THEY’RE TAKING YOU OVER…
THE DROWNERS hit the capital with a show at The Vapour Trail. A showstopping three piece very much in the classic mould, they are Robert Hardy (vocals, guitar), Simon Hidson (bass) and Tim Smerdon (drums.) Very much an anomaly in today’s largely vacuous and still rather corporate alternative music scene, not only do they look good and sound good but they also have something to say. And right here is where you can read what they wish to get off their chests…
Like the best rock bands, The Drowners have something of a penchant for drinking. Well, when we say ‘penchant’, what we really mean is ‘an abusive habit that could well result in cirrhosis of the liver by 35 at the very latest.’ The story of how they came to be illustrates exactly that. “We formed in January 2007 out of the ashes of our (Simon and Rob’s) old band, which fell apart following the departure of our guitarist who was becoming increasingly concerned about our spiralling drink problems. We’d usually be too drunk to play our instruments and often verge on falling off the stage. In the end, both our guitarist and drummer had enough and moved out of the house we shared and left the band. We were left with each other, a shared passion for the Manic Street Preachers and drinking. So we regrouped and found our drummer Tim in January and played our first gig in April.”
When the group got together, the initial aims in terms of style, sound and overall direction were simple. They wanted to mix a frenetic kind of fury with a poignant kind of gloominess. And they partly took their cue from the aforementioned Welsh rockers. “We wanted to marry the ferocity of Holy Bible-era Manics with the overt melancholy of The Cure and make a more aggressive sound than before. Becoming a three-piece actually helped in that regard as it enabled us to get rid of parts that weren’t necessary and encouraged us to play more violently to make up for that. We never wanted to be a ‘jeans and t-shirt’ indie band singing about nothing over whatever middle of the road sound was fashionable. We wanted to be something that people could fall in love with, a band that people would want to be in instead of just thinking ‘that’s a good song.’ We recognize that it’s not just about the music, it’s everything, the band sets the context for the music in the way that they look, the artwork, the things they say. We wanted to change people’s lives like bands changed ours ten years ago.”
Which conveniently brings us onto the discussion of those bands, exactly who they were and exactly why you never seem to get those bands anymore (until now, of course.) When prompted, the band list Nirvana, The Cure, Joy Division, Smashing Pumpkins, The Smiths and Placebo as being the main offenders in question. “There seems to be very few signature sounds these days and that was something we were keen to produce. All the bands we’ve mentioned are instantly recognisable. None of the bands around at the moment are going to make the impact on people’s lives that the bands we’ve mentioned have. The fucking Killers aren’t going to change the ideals of anyone. It comes back to the old Morrisseyism ‘it says nothing to me about my life.’ There doesn’t seem to be music for those who are different and relish the fact. There’s nothing for those who question God, their friends and their own actions. We want to be that band.”
Clearly The Drowners have what it takes to be a classic outsider’s band. Their refusal to settle for anything and will to question everything goes a long way to supporting that theory. “Most people float through their miserable existence with little regard for what is going on around them and inside them. We want to make people look at their own lives and be disgusted, with the things they do, the things they say. We want our songs to be a mirror for people to be able to see the worst qualities in themselves and those around them and to maybe do something about it. We write about the things we recognise in ourselves, the people we know and society, as repugnant. The only reason we can sing about these things is because we are these things, we’re the same selfish islands, but we’re desperately seeking some kind of thrill to numb this realisation simply because we realise it. We’re not so depressed about this that we’re going to write slow, pseudo-ballads or bland anthems like Snow Patrol. We’re fucking angry.”
And with all this in place, it only seems right that The Drowners will cultivate a huge hardcore following of like-minded people; the young, pissed-off and dispossessed. We wonder if this is an aim or just the likely and natural conclusion. “We think that is something that is more important to us than achieving a general malaise of benevolent indifference. We’d rather mean the world to a few people than very little to many. It would be difficult to even really think about being mainstream simply because we’re not prepared to sacrifice what we think and believe in for the sake of success. Success has to be on our own terms and we’d rather spectacularly fail but know we tried to do it our way than change what we are and do. I think that kind of single mindedness naturally attracts similar people so for that reason, it’s both an aim and a natural conclusion.”
With a band as exciting as this, and one who seemingly know exactly what they want and where they ought to be going, the final question has to be an inevitable one. What is next for you? ‘Who knows? Obviously, we’re going to carry on gigging as much as we can. We’re just so desperate to break out of Birmingham, there’s nothing there for us. We’ve seen so many bands from Birmingham supposedly ‘achieve’ things but what that inevitably means is that they’ve managed to get a gig in a slightly bigger venue and played to more of their friends and family at once than usual. We have no interest in playing to the same 50 people week after week, or being part of some pointless indie scene that isn’t going anywhere. We want people to actually hear us, it doesn’t matter if they hate us; an opinion is better than nothing.”
And to us, that certainly is the hallmark of a classic outsider’s band. One day, you’ll find yourself kissing in his room to a popular tune – and that tune will be by real Drowners.
THE DROWNERS hit the capital with a show at The Vapour Trail. A showstopping three piece very much in the classic mould, they are Robert Hardy (vocals, guitar), Simon Hidson (bass) and Tim Smerdon (drums.) Very much an anomaly in today’s largely vacuous and still rather corporate alternative music scene, not only do they look good and sound good but they also have something to say. And right here is where you can read what they wish to get off their chests…
Like the best rock bands, The Drowners have something of a penchant for drinking. Well, when we say ‘penchant’, what we really mean is ‘an abusive habit that could well result in cirrhosis of the liver by 35 at the very latest.’ The story of how they came to be illustrates exactly that. “We formed in January 2007 out of the ashes of our (Simon and Rob’s) old band, which fell apart following the departure of our guitarist who was becoming increasingly concerned about our spiralling drink problems. We’d usually be too drunk to play our instruments and often verge on falling off the stage. In the end, both our guitarist and drummer had enough and moved out of the house we shared and left the band. We were left with each other, a shared passion for the Manic Street Preachers and drinking. So we regrouped and found our drummer Tim in January and played our first gig in April.”
When the group got together, the initial aims in terms of style, sound and overall direction were simple. They wanted to mix a frenetic kind of fury with a poignant kind of gloominess. And they partly took their cue from the aforementioned Welsh rockers. “We wanted to marry the ferocity of Holy Bible-era Manics with the overt melancholy of The Cure and make a more aggressive sound than before. Becoming a three-piece actually helped in that regard as it enabled us to get rid of parts that weren’t necessary and encouraged us to play more violently to make up for that. We never wanted to be a ‘jeans and t-shirt’ indie band singing about nothing over whatever middle of the road sound was fashionable. We wanted to be something that people could fall in love with, a band that people would want to be in instead of just thinking ‘that’s a good song.’ We recognize that it’s not just about the music, it’s everything, the band sets the context for the music in the way that they look, the artwork, the things they say. We wanted to change people’s lives like bands changed ours ten years ago.”
Which conveniently brings us onto the discussion of those bands, exactly who they were and exactly why you never seem to get those bands anymore (until now, of course.) When prompted, the band list Nirvana, The Cure, Joy Division, Smashing Pumpkins, The Smiths and Placebo as being the main offenders in question. “There seems to be very few signature sounds these days and that was something we were keen to produce. All the bands we’ve mentioned are instantly recognisable. None of the bands around at the moment are going to make the impact on people’s lives that the bands we’ve mentioned have. The fucking Killers aren’t going to change the ideals of anyone. It comes back to the old Morrisseyism ‘it says nothing to me about my life.’ There doesn’t seem to be music for those who are different and relish the fact. There’s nothing for those who question God, their friends and their own actions. We want to be that band.”
Clearly The Drowners have what it takes to be a classic outsider’s band. Their refusal to settle for anything and will to question everything goes a long way to supporting that theory. “Most people float through their miserable existence with little regard for what is going on around them and inside them. We want to make people look at their own lives and be disgusted, with the things they do, the things they say. We want our songs to be a mirror for people to be able to see the worst qualities in themselves and those around them and to maybe do something about it. We write about the things we recognise in ourselves, the people we know and society, as repugnant. The only reason we can sing about these things is because we are these things, we’re the same selfish islands, but we’re desperately seeking some kind of thrill to numb this realisation simply because we realise it. We’re not so depressed about this that we’re going to write slow, pseudo-ballads or bland anthems like Snow Patrol. We’re fucking angry.”
And with all this in place, it only seems right that The Drowners will cultivate a huge hardcore following of like-minded people; the young, pissed-off and dispossessed. We wonder if this is an aim or just the likely and natural conclusion. “We think that is something that is more important to us than achieving a general malaise of benevolent indifference. We’d rather mean the world to a few people than very little to many. It would be difficult to even really think about being mainstream simply because we’re not prepared to sacrifice what we think and believe in for the sake of success. Success has to be on our own terms and we’d rather spectacularly fail but know we tried to do it our way than change what we are and do. I think that kind of single mindedness naturally attracts similar people so for that reason, it’s both an aim and a natural conclusion.”
With a band as exciting as this, and one who seemingly know exactly what they want and where they ought to be going, the final question has to be an inevitable one. What is next for you? ‘Who knows? Obviously, we’re going to carry on gigging as much as we can. We’re just so desperate to break out of Birmingham, there’s nothing there for us. We’ve seen so many bands from Birmingham supposedly ‘achieve’ things but what that inevitably means is that they’ve managed to get a gig in a slightly bigger venue and played to more of their friends and family at once than usual. We have no interest in playing to the same 50 people week after week, or being part of some pointless indie scene that isn’t going anywhere. We want people to actually hear us, it doesn’t matter if they hate us; an opinion is better than nothing.”
And to us, that certainly is the hallmark of a classic outsider’s band. One day, you’ll find yourself kissing in his room to a popular tune – and that tune will be by real Drowners.
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