Month: February 2015

‘I love jangly guitars!’

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Nick Piunti
Nick Piunti

Detroit power pop supremo Nick Piunti tells me about the writing and recording of his new album Beyond The Static – the follow-up to his critically acclaimed record 13 In My Head. 

It’s great to chat to you again, Nick. When we last spoke, back in 2013, you’d just released 13 In My Head – your second solo album. It was one of my favourite records of that year. And now you’re back with the follow-up – Beyond The Static. Did you feel any pressure when you were writing and recording the new album?

Nick Piunti: Thanks, Sean. I think there’s always the hope that the next album will be better than the previous one, but I wouldn’t call it pressure, just the desire to make a good album. And, of course, the hope is that the new album will be as well received as the last one, but, ultimately, we made an album that I like and am proud of.

13 In My Head really raised your profile in the UK, didn’t it? It picked up some great press…

NP: The attention and press that 13 In My Head received in the UK and Europe was amazing. And there are a lot of people to thank for that. Having a song on the Mojo magazine compilation CD Songs in the Key of Paul definitely raised my profile in the UK and beyond.

And for Markus Holler from Sugarbush Records to release the album on vinyl, that was a boost as well. Yourself, Robin Wills, Wayne Lundqvist Ford, the Madrid power pop community, Luis deOry, Power Pop Pedro and Rock and Roll Circus – all were instrumental in spreading the word.

Rest assured, fans of 13 In My Head will definitely love Beyond The Static – it’s more of the same; infectious power pop songs, with big guitars, harmonies and strong melodies, isn’t it? Like its predecessor, it’s very instant. The first three tracks don’t mess around – Things don’t really slow down until track four, Six Bands…

NP: I’ve been recording for so long and have pretty much stayed true to the music that initially inspired me. I think the trick is to not be too obvious with your influences, but to meld them into something of your own. If it’s not catchy it doesn’t usually end up on one of my albums.

I noticed a country influence on Six Bands – is that pedal steel on it? Musically, it reminds me of REM. Can you tell me more about that song? I love the opening lines: ‘’She’s in six bands – none of them good. Tries to sing, only if she could. But she’s drowning in a talent pool – chasing dreams can be so cruel.”

Is it aimed at anyone in particular? Is it a comment on the shallow and ruthless nature of the music industry?

NP: Thanks – yep, pedal steel courtesy of Dave Feeny, who owns a great studio called The Tempermill. He’s produced some of my favourite Detroit artists who also are my friends (Chris Richards, Ryan Allen, Friendly Foes, American Mars) and he plays pedal steel. I felt that he could add a cool vibe to the song, which he obviously did.

The song isn’t about anyone in particular. I was reading a local paper, The Metro Times, and there was an article with a story about a girl who was in four bands. So I exaggerated it a bit. But the song isn’t about her – it’s about the struggle that bands and artists have these days and how many are a bit delusional. When I was in my early twenties I moved to L.A. with my childhood band, so maybe some of the lyrics were autobiographical, but I only had one band and we were pretty good.

Where did the album title – Beyond The Static – come from?

NP: Well, I was struggling to find the right title for the album. The phrase “beyond the static” comes from the song Something’s Wrong. My daughter Megan picked up on that line, so there you go.

I love the song Time Machine – I had a sneak preview of it last year, as a teaser to the new album. If you had a time machine, where would you travel to?

NP: That’s a good question. It would have to be the future, wouldn’t it? If we travelled too far back in time, I think we would find that the good old days weren’t what we thought they would be. Except for maybe seeing The Beatles at The Cavern.

Your song Heart Stops Beating has some vintage synth sounds on it, doesn’t it? It has a bit of a New Wave feel to it. Did you wear a skinny tie while you were recording it?

NP: My skinny tie days are behind me, but, yeah, I think I was going for a Cars feel with the muted guitar – Rickenbacker – and the synth, which is actually doubled with guitars, as well. It also has a Weezer vibe, which makes sense since Ric Ocasek [from The Cars] produced a few of their albums.

Something’s Wrong is a rocker. It has a swagger to it, with heavy guitars and plenty of attitude…

NP: I almost left that one off the album, because I thought it didn’t quite fit with the rest of the songs, but I’m glad my rock side prevailed.

There’s some jangly, chiming guitar pop on the album, too – like Quicksand. Didn’t you record an alternative version of Time Machine, with a different guitar sound? Will that alternative take come out in the future?

NP: I love jangly guitars – there’s a bit of 12-string on the album, but mostly capos and the right kind of six strings – Matchless and Vox amps get the job done. We did record another version of Time Machine with a more jangly feel, and I was going to include it on the album, but I didn’t want one song to be featured more than once.

Can you tell me about the writing and the recording of the new album? How did you approach making Beyond The Static? What did you want to achieve with it?

NP: World domination – ha! The writing process stays the same. Some days you hammer away for a couple of hours and nothing comes of it, while on other occasions the minute I pick up my guitar a lyric, melody or a riff come together at the same time, and those are the songs that make it on the album. I wrote all the songs, but Geoff Michael [producer] spent some time deconstructing a couple of the songs, so he was credited as a co-writer on those.

Donny Brown re-arranged It’s A Trap – he turned the second part of the original chorus into the bridge, so he’s credited on that song as well. And the other co-writer is my 16-year-old daughter Megan. She didn’t actually sit down and write with me, but I stole her line, “I fell for you and I can’t get up” and turned it into a song [Fell For You]. I didn’t want her to be denied the writing credit like Ringo – he came up with the phrases “hard day’s night” and “eight days a week”. That’s what I think I read anyway.

Who was involved with the record this time around? Was it the same guys who worked with you on 13 In My Head?

NP: Once again, Geoff Michael produced the album – at Big Sky Recording in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He also added guitar and keyboards on two songs. Donny Brown – again – played drums on all but one song. He also recorded the drums for a couple of the tracks at his home studio, as well as adding some awesome background vocals and synth lines on Time Machine.

For this album, Andy Reed played bass on every track, which he recorded at his own studio, Reed Recording Company. Andy’s studio is a two and a half hour drive for me, so it’s easier to send the tracks to him. He lays down the perfect basslines and sends them back to Geoff – they’re always great.

Andy and I also tracked some guitars, keyboards and noises on Head in the Clouds, at his studio. Ryan Allen sang on four songs and added guitar on Something’s Wrong.

Chris Richards also sang on a couple songs as well. Steve Mullan played keys on a song and a young drummer named Billy Harrington appears on Anything But Easy.

One thing that I don’t do is to tell any of these amazing guys what to play. I like to see what they bring to my songs. Since they’re such great songwriters in their own right, they instinctively know what can make a good song better.

I didn’t actually rehearse with anyone individually before the recording. I would either send demos or tracks from the studio and they each came up with their own parts. Despite what some may say, I’m really not that much of a control freak. For this album I even decided not to be there for the mixing sessions.  Geoff did the mixing, would send the tracks to me, and I would make a few minor suggestions and he would tweak away. So, ultimately, I had the last word, but relied on the talents of many.

Nick Piunti & Ryan Allen
Nick Piunti & Ryan Allen

Which albums and bands were you listening to when you were writing and recording the new album. Have you heard anything new that you’d recommend?

NP: I’m always looking for something new that inspires me. My friend Ryan Allen has just released a new solo album called Heart String Soul that I love. He sent me the original demos as he was writing them, so I was there for the inception.

Chris Richards, Andy Reed, and Keith Klingensmith recorded their debut album, The Legal Matters, which is a great pop album that found its way on to a lot of Best of 2014 lists. I even played guitar on a couple of songs.

There’s a Brooklyn band called Nude Beach that I really dig. Their new album is called 77 and, yeah, it sounds like it could have been recorded in 1977.  The new Spoon album, New Pornographers, The Both, New Mendicants (a handsome chap named Sean Hannam introduced me to them!) and Jason Narducy’s band/solo project Split Single is right up my alley. It’s indie-rock and power pop influenced, as well.

Will you be playing some gigs to promote your new album? Do you think that you’ll get to play in the UK? We’d love to have you over here…

NP: There will be a few shows – for sure. The UK and Europe would be awesome, but it would have to make financial sense. Making music and financially responsibility don’t usually mesh in the independent music world, unfortunately.

Good luck with the new album – it’s a great record. What are your plans for the rest of the year?

NP: I’m halfway done with songs for the next album and maybe I’ll collaborate with a friend or two on something new as well.

I’m fortunate to be able to keep making new music and really lucky to be hitting my stride when most sane people would have given up years ago.

I still have the passion and I have friends that inspire me, so why would I stop? Oh, and most importantly, I have the most incredible wife in the world. That is not to be underestimated.

Beyond The Static will be released on March 14 (Two Brains Recording Co.). There are plans for a vinyl version later this year. 

http://www.nickpiunti.com

https://soundcloud.com/nick-piunti

http://nickpiuntimusic.bandcamp.com

10931225_10203421569402520_6001303865988711727_n Beyond Static

‘I’m a Methodist atheist lesbian trapped in a man’s body!’

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Vinny Peculiar
Vinny Peculiar

 

Down The Bright Stream – the new album from Manchester singer-songwriter Vinny Peculiar – is a witty, funny and moving collection of brilliantly observed pop songs, steeped in childhood nostalgia, teenage memories and wry social commentary. I asked him about growing up in an English village in the ’70s, catalogue trousers and poking fun at sculptor Antony Gormley.

The last time I interviewed you was in 2013, to promote your compilation record, The Root Mull Affect. At that time, you were also working on your new studio album – Down The Bright Stream. Now it’s finished and it’s out in March. How do you feel about the new record?

Vinny Peculiar: It feels really good to have finished it – a sense of relief even. I ended up using a few studios in the never-ending quest for sonic perfection…

It’s a fantastic album – wry, amusing and very moving at times. The record is steeped in nostalgia and memories – several of the songs deal with your childhood and growing up in the ’70s. The opening song English Village, which reminds me of  The Kinks, is all about the place where you spent your early years. Where did you grow up?

VP: I grew up in a little place called Catshill – an English village in north Worcestershire. Well, it was more of a village back then, but it’s acquired a new estate since and an Indian takeaway, so it’s expanding.

My early childhood was based around church life  – my family are Methodists – granddad was a lay preacher, dad a church organist and my cousins taught at Sunday School. I was in the Boys’ Brigade and I did Bible studies. Hymns were the first music I really heard and took part in – I still really enjoy singing hymns. I’m an atheist who enjoys the rituals of religion, if that makes sense. I’m a Methodist atheist lesbian trapped in a man’s body!

Where did the title of the album come from?

VP: It’s from a lovely little book by B.B  – the story of the last gnomes in England. We had it read to us at primary school – happy days. I name check the book in English Village, along with Stig of the Dump, another school days classic…

There’s so much detail in your songs… Do you keep diaries, or do you just have a great memory for recalling experiences, people and places?

VP: I kept diaries as a teenager, but they were nothing to write home about, mostly just day to day activities – ‘I went to school, had a bath’ – that kind of thing. I’m often writing from memory – my memory is fairly good, although not always as accurate as I imagine. Of course, I have a propensity towards exaggeration. Don’t all writers?

As an observational singer-songwriter, you’re up there with Ray Davies. Are you a fan?

VP: Sure – yes. He’s such a great observer – still writing, still working and still believing. He’s truly inspiring and his newer stuff is great too, not just the classics. Have you heard Working Man’s Cafe? It’s wonderful.

Your song The King of Pop is a tribute to Michael Jackson – were you a fan of him, too?

VP: I was a fan of sorts – yes. Not a massive, full-on, love is blind kind of a fan, but more an appreciative, at a distance, respectful outsider fan – especially Off The Wall and Thriller.

The song The King of Pop is really a comment on the freak show that his life became and how we were all party to it – the public and the media. We killed him…

Who were your musical heroes when you were growing up?  You’ve always been a big Bowie fan, haven’t you? Do you like his new stuff?

VP: My first love was Simon & Garfunkel, then came Bowie, Slade and T.Rex.  Then I got into harder rock – Wishbone Ash and Black Sabbath. I then got into The Kinks and Joni Mitchell – Joni was a revelation.

The new Bowie stuff is great, although I wish he’d ditch those huge ‘80s drum sounds – they really annoy me. I love writers, too – Charles Bukowski, Keith Waterhouse, Richard Brautigan, Rick Moody, Alan Bennett, Henry Rollins… There are so many.

Your song Catalogue Trousers celebrates the mail order catalogue and name checks pianist entertainer Bobby Crush. The Internet has killed off the mail order catalogue, hasn’t it? Discuss…

VP: I wrote Catalogue Trousers after reading a piece on the demise of the mail order catalogue industry and the relentless march of the Internet. It just set me thinking about how important the catalogue was to our family, and to young boys’ emergent sexuality. Clothes, records and cameras – you could get anything from the catalogue. My grandma really did say I looked like Bobby Crush – she was a big fan of the crimplene crooner.

What has been your worst fashion faux pas?

VP: A cravat in bright orange, with a curtain ring neckpiece, circa 1974.

Your song Antony Gormley is a tongue-in-cheek, Pythonesque dig at the sculptor and his nude male statues on Crosby Beach, near Liverpool. Do you really hate his work? What do you think he’d make of the song?

VP: I think he’s an interesting artist. I don’t hate his work. I think the impact of the men on the beach is kind of spectacular. In the song, I’m just looking at it from a simplistic viewpoint, devoid of all artistry and cool. I’m sure he’d see the funny side…

Is Girl At The Bar – one of my favourite songs on the album – aimed at anyone in particular? Is it based on a real encounter?

VP: It’s loosely based on a night out I had a couple of years ago, when I met a girl with a lust for life – some way beyond by own limitations. I felt like Billy Fisher [from Billy Liar] loitering on the platform by the milk machine. I never saw her again…

Did you have a definite idea of what you wanted the new album to sound like and what its themes would be?

VP: I was unhappy with some of the initial recordings, so that impacted on newer songs being added. It started off as one collection of songs but morphed into another record over time – I think it’s stronger for that.

I Only Stole What I Needed, The Saddest Summer of Samuel S and Antony Gormley were recorded some time after the rest of the album, in a different studio. Three songs from the initial sessions didn’t make the cut. I ended up doing the production myself in collaboration with various engineers, so it took longer than expected.

Special thanks should go out to The Gadget  – aka Jonathan Hurst  – who played a blinder in the patience and fortitude department. I very nearly drove him over the edge. David Marsden mastered the album  – his attention to sonic detail is something else.

How was the recording process? Can you tell me more about making the record? 

VP: The drums [Che Beresford] and bass [Ollie Collins] were recorded at Eve Studios, Stockport and then I took the files away and I added guitars, keys and vocals at home and in various studios. Rob Steadman also added keys and a couple of tracks were recorded using my Liverpool band Paul Tsanos [drums] and Bobby Kewley [bass, cello].

The recording process was a bit disparate and the majority of the mixes I settled on were completed at Gadgets Lab, Manchester – three tracks were recorded mixed at Whitby Studios in Ellesmere Port, with resident engineer Ian Lewis.

Jah Wobble [PIL] plays bass on the last track The Doo Kum Inn. How did that collaboration come about? 

VP: Neil McDonald [ex-Puressence] plays on three tracks. He was adding guitar parts to his Roland machine at South City Music in Altrincham, when Jah Wobble came in the shop. Jah liked the track and ended up playing bass on it. I need to thank him properly…

So, what are your plans for the rest of this year?

VP: We’re doing a festival headline show in June at Fylde [FRRfest – Lytham, Lancashire – June 18-21: www.frrfest.com]. I’m excited about that – an extended band show. There will also be more gigs and recording.

The next album is written – it’s called Silver Meadows – Fables from the Institution. It was inspired by me working in learning disability and psychiatric hospitals in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. I start recording soon and it should be finished by the summer.

I’m hopeful Silver Meadows will also become a stage play. I’ve drafted some basic script ideas and I’m looking around for collaborators/backers. It’s early days, but I’m excited by what I have so far, so we’ll see what transpires.

In 2013 you released an album with ex-Oasis guitarist Bonehead [Paul Arthurs] under the name Parlour Flames. Can we expect another Parlour Flames record in the future?

VP: Unlikely in the short-term, but you can never say never for sure. I did write several songs with a new Parlour Flames record in mind. One of them, which is called The End, made it into my solo shows for a while and will emerge on future Vinny Peculiar recordings, I’m sure.

Finally, are there any artists that you’d like to write and record with?

VP: I’d love to collaborate with John Cooper Clarke. He’s a bit of a hero of mine and he only lives down the road. I quite fancy myself as a bit of an Invisible Girl, if you follow…

vin013v2

Down The Bright Stream by Vinny Peculiar is released on March 30 (Shadrack & Duxbury Records).

www.vinnypeculiar.com

 

Forthcoming Vinny Peculiar UK shows

Feb 18 – RMA Tavern, Portsmouth

Feb 27 – Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester

Mar 21 – The Crescent, Salford (album launch)

Mar 25 – Death 2 Disco, Silver Bullet, Finsbury Park, London

Apr 10 – The Cinnamon Club, Bowden

May 2 – John Peel Centre, Stowmarket

June 19 – Macbeth, London 

June 20 – Fylde Rock ‘n’ Roots Festival 2015, Fylde Borough

 

 

 

 

‘Modernist ideas, synthesised sounds and concrete utopias’

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Recorded in a ”dark satanic mill ” in the north of England, Caul – the new album from Manchester’s Last Harbour – is a brooding, cinematic masterpiece that recalls Bowie’s Berlin period, the industrial, electronic atmosphere of Joy Division and the gothic splendour of Scott Walker and Nick Cave. I spoke to singer Kevin Craig and guitarist David Armes to find out more.

 

DRP_Last_Harbour

Let’s talk about your new album Caul, which is out this month. For this record, you made the decision to ‘do it yourself’ – rather than work with a producer – and you made the album in your own self-built studio, which is in an old mill, in Stockport. Why did you take that approach and what was the experience like? What did it do to the creative process?

Kevin Craig: This was DIY to the logical extreme. In that immersion, in the studio, which was full of equipment, we were locked away, testing things, re-configuring and reassembling. So the studio and the record were coming together in unison. We were writing songs as walls were being built. The studio isn’t large. It’s fairly intense in that sense. We were closeted away. I think all of that comes through in the music we’re making. There was a fair amount of improvisation and self-sufficiency.

David Armes: The studio belongs to James Youngjohns, who plays viola, guitar and synth in the band. It would be underplaying it somewhat to say he’s a multi-instrumentalist. He’d outgrown his home studio, so we all worked together to build this new studio in an old mill complex.

You’ve probably got visions of dark, satanic mills in the cold north, right? Spot on, the cliché is sadly true in this case. Even in a large, semi-empty mill, our space is hidden away and quiet, so it feels very much like entering our own world. There are no windows so you’ve no idea what time it is and you can get completely immersed in a project. That felt necessary for these songs.

We’ve been a band for so long that, while of course we have influences and our songs will remind people of other artists, we think the band’s biggest influence at this point is itself. We have that common language.

Let’s talk about your influences… Lyrically and musically, some of the songs remind me of Joy Division. I’m thinking of the tracks Guitar Neck and Before The Ritual – with its vintage synths. Even the title – Before The Ritual – is very Joy Division. Was the ghost of Ian Curtis hanging over this record? Joy Division also recorded in Stockport…

DA: By the time we come to write and record, we’re rarely thinking of specific artists – we focus on the songs themselves, what they need melodically and texturally, how the lyrics inform the music and vice versa. But, of course, your influences will make themselves heard somehow and usually other people can hear that where you can’t.

Joy Division and Curtis are probably no exception and, personally, I’m a fan. What Martin Hannett [producer]  did with them was exceptional and deeply unusual in a lot of ways. I’m from near Manchester and can remember watching repeats of Something Else on Granada. I can vividly recall seeing that version of Transmission and being blown away by the urgency of it.

For me, some of the tracks on Caul harks back to late ’70s Bowie, like Low and Heroes. There’s a dark, brooding atmosphere, with some electronic sounds. Was Bowie a big influence on this record?

KC: I think Bowie’s Low, Heroes, Station To Station and Lodger were all influences. Also Eno from the early ’70s and Roxy Music. Those albums have a certain scale and ambition to them, in their arrangements and designs – that cinematic sound and a sense of place. It’s a kind of private world, in a way. These were all influences on me, certainly.

There are some great haunting choir and vocal arrangements on several tracks, such as Fracture/Fragment and on your 13 minute epic The Promise. The latter even has ‘doo-wop’ backing vocals. Can you tell me more about this musical addition to your sound?

KC: The choir arrangements were by Michael Doward. He plays bass [for Last Harbour], but he’s also a songwriter and a performer in his own right. We were lucky enough to have Claire Brentnall from Shield Patterns and Anna and Tammy (formerly of Samson & Delilah) sing for us. So, with Michael and Gina (Murphy – piano, vocals), they spent a day building these parts into the record. Fracture/Fragment suddenly came alive when they added those parts.

We had always considered one section of  The Promise to be faintly disco, and the doo-wop vocals just accentuated that. Deep down, I think that The Pressure is a nod to the The Shangri-Las, so the girl-group ‘ooooohhs’ that sit back in there make sense to me. Those choir arrangements kind of counterpoint the synthesisers.

Horse Without A Rider – my favourite song on the album – has a ’60s/’70s Scott Walker-doing-country vibe, albeit with some darker diversions…Can you tell me more about this track? What’s the story behind it?

DA: That’s a lovely comparison – thank you. Musically, we like songs that come in sections and that don’t necessarily resolve or return to the beginning. The first section is one of those pieces where the basic progression is very simple and doesn’t change, but the arrangement and interplay is what carries it forwards. You don’t need to keep making dramatic changes to make a point.

KC: Lyrically, it’s about a friend of ours who was a boundless source of creativity and potential, but without direction. He was a coiled knot of ideas and possibilities, but the moment anyone tried to pin those ideas down, the interest was gone. It was a kind of untamed way of thinking, of creating. And the song builds, then never quite resolves, drifts into different areas, fails to return. But there’s still a kind of happiness to it.

What was your intention with this album – thematically, musically and lyrically? Did you have definite ideas about what you wanted it to sound like before you went into the studio?

KC: I think we had some ideas of what it could sound like, as we were going in. Thematically we wanted something which had a thread which ran through the whole album. We drew a map, very early on, to work out what kind of tension would appear at certain points – what push and pull would affect the music or the lyrics. It wasn’t coldly decided, the map was never really looked at again, but the idea of that remained somewhere.

Lyrically I wanted something more obtuse, less narrative driven. I think that came from Modernist ideas- synthesised sounds and concrete utopias. Partly the environment, partly what was happening personally. Fracturing was part of the process of writing- I was trying to break down narratives, but still maintain a feeling, or a tone.

You made the record over a year, between 2013 – 2014. That’s quite a long time to make an album, isn’t it? Why did it take so long?

DA: We were building the studio while writing, so the two were intertwined. It took a long time because most of the songs were rehearsed in close detail before we got near the recording stage. We tried multiple arrangements, interrogating ourselves over what worked best. We felt that in the past we’d had a tendency to be too happy too quickly, so we needed to take our own sweet time on this one. The exceptions were Guitar Neck and The Deal, which appeared right near the end of recording and were created by adding elements around the basic tracks. In contrast, The Promise took a long time to come together – it’s three or possibly four songs in one, so it needed to be built brick by brick.

Where did the title Caul come from? Does it refer to the piece of membrane that can cover a newborn baby’s head and face? What’s the meaning behind it?

KC: Yeah, that’s the kind of caul. Although it also means just a covering of the head. A child born with a caul was said to never be able to drown – to be different from birth. But cauls were also traded and preserved. Sailors bought them, like some kind of talisman which would keep them safe. Strange little magics. Hidden things. People marked out. There were just these little connotations with the word. Also that it’s a homonym, ‘caul’ and ‘call’, interested us.

 

 

As well as being mournful and funereal at times, the album also has a brooding  feel to it – like a gathering storm… Do you agree?

DA: I’m really not sure we’re the best judges of how it appears to other people. Adjectives usually get applied by people after the fact – we’re never aiming for anything specifically. I can tell you how it feels to be inside the music – it needs concentration but, at its best, it feels exhilarating and weirdly automatic. It can also be joyous and uplifting.

KC: I think that feeling might come from the building, overarching themes which run through the record. It’s all building. I hope it comes across as a complete piece, rather than a collection of songs. I think that is what we wanted.

So, what are Last Harbour’s plans for 2015? How do you see the year shaping up? What can we expect from your upcoming live shows?

DA: We have a couple of album launch shows in February – London and Manchester. We’re learning how to play the album as we speak. It’ll be a seat of the pants ride for us, as always, but we can pull it off. Then we plan more shows in April, including getting further into Europe.

Beyond that is open, but a mini-album of other songs from the Caul sessions will come out in the autumn with, hopefully, another trip to mainland Europe to coincide. Those are songs we were equally happy with, but which didn’t fit the same themes as those on Caul. Songs are like families – they have their own personalities but they have to stick together in the end.

Caul by Last Harbour is out now on Gizeh Records. 

Last Harbour play The Old Blue Last, London – Feb 11 & Soup Kitchen, Manchester, Feb 14. 

http://www.lastharbour.co.uk