The first time I heard them as I was getting ready to go to see Art Brut in Manchester in early 2019. My mate had called and had a spare ticket… Could I be ready in an hour?
As I was getting ready, I quickly looked who was supporting to see if they were worth checking out or not.
Thankfully I did… the first thing I found was the then recently released on 2018 debut album ‘Not With That Attitude’ album.
The opening track ’How You Move On’ had crashing guitars, barbed lyrics, and a Kirstie MacColl lilt to the vocals… from the opening line ‘Congratulations on your terrible tattoo’ you know you’re not listening to a band that take themselves too seriously. I was hooked! That track also has a fantastic, video as well which is worth checking out HERE
In hindsight I’m gutted that I didn’t get a chance to know the album prior to the gig as all the songs are superb and it’s brilliantly produced. It would have been good to recognise the songs rather than watching and thinking ‘hope that’s on the album’…
It’s a fully formed debut that takes no prisoners. there isn’t a weak track amongst the 10 on it, and several you could imagine popping up on soundtracks for TV Shows aimed at the 20 something market
If you were to pick up this album and listen to just a couple of tracks to start with I would also recommend ‘Four Star Hotel’ which tells the story of a failed rekindling of a relationship in Amsterdam; but you’ll soon be falling in love with the lush ‘Solving Crimes In Sweden’
For one of the only times since I was a teenager, I bought an album from the merch stand, from singer Lily Rae no less and had it signed / personalised by the rest of the band
The first thing I did after getting home was look at their Bandcamp to figure out what had come before… ‘Both Types Of Hayfever’ a compilation of 2 EP’s released in 2016/2017 on Fierce Panda was my next purchase… the songs on here have a rawer punkier edge but all the traits that attracted me to them are still there
Unfortunately, the next time they played Manchester I missed it as I was out of town, so the nearest thing I’ve had to seeing them live again was their Facebook ‘launch party’ for their current single, the magnificently titled ‘I'm Starting To Think You Don't Even Want To Go To Space’ which is also the lead single of the eagerly awaiting second album
Again, another fantastic video which you can find here... HERE
As the perfect accompaniment to last week’s ‘Captain Handsome’ interview… I give you Fightmilk
How are you all?
Lily: I think we're all a bit sad.
Alex:
And angry. But getting by as best we can.
How far were you along recording the new album before going into lockdown?
Alex: We spent two weekends in November back at Dean Street Studios with Keith TOTP and Jonny Solway - the same place and personnel we worked on the first album - and got 8 songs between 90% and 100% done.
"Space" was done in that first batch, and we'd aimed to go back in for one last weekend in May to record a last batch of songs, and redo some out of tune guitars/add extra vocals etc. Obviously, we've had to put a pin in that. We're trying to figure out a way to finish everything off and get some more things out so that we can have LP2 out before the end of 2020, but...y'know.
We can't guarantee anything at this moment in time, which is heart-breaking, but hopefully everyone will understand.
Is there a name for it yet?
Lily: That would be telling. That's not the title! But no, we're currently dithering over what to call our big ugly second baby.
How do you arrange the songs? For example, ‘Get A Grip’ has wonderful cascading guitars and harmonies that seem effortless. Is there one person or is this a team effort?
Alex:
We don't have the luxury of time when we record (NWTA was done over about three
weekends, and a couple of days for mixing), so there's not all that much
opportunity to throw too much at the wall.
When we're writing, I usually end up banking a bunch of arrangement ideas in my head; most of the time, what we do live requires trying to hop between about 5 different guitar parts to find something that a human being could actually play. When it gets to recording, I'm usually armed with a notebook like a big nerd, but all the prep in the world can't prepare you for studio cabin fever.
There's a bunch of fun toys at Dean Street - Lily does a great eerie Mellotron part on one of the new songs, for example - so we all get overexcited and throw ideas at the wall. We just need to do it quickly!
Did ‘Not With That Attitude’ achieve what you wanted? (not necessarily
sales but in terms of reception?)
Lily:
All we wanted was to make a good album, which we did, I think. We're a tiny
band - we're not under the illusion that success can be measured by how much
money we make.
The music industry isn't exactly designed with our best interests at heart. We will probably never quit our day jobs. But we'd rather be a good little band than a giant awful band. So yes, it did.
You’re very active across all Social Media.
Would you say for new /
upcoming bands this has replaced things like the NME to reach a wider audience?
Lily: Definitely. I'm not sentimental about music magazines. You wouldn't ever find us or half the bands we play with in Rolling Stone for example. They're for dads who use their phones exclusively for Facebook and Sudoku. It's essential for bands to have social media - it's where we share gigs, releases, interviews like this. The only downside is that it gets a bit saturated and you get neck-ache from scrolling.
With Music Streaming being the main way many people consume music, how hard
is it to build an audience? I imagine there are pro’s and con’s?
Lily: I think it's a good thing - I've discovered so many new bands and artists that I love through streaming, even though Spotify is obviously the devil. The plus side is that you reach so many more people than you would otherwise a lot faster, and then suddenly there's people you don't know at your gigs. The downside is obviously that you end up being paid about £0.000000001 per stream but hey ho.
Alex: I hope that what Bandcamp has been doing since l*ckdown can maybe provide a good alternative to streaming. It's certainly the most direct way for bands to make money from what they do, but it's also a good algorithm-free means of discovery - particularly its artist-curated recommends section at the bottom of most folks' profiles. So that's been an indispensable companion/inescapable rabbit hole these last few months.
How did the Art Brut tour come about?
Lily: We know the Bruty boys tangentially through the big spiderweb of indie
rock and roll, but Alex and Nick filled in for them on a BBC session when two
of their card carrying rockstar line-up couldn't make it and they were
convinced that at least two of us could play.
We also supported them at the Garage with Gaffa Tape Sandy and the rest is history!
Did you see an increase in your ’audience’ following that tour?
Lily:
We managed to shift some vinyl, so thanks to the Art Brut vinyl club.
Nick: It's tricky to say - we've not been back to some of cities we played with
them in yet. We were going to but then that got put on hold 'because of
the germs', to paraphrase my friend's 3-year-old.
Which was your favourite night of that tour and why was it Manchester?
(Other cities were visited but 😊 …)
Alex: It probably was Manchester to be honest! We got to see some folks we hadn't seen in a while, the floor on the stage was beautifully carpeted, and it was a super fun show.
Manchester's always a good time though - the last show we played there was with Milk Crimes, Nervous Rex and Adam Carpenter at the Castle Hotel in July 2019, and was probably the hottest room any of us have ever been in.
We required several pints of water being over ourselves between songs to remain hydrated and human. We really can't wait to go back, and not just because we can't wait to go literally anywhere.
The excellent Tea Towels which Healey designed now appear to be essential
‘band merch’. Have you considered branching out into other areas such as face
masks?
Lily: I can't believe that in the year of our lord 2020, DIY bands are providing basic protective equipment to people during a pandemic instead of the government doing it. The tea towels were an inspired idea from Healey - but we're always arguing about what to make next, whether it's tote bags, spanking paddles or vegan bacon. It definitely feels like the days of t-shirts and stickers are dying out (though I love a sticker).
Healey: Personally I have far too many band t-shirts at this stage in life,
I've actually been recycling them into face-masks! I've hit that age where
I've become extremely boring and all I think about is homeware. Band merch
homeware is the future and I will scream it from the rooftops. Give me band
oven gloves, mugs and duvet covers, I want it all.
Nick: I insisted on fridge magnet/bottle openers with our first run of merch.
Convinced they'd go like delicious hot cakes. They did not. I think I've lost
them now.
Who decides on the merchandise?
Is this a thing done purely by the band or
do your management/label have a say?
Lily: We decide everything! ‘Reckless Yes’ just benevolently enable our
hare-brained schemes.
Are there any recordings of gigs that you could put out via Bandcamp?
Alex: I don't think there are actually that many live recordings kicking around, beyond a few really early ones which are still on my work computer. As and when I get access to that again, I'll sift through the archives and see what might be worth unleashing.
The only thing that springs to mind is a rehearsal recording where we're trying to get "Dream Phone" together, in which strings get broken, and for some reason the whole thing goes a bit metal. But anyone who's willing to pay to hear that should probably take a long look in the mirror first.
Your label ‘Reckless Yes’ have a great selection of new and up and coming
artists, would you like to a ‘package tour’ with them once things like that are
allowed?
Alex: Oh god absolutely. ‘Reckless Yes’ have quietly become one of the best
labels around (which will be borne out by some of their new signings we can't
talk about yet...), and it's been great seeing them develop since they signed
us.
Nick was actually in the very tentative stages of trying to get that set up at the end of the year, so hopefully once the opportunity presents itself in 2021, we can make it happen in the future.
What’s the first think you’ll do when ‘Lockdown’ is fully over?
Lily: I'm going to take my band out for bowling and shakes.
Alex: I'm going to go bowling and drink shakes with the band.
Nick: This all screams Rowan's. We going to Rowan's? Let's go to Rowan's.
Finally… ‘Challenging’ Quick Fire Questions…
Favourite gig as a performer?
Lily: It might actually be that tiny sweaty gig in Manchester for Hell Hath No Fury. We played with our milky compadres Milk Crimes and the lovely Nervous Rex. It was the sweatiest I've ever been. I tried to play a chord and my hand just slid off the guitar.
Alex:
Leicester Firebug, November 2019 (last show of our first tour with Healey,
ended with me on my back smashing a bottle against my guitar. That never
happens.)
Healey: Last year we played Norwich and Bury St. Edmunds on the same day. The ‘Fightmilkmobile’ broke down as soon as we got to Norwich and we all had to get out and push the car round and round a car park to jump start the engine. Those two shows were still so fun to play, I think we were all high off the fact that we didn't have to call AA.
Nick: That same Leicester gig Alex mentioned. Not sure what happened to the two of us, but we lost our minds a little bit. It was nice.
Favourite gig as a punter?
Lily: Probably Carly Rae Jepsen. I was on crutches, so I got to sit down. It was bliss.
Alex:
Finally getting to see Guided By Voices live last June.
Healey:
Taylor Swift two years ago. Against all odds I got a free ticket and I
uncontrollably burst into tears when Robbie Williams was the surprise
guest.
Favourite album
Lily: Today it's Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen.
Alex: Pet Shop Boys "Behaviour"
Healey: that dog. "Retreat from The Sun"
Nick: Deftones "White Pony". Probably.
Favourite single/song
Lily: THE RAT.
Alex: The Byrds "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better"
Healey: Petula Clark "Downtown"
Nick: Another vote for The Rat
All-time favourite band/artist
Lily: Dolly Parton
Alex: Three-way tie - Guided By Voices, Yo La Tengo, R.E.M.
Healey: Also Dolly Parton
Iain Key 2020
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