With their 3rd EP released in a few days, and a gig at Mad Hatters on the 20th of October, we caught up with the band to talk about the album, their plans and experiences of previous trips up North.
You describe your genre as “indie pop”, how does that present itself in your music and how has the sound of the band evolved over the time since your formation ?
It’s mainly a generic answer to a generic question, really – I’m still not completely convinced what it is, I’ve heard various takes on it; ‘indie-pop’, ‘indie-rock’, ‘country/folk-rock’. Some may even call it ‘alt-pop’. Whatever the moniker there’s definitely been a quite a progression from our first EP back in 2004. It’s particularly prevalent on our new record.
How did the recording of your recent album “The Winter That Was” go? Is there a track or tracks that you are particularly pleased with for the album?
For a variety of reasons the process of recording TWTW was more drawn out than any of our other albums, which had both its pros and cons. It was good making certain judgements with perspective, however, I imagine, given the choice, we’d revert back to working within a shorter time frame on the next record. Overall, it suits us better.
Most of the instrumentation on the album had been arranged prior to going into the studio, with a few exceptions. One of these was ‘You Only Stand To Lose If I Stay’. For that reason, I was particularly happy with the end result that track.
In a recent interview you have said that you are eager to get back into the studio, seems to be quite a quick return, what are the reasons for this?
Like I say, we’re used to committing an album in a shorter space of time, so it feels appropriate to act on any momentum that this album may build. Both between us, musically as a band, and also our audience. We also hope to be in the studio early next year working on a collaboration project. Which, I can tell you, we’re very excited about!
You’ve been up to Inverness before, do you have a favourite gig?
There’s been quite a few; Belladrum Festival, Hootananny, The Ironworks – all great shows. I think the most fun we’ve ever had up in Inverness though was playing in The Market Bar. Tiny, heaving, drunkenly and completely brilliant.
I know that you have mentioned a few tracks already, but which one throughout your career stands best represents you and why?
A track of our own? We tend not to dwell too much on older material and keep the live set relatively reflective of the album in hand. In saying that, when we do have a go at rehashing the past we often find ourselves back at ‘This Place Is Just Not My Kind’ from Hotel Radio. It must still feel relevant.
Have you got anything to plug?
Indeed, we have a new album entitled, ‘The Winter That Was’ coming out through Armellodie Records this coming Monday 24th October!
We’ll also be on tour throughout October and again November:
OCTOBER
18th – Captain’s Rest – Glasgow
20th – Inverness – Mad Hatters
21st – Thurso – Newmarket Bar
22nd – Dundee – Grouchos Records Store – Instore performance
23rd – Perth – Twa Tams
24th – Dundee Album Launch – Dukes Corner
NOVEMBER
25th – Edinburgh – Sneaky Pete’s
26th – Banchory – Woodend Barn
by Chris Lemon
Thanks to The Hazey Janes
Need a taxi to get you there, call Happy Cabbies on 01463 717777
