York-based indie foursome, Shed Seven longtime hoverers around the outer fringes of Britpop are coming out of the shade this spring with a new album and
accompanying tour.
It was good when She Left Me On Friday came out, says vocalist Rick Witter, referring to the first single from Shed Seven s new album. It was like a bit of a bang: hello, we re back! And we did a little tour for that, and obviously we re pushing the tour out to places where we haven t been. It s a case of building our name again we ve been away for about a year and a half.
Is the new album Let It Ride, due out in May a departure from A Maximum High, Shed Seven s well-received second album?
Well, it s a weird one really. Every album we ve done, it s just been a natural thing, and I think again it s just the next progression, the next step. There was no big thing of either making it the same as the last or making it a world apart from the last; it was just a case of right, let s write some songs and see what happens, and then hey presto! We wrote about 20 songs before we actually went in the studio, which we ve never done before. It wasn t a big set plan, but it was quite a smooth process.
Have Shed Seven experienced any blinding musical insights during their year of writing and recording?
Not really, says the singer. We ve kept ourselves away from things like that and carried on as we would do really. And I think for us I mean a lot of bands wouldn t be able to work like that but I think for us that s quite important, to be as natural as possible. Otherwise it does become quite contrived and staid.
So there s no big thing, stresses Rick, we ve got no big message to tell anyone, we just wrote some more songs and we re releasing them and hoping people will get off on them. Call me boring, but that s the way it is! I don t think that a little four-piece pop group can change the world, but within that world, we ll try to make people happy.
What kind of music are the band tuning into these days?
I like The Stones a lot, though of more recent stuff I d say I like Super Furry Animals, for being a bit more bizarre, and Stereophonics and Thee Hypnotics are pretty cool. We all have our own set of standard music that we take away on a tour bus that we all know we ll like, but when we come home we all like to listen to different things. I know that Alan Leach the drummer is into a lot of Motown-style stuff. I think that works quite well when we come together and write, because there s a lot of different aspects being thrown in there.
In its process of creation, Shed Seven s music usually starts with Rick and guitarist Paul Banks, and is then built upon by drummer Alan Leach and bass player Tom Gladwin. Who, I ask Rick, is responsible for the lyrics, and what are they normally about?
That s all me, unfortunately if you ve got any gripes, you ll have to come to me! They re about everyday life, I suppose; again it s quite boring, I just pick up on things that happen and then I think if I do that, people are more likely to appreciate it and know where it s coming from. It s never a first-party thing, but always a third-party thing it can be appreciated by everyone, because everyone s likely to go through the emotions that I write about at some point in their lives, so it s a nice way of getting that across really. n
Shed Seven play the Red Box on Tuesday, 21st April.