Hi-Lo, Hi-Lo, It s Good To Be Back!

The Walls are in fine form. And why wouldn t they be, with their debut album, Hi-Lo, proving that the former Stunning brothers haven t lost it when it comes to penning a killer tune. Despite the fact that their own album has been generally well received, however, both brothers are highly critical of the Irish media s relationship with Irish bands in general.

Homegrown acts are really being overlooked and underestimated, notes Steve Wall. They are seen as second rate to some goatee-stroking alt. country band from the wilds of South Texas. I think Irish bands feel that they are up against it a bit in the media. It is a battle, every step of the way, to get your video shown, to get an interview. You don t have people knocking at your door.
The British press are not afraid to champion their own indie bands, his brother Joe adds. Here, I get the feeling that the radio and press are constantly looking abroad to be told who are the stars that the public would prefer to have international stars. And that just gets so boring because you hear about Ronan Keating and Westlife all the time it s like we re being kept on this mediocre treadmill. I think the public is really being underestimated. Daytime airplay to me is hell and I have never heard anyone who doesn t complain about how dull radio is.
We were told by radio stations that they don t want music that is too guitar-y for daytime radio, Steve interjects. They want it to be mellow, bland and inobtrusive. The Stunning released Everything That Rises as a single and it got lots of airplay. That wouldn t happen today.
They do admit that it s not all bad, however: You ve got Phantom FM for a start, which is a godsend, and it s just a pity it s not national. But then there is Today FM, with Tom Dunne, Donal Dineen, and Uaneen on 2FM. Anywhere in the country you can listen to good music from seven until two in the morning, and never before have we been able to do that.
Their album, Hi-Lo should be getting lots of airplay. It s brimming with the kind of memorable tunes that first brought the brothers Wall to our attention with The Stunning, albeit with a modern edge and even a dollop or two of programming, courtesy of Liverpuddlian Carl Harms.
It has taken about five years for Hi-Lo to see the light of day. The album s closing track, If I Had You , was originally a Stunning song, while current single, the brilliant Something s Wrong was also written a long time ago. The fact that the band had their own studio allowed them time galore to work on Hi-Lo, the lush sound of which belies its meagre budget.
We borrowed quite a bit of money to get the album finished, Steve explains. We recorded it for peanuts but to finish it, from artwork to mastering and marketing, we had to borrow.
They are keen to lend their experience to others, and don t rule out the possibility of producing other acts and even releasing records by other acts on their Earshot label sometime in the future. After all, part of the inspiration for their own going the independent route, aside from getting our fingers burnt and not wanting to put them in that fire again , was the success of The Four Of Us, who looked after the business side of their Classified Personal LP themselves. The Walls don t want to be completely on their own, though, and are currently seeking a manager.
The band have also embraced the internet. Their website (www.thewalls.ie) is pretty impressive, and will get even better over the coming months, as they toy with ideas such as having a band diary on-line and wait for it! a recipe page from their drummer Rory Doyle, the Jamie Oliver of Tallaght .
There are so many websites out there that are very slick, but very few of them have a sense of humour, says Joe. We re thinking about introducing stuff like the band s guide to the worst take-aways in Ireland. You do come across places, from b&bs to chippers, where you re treated like shit and a page with the best and worst of them could be good fun.
It s not all about the latest technology and the internet, though. In between The Stunning and The Walls, both brothers have created film scores and soundtracks, most recently producing music used in Kevin Liddy s debut feature film, Country, set in rural Ireland in the early sixties.
There are a few scenes in a ballroom and Kevin wanted songs, so I did some research into the showband era, notes Steve, who had a strict deadline to work to. After doing an album that took about five years, I had two weeks to write half an album, he smiles. They picked four songs, and then asked us to play the showband in the film. We re called Eddie Stack and the Gliders and we re dressed up like Austin Powers in winklepickers and national health glasses.
It seems that The Walls are now happy to embrace the past, in all its forms, yet when they started, they pretty much disassociated themselves with The Stunning. Now though, they are rather proud of their heritage, so much so that they are even considering re-releasing The Stunning s debut album Paradise In The Picturehouse on Earshot Records: most people bought it on cassette on its release and never had the opportunity to own it on CD.
I don t think we ever really realised the legacy of The Stunning until a few years after the band broke up, Joe notes. We never realised how into the band people were, and the amount of people who have come up to me saying they are in bands and play Stunning songs is just amazing.
While they now look on the past with an unjaundiced eye, it is the future that really excites The Walls, however.
One thing I love about the vibe in music at the moment is that rock music has moved so that with bands like Mercury Rev, Radiohead and even ourselves, you re not always expected to hit people between the eyes all the time, Joe says. There is an audience out there now for music that is gentler, with depth and subtlety to it. So we don t feel as nervous about releasing something like Hi-Lo.
The Walls play Vicar St tomorrow night, Friday, June 23rd, and Hi-Lo is out now on Earshot Records.