to these songs not to mention toe cramps (from all the foot tapping).

‘Save the day’ sees Hieronymus doing what they do best. Melodic pop with a twist. With lyrics sharp and sometimes bitter and twisted they want you to sit comfortably but squirm if you must.