aaamusic | On 01, May 2012

Katie chats to Drew from The Mercy House: here’s what she discovered!

AAAmusic: Hello, and first off congratulations on the album! How has it been for you, getting to this milestone?

Drew: Thank you, it has been a long journey to get here, 2 years ago we were flying, touring, recording, writing, rehearsing 5 nights a week but unfortunately burning the candle at both ends led to a few health issues within the band that ground us. So we just got the album done, we had to stop touring and gigging and instead focussed on producing the best album we could at that time with the resources we had.

AAAmusic: Are there any ideas behind the album that you think are important?

A Broken State of Bliss refers to two things, firstly the idea that only from pain and a fight can you produce the truest message with music. This whole album revolves around a life in London for three years, it’s all true, there’s no tales of debauchery just the story of someone fighting with themselves and those around them to get their point across, almost in a completely conceptual sense. A Broken State of Bliss also referred to our general perception of the society we live; where commodities and fashions are more important than soul, integrity and a sense of togetherness. Basically no one blinks an eye as long as they’re not the ones getting shit on.

AAAmusic: There’s a lot going on in the songs, and they’re very well-written. What is your songwriting process like?

We write in many different ways, sometimes someone will bring in an idea but most of the time we just get together, fight and write the songs. The beauty of the band is we all come from different areas so we can all jam and it has grown to a point where we instantly sound like ‘us’, the rhythm, groove, intensity and emotiveness is inherent in the guys’ playing, not being ‘applied’ later for effect. We are big believers in contrast and using dynamics within a song to tell a story.

AAAmusic: You’re considered by some to be almost underground cult figures in UK rock – would you agree with this?

I don’t know whether that’s the case or not, we are real and that is for sure. That is the whole point for us. Not one shred of what you hear is contrived or forced. If that has inspired others we should be proud of that. There is too much plastic, carbon copy processed american drivell out there at the minute, retro or ‘contemporary radio-friendly’ that’s being spoonfed to people as ‘rock’ or whatever sub genre they want. Those sub genres need a bullet and we are more than happy to provide it. When we grew up bands said what they thought, played how they felt and that was that.

AAAmusic: Speaking of the UK rock scene, I assume you’ve at least heard of the so-called “new heavy” bands like Pulled Apart By Horses, Turbowolf and Hawk Eyes. What are your thoughts on this scene that’s said to be rising, given your own (different) approach to heavy rock sounds?

Well there’s always someone being touted as the next big thing. We prefer the slow burn, we believe in scenes and the power of bands to band together to make a point but sadly most of the time any agreement with such a concept is just a thin veil for self promotion. We are aware of Turbowolf and really respect those guys, anything so left of centre and artistic in its approach deserves the credit it gets. Plus those guys can write a tune with intensity, but also a hook. Obviously are approach is different but more power to anyone trying to get out there with original music these days, especially with some integrity.

AAAmusic: Are there any bands out there right now you’d recommend to our readers?

There are some bands coming out that we respect a lot, bands like Turbowolf who are breaking out right now are definitely worth your ears but there are also bands toiling away that no one may have heard of yet in the London Underground like Stereo Juggernaut and Generation Graveyard, both of whom opened at our album release last Wednesday and our well worth checking out.

AAAmusic: I was at your album launch the other evening, and there were a couple of people getting a bit carried away down front at one point. What’s your stance on “moshpit etiquette”?

Moshpit Etiquette – well you have to respect each other and I think that’s where it begins and ends, both in life and the pit, ha ha. I’m not sure if that was happening the other night and all we can do is try to keep people cool and all having a good time, if someone is being a fool and upsetting people then that’s not cool. It was an intense show. If you were there you probably saw we like to get involved in the crowd as well and that’s the whole point. Come down, make some noise and let it all out with us, it should be a release for all those involved.

AAAmusic: Speaking of live performances, your live sound is remarkably similar to your recorded material. How would you describe the recording process compared to playing live?

We aim for as near to perfect live as on record I guess. We are big believers that on record you show everything you’ve got, we like music with ambition and depth and that is what we went for. Live is the same, obviously at times we have to change harmonies and parts to fit the resources we have live but unlike most there we have no backing tracks. When you see us what you see and hear is all the band, sometimes we will add something or a performance might boil over but that’s the beauty of performing live, you can express what is going on at that moment whether that’s a shout, a note, whatever.

AAAmusic: What are your plans for the rest of the year, now the album’s out?

We are heading out on tour with Viking Skull in May from the 23rd – 31st. The aim there is to just try to spread our message out there, we feel its something that kids and long time fans of rock should be able to connect with. We’re a band that hits it hard and we know Viking Skull do too so it should be a visceral night with the two bands. After that we will be looking to tour again and we have plans in the pipeline for more from the band to be hitting out to you all very soon. Now that we are back and after all the struggles of the last few years we are determined to give it everything we have for everyone that believes in us and wants to listen.

 

Katie H-Halinski