As their mini-festival at the Stag's Head comes to a close, James talks to Morden's angular indie types about their new album.
It hardly seems almost three years since Good Shoes released their excellent debut, Think Before You Speak. Back then, Blair was still the top dog in government, nu-rave was just an impending menace, and hardly anyone knew (or cared) where Morden was.
Cut to 2010 and the world awaiting Good Shoes' welcome return is very different. In keeping, the band have matured too, eschewing the carefree relationship insouciance and wry social observation which permeated their debut in favour of something older, wiser, and ultimately more durable. Prior to the penultimate night of their mini-festival at the Stag's Head, we dragged singer Rhys away from a trash-talking game of darts to talk about the band’s brand new record, 'No Hope, No Future'.
Was the four day 'festival' at the Stag's Head something you really wanted to do?
Rhys [Jones – Vocals/Guitar]: It was our manager's idea and then we were just like "it sounds really good". Then I picked all the bands and the DJs. It's been really good. We'll have played to about 600 people over four nights, and tonight's sold out –about 200 people.
Meanwhile the darts continues…
R: I’m gonna get a bullseye.
He does, first up, cueing mass laughter…
R: I've been saying to Steve [Leach - guitar] every time I go and throw a dart I'm gonna get a bullseye and that's the first time it's actually happened.
I'm genuinely impressed. Let's talk about the new record – it seems to be slightly less upbeat than the first one?
R: Yeah slightly. Musically it's still quite upbeat but we started writing slower songs and the mood of the album is also to do with so much wrangling and politics involved. It took a long time so I think maybe that manifested itself in the album sounding a bit darker. But lyrically it’s really depressing.
Yeah, I particularly noticed the lyrics to ‘I Know’ [which takes religion and politics to task] – is this something you feel strongly about?
R: Yes. The song kind of sums up how I feel about religion and about the state of the world at the moment – the fact that nobody can come together and make a united decision that would make a global impact. It’s getting further past the point of no return and we’re all fucked. So, anyway I tried to sum that up in, like, 80 words...
Were there any other lyrical themes/influences for the record?
R: During the first record I was going out with this girl in a really serious relationship for about three years. We had a really long break-up and the band started writing the album in the middle of that and after. It’s all about break-ups – it’s a break-up album really.
When did you actually start writing the record?
R: Erm… for ‘City By the Sea’ I had the guitar parts for that down the day we finished the first album. And the lyrics. [The Way My] ‘Hearbeats’ and ‘Under Control’ were the last ones to be written – the singles.
I read that the record was self-produced?
R: We had an engineer but we basically produced it. It depends what you consider a producing role – if you take it literally then we produced it, but obviously we don’t know how to engineer stuff so we got an engineer in. But the way it sounds is very much down to us.
The sound is quite similar in terms of production to the first record – a bit less trebly maybe?
R: Yeah I guess it’s heavier. I think that the first album should probably have sounded like the second album and the second album should have probably sounded like the first. ‘Cause the first album was really polished and well-made and you should probably go from it being gritty to having better projection.
Do you have a favourite track on the album?
R: I really like ‘City by the Sea’, and I like ‘Under Control’ and ‘Heartbeats’. My favourite is ‘When She Walks Away’.
And finally, anything you’re looking forward to in 2010?
R: We’re going round Europe for a month from Monday [25 January], then we come back and then we go to America – hopefully, we’ll see if that happens – and then we go to Russia and Ireland, and then the UK again, and then I just got a load of emails about Australia in September.
Thanks to Dan at Dollop.
'No Hope, No Future' is out on Monday 25 January.
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