It can often be difficult for a musician to choose between striving for solo success or plying his trade with a band. This is something that Shane Barry knows all about, as he has now returned to his day-job fronting The Distractions after two years of going it alone.
In 2006, The Distractions produced a well-received EP, before imploding due to “commitment issues”. Setting out to make his name as a solo artist, Shane embarked on a series of nationwide tours, supporting the likes of David Kitt and Juno Falls. However, the solitary life didn’t agree with him.
“I had all these musical ideas, but couldn’t get them from my head to the stage,” he rues. “I tried working with loops, beats and laptops. But really, what I was after was the live band sound.”
At the time, Shane was working with Martin Quinn at Jam Studios on his solo album. He’d dragged in some local brass and string musicians to fill out the sonic backdrop. Working with these guest musicians confirmed what he’d suspected all along: that he needed to get back to playing with a band again.
“Once I started practicing with the lads, I got that buzz and I knew this was the sound I was after.”
This time, though, things would be different.
“Before, I found I was doing everything, even though we were supposed to be equal partners,” he reflects, “but this time, we’re all clear that it’s my thing. I know work behind the scenes will get done, and the lads are happy as all they have to worry about is turning up to gigs.”
The current incarnation of The Distractions includes the core line-up of Shane on guitar and vocals, John Daly on drums, Nathan Power on bass and Jay Barden on keys. But they also have a three-piece brass section made up of Sean Kennedy and Hugh Beglin on trumpets and Mickey Rowe on various saxophones.
The group spent 18 months recording (and re-recording) Radio Friction. As a piece of work, Shane compares it to ’60s Motown and ’70s funk records, but the album also has a contemporary feel, holding its own alongside any of Mark Ronson’s offerings. To a large degree this is a reflection of Shane’s insistence on using vintage equipment.
He explains: “I’m not some sort of a Luddite, but I don’t think any digital gear matches the results of an analog desk and good quality valve mics.”
The results speak for themselves. The thumping ‘Stop’ screams out for daytime airplay, with its catchy hooks and Motown-esque brass stabs. The brooding strings on ‘The Strangest Hours’ show an introspective side, while tunes such as ‘A Man Called Gerald’ brings the band’s sublime ’60s pop influences to the fore. The rest of the album, with its surf keyboards, flowing violins, acapella breaks and brass attacks, displays the sound of a group tuned into a broken radio dial. Suffice to say, Shane Barry and The Distractions are not a haircut band.
Finally, when questioned about his rather grandiose choice of MySpace address (see below), Barry quips, “I wanted to pre-empt all the tribute sites.” He may be joking, but another few records like Radio Friction and it just might be a reality.