What do you consider to be the darkest piece of music you've ever heard?
I watched a documentary about Norwegian Black Metal the other day, but realistically that's not something i spend time listening to.
First thing that springs to mind is Frankie Teardrop by Suicide. The screaming on there was pretty terrifying the first time I heard it. In a good way, I love that album. Also Billie Holiday singing Strange Fruit, the lyrical context and raw emotion in her voice make it pretty bleak listening.
How would you characterize your own music?
Everyone has always called us post-punk and who am i to argue? I tend to think of it as some sort of indie, but it's best not to get bogged down with genres (see also: goth). It's melodic, melancholy, but quite often upbeat and cathartic.
Which are your musical aspirations?
Obviously for more people to enjoy our albums and come to our gigs. If we release more music in the future, I'd like to surprise people. I think managed that a little bit with Maximum Sorrow! Fault was different to a lot of songs we'd previously released; repetitive and bass-driven, almost like a loop, then following it up with Personality Girlfriend which is indie-pop with a glam beat. But we could obviously take it further.
Which are your main musical inspirations?
I'm mostly into all the classic guitar pop / rock 'n' roll bands that you might expect. Too many to mention! My all-time favourite is Manic Street Preachers and they'll always be an inspiration. Jo is a bit more esoteric than the rest of us. Weird ambient electronic stuff and Gregorian chants.
Which are your main goals in life?
Stay alive, keep relatively healthy, enjoy myself, and not be an arsehole.
What motivates you to create?
Culture, alienation, boredom and despair! It's a rewarding way to spend your time and once you've been doing it a while, it's hard to imagine what life would be like without it.
Are you more of an early bird or a night owl?
I'm definitely not an early bird. I was made redundant during the first lockdown and got into the rhythm of going to bed at 4am and getting up at 12. When you get used to that, the reality of waking up at 7am to get ready for work seems inhumane!
Besides music, which other art forms would you like to explore?
Graphic design would be useful, then I could make better flyers. I enjoy DJing, which is sometimes just setting the mood before a friend's band goes on. Other times you get a room full of people drinking, dancing and hugging each other at 2am, I love those moments.
Which is the very first record that had a big impact on you?
I always used to watch Top of The Pops on TV when I was a kid, and listen to the Top 40 countdown on Radio 1, so crediting any one record might be rewriting my own history a bit, but it's fair to say that it was Oasis who got me really interested in bands, and planted the seed of learning to play guitar. So Definitely Maybe, though it might have been late '95 or '96 by the time i actually bought it.
Which is the best decade for music?
I'm a 90s kid, so a lot of the music that formed my taste came out in that decade. If I could choose any 10 year period, something like 1976-85 would cover a lot of ground. From the Ramones debut to Meat Is Murder via disco, dub and 'actual' post-punk.
What do your future plans include?
We've got about 8 gigs lined up so far. Hopefully they will all go ahead without a hitch. I'd love to get over to Europe again and maybe even further afield, but the future is very much unwritten right now.
Maximum Sorrow! is out now through Fierce Panda Records
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Desperate Journalist
Photo by Nick JS Thompson
All questions answered by Simon Drowner
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