It’s an energetic tune influenced by 80s post-punk, shoegaze and contemporary indie. And is that an Interpol vibe I hear there? It sounds good, regardless. On this tune competing soundlines bristle as a poppy melody line pummels along over the top. Lyrically, it’s an interesting take on the rock’n’roll lifestyle – is it really the answer? Together the contemplative lyrics and spirited sonics create something that tustles with tension as it envelopes its way around your ears. The pull back and build around three and a half minutes in makes you fizz with anticipation, before the grand crescendo at the end.

Lead vocalist Darrell says: ‘Lots of Nights Out is about getting to an age by which you’d always thought you’d have it all figured out, but you still haven’t. You’re in pain, you’re worried about getting old and you feel directionless. It explores and critiques the only ‘medication’ I had at my disposal at that time of my life: going out and getting drunk. It’s from the perspective of someone reflecting on their lifestyle, talking about the time they spend trying to escape and impress other people. This track is about taking a step back and seeing this mentality for what it was to me — fun, but ultimately exhausting and damaging. The end of the song tries to encourage anyone in a bad spot that things can and do get better.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWkgD6x6ArE

Down Yonderland by L.H.B.

Can you give a brief introduction? Who the heck are Yard Arms and why should we care?
We are a transatlantic melancholic alternative pop duo hailing from Bristol, UK. We write anthems for the lost, disillusioned, the broken-hearted and the romantics. Why should you care? We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel, we’re here to make music that we’d like to hear and if that harnesses interest from others then we are truly humbled.

There’s only two of you – how does this musical dynamic work?
The two of us have been writing and performing together for 13 years now, there is a musical synergy between us that we never take for granted. We’re very understanding within our roles in the writing and rehearsal rooms and it’s a recipe that is always developing and improving.

What impact has being in Bristol had on the band?
We’ve housed and honed our creative endeavours out of Bristol for such a long time now, it’s undeniably an important part of our musical heritage. The long autumnal and winter months of darkness and rain definitely are always fruitful times of year for our creativity. We’ve had the pleasure of working with so many incredible artists and individuals in and around this city, it’s important to recognise our sound will always be some part inspired by its magnificent people and surroundings.

How is this outfit different to your previous musical endeavours?
Yard Arms is the amalgamation of our past two projects for sure, ultimately the sound we are producing currently is what we’ve been seeking for many years. Throughout our teens, the music we were creating was much more heavily influenced by American midwest Emo, Post Rock and the UK math rock scene (think Tubelord, TTNG, Blakfish etc.) Combining all that with our continual appreciation for pop music and 80s alt acts (Tears For Fears, The Cure), helps to understand the family tree of inspiration that is the Yard Arms sound.

Your new album A Glossary of Broken Humans & Beating Hearts instead focuses more outwardly and is a commentary on the human condition, mental health and trauma. Sounds heavy. Why did you choose to focus on this?
Honestly, it wasn’t a conscious focus going into writing this record. Naturally, this group of songs came together to be the next release and it became abundantly clear that they all shared many common themes. It’s ultimately something we couldn’t ignore in our songwriting, whether it be what ourselves in the band have suffered or others close to us, it felt important to voice some kind of stance on these topics. It’s an exploration of these themes, it isn’t necessarily as heavy as it first may seem, there’s an offering of help and optimism throughout, if you seek it you can find it.

What’s next?
We’re finishing up writing EP3 currently, we should hopefully be back in the studio to record that in the new year followed by a spring and summer full of exciting shows and festivals – keep your eyes peeled folks.

Comfortable by Yard Arms

In the 1980s, one of the world’s most infamous drug lords, Pablo Escobar, smuggled four hippos into Colombia for his personal zoo. This was a product of excess and a moment of indulgence with a distinct lack of foresight.

Eventually Escobar’s lifestyle caught up with him in 1993 when he was gunned down on a rooftop by the Columbian National Police. Like much of his empire his private zoo fell in to a state of disrepair. The Hippos, native to the African continent, made a successful bid for freedom, escaping in to a local river system.

The escapees have now multiplied and current estimates suggest around 40 of one of Africa’s most dangerous animals now live in Columbia’s waterways. 

The band are gigging throughout 2019.

Of the track guitarist and writer Fred Hickey tells us ‘TV Show is a pretty obvious song thematically. It’s a lot less cryptic than most tunes we do; with fairly brazen lyrics. It’s observing the weaponisation of trivial gestures in the pursuit of some strange fame. Features of being a normal nice person are now worn like badges of honour and buying a coffee is worthy of screaming from the digital rooftops. At the time we wrote it the world really felt like a big casting call with the allure of shiny stardom causing us all to scratch at the stars. I guess we just turned that into a video. There’s no rhyme or reason as to why the characters in the video are doing what they’re doing because it doesn’t seem like there’s a good reason for us all to be doing it in the “real” world.’

The Hit was born after vocallist Marie Collinsand co-vocalist Gian Bernacchi attended a march against sexual violence in their hometown of Paisley, before heading to a studio session. ‘The name is fashioned from the use of a double entendre by alluding to violence against women, whilst making a reference to the increasing pressures of creating a ‘hit’ song,’ Marie explains.

https://soundcloud.com/theveganleather/the-hit-radio-edit/

Natalie had this to say about the track: ‘When one ship rises, we all rise. Keep your sisters close. WE ARE WORLD WIDE WORLD CLASS.’