05 May 2009 The Twang Biography

The world loves an underdog. That The Twang should see themselves as this, following a debut album that charted at number three, sales fast approaching 200,000 and having spawned two of the biggest singles of 2007 in the shape of “Either Way” and “Wide Awake” tells you more about the media reaction to this most misunderstood band than the love that is felt for them by their huge and incredibly loyal fanbase. For all the talk of partying and madness, The Twang were always about, and remain exclusively about, making music. It was this that drove them to rehearse five nights a week for three years and pushed them to book and arrange their own gigs in the Birmingham area. For all that has been written about The Twang, the one thing that seems to have been missed is that this was no overnight success nor some evil plan for world domination cooked up by a marketing department one wet Thursday afternoon.

 

So, despite having achieved their goal of making an album after years of gigging, despite outselling all but one of the other debut UK acts of the year, despite building an intensely loyal fanbase that live to hear the likes of ‘Wide Awake’ and ‘Either Way’ live, despite earning the admiration and friendship of many artists that they had been fans of only two short years ago, despite making two of 2007’s biggest radio hits, despite all this, it is as underdogs that the five members of The Twang get ready to release their second album, ‘Jewellery Quarter’.

 

The album is named after the historic area of Birmingham where the band are now based. In this vibrant part of the city the band rehearse and relax alongside cover artist and rising star Temper, whose studio is also in the Quarter. For a band often accused of lacking an artistic bent, the commission of the well respected and increasingly feted graffiti artist to create exclusive and unique images for the album and single sleeves suggests a further misunderstanding of the band and their motives. A massive fan of the band, Temper made the initial approach but The Twang are now equal fans of the Birmingham based emerging star of the art world. The collaboration is a perfect symbol of the renaissance of the country’s second city and has created a record very much made in and by Birmingham. Phil recalls how Temper became part of the gang.

 

“Temper told us that he had been listening to our first album pretty much non stop before he even knew we were from Birmingham. He said he was delighted when he found out we were local lads.  We were first introduced through a mutual friend at an after show in Birmingham July 2007, but with both of us being so busy it wasn’t until late last year when we met up again and we asked him if he’d be interested in doing the artwork for the new album. He agreed straight away, which was really exciting for us because he is such a huge talent. To paint the pieces he does using just an aerosol, is another level. Being a massive fan of the first album he was slightly sceptical that we could match it. So we gave him the new album to listen to and within 24 hours he was texting us saying he was blown away by the quality of it. There is a massive mutual respect between us.”

 

Two years in the media spotlight have certainly been instrumental in the making of ‘Jewellery Quarter’. Unlike their debut album, recorded at pace to keep up with the tsunami that engulfed them from that first NME notice in November 2006 through to its release in June 2007, the process of recording the follow up was slower, more considered and, ultimately, far more rewarding.

 

Sessions for the album began in a cottage in Anglesey and progressed to a mountain retreat in Spain under the eyes of Youth, who drove the band to write and refine the tunes they had brought along. On returning, they rented a ’10 foot by 10 foot’ rehearsal space in Hockley, Birmingham, and went on to write the likes of ‘Barney Rubble’, Twit To Woo’ and ‘Encouraging Sign’.  Long term producer Gavin Monaghan welcomed them back to his Magic Garden Studios in Wolverhampton to demo some of these freshly-written songs.  However, it was working with Neil Claxton that really enabled the band to rediscover their reason for being and turn their visions into reality.

 

The band had already worked with Neil in his Mint Royale guise when he remixed ‘Two Lovers’. Phil had been drawn to Neil after hearing the Mint Royale remix of ‘Elephant Stone’ and, having re-written key album tracks and with five or six newly demoed songs, the band knew that Neil was the man to finish the record as Phil recalls.

 

“I suggested him as a producer and two days later I’m sitting in the Mailbox at 11am eating scrambled eggs talking about the album. It was that quick, I just knew it was going to work out.”

 

The initial feeling proved right as the group decamped to Blueprint Studios in Salford and Neil went to work.

 

“I sent a couple of rough demos to him and when they came back there was a new take on ‘Barney’ and this mad siren on ‘Twit’ and we just thought, ‘what the fuck! he’s nuts’, but we loved it. We seemed to have a mutual understanding straight away and both wanted people to hear the guts of the record, the little mistakes that are meant to be and the emotion behind the tunes.. Between us I feel we’ve made that happen.  Neil’s definitely one of the best things that has happened to the band.”

 

The tunes themselves mark a progression and a departure from those that populated the debut album. The soulful qualities possessed by previous album hits ‘Wide Awake’, ‘Either Way’ and ‘Two Lovers’ are still evident in many of the new album tracks like album opener ‘Took The Fun’ and free download ‘Another Bus’. The band’s love of the dancefloor continues on ‘Put It On The Dancefloor’, but the youthful preening of tracks such as ‘The Neighbour’ are no more. Lead single, ‘Barney Rubble’ sees a Hi Life rhythm collide with melodies that would not be out of place on later Smiths albums. This is, as you would expect, a more mature record, steeped in soul and unafraid to wear its considerable heart on its sleeve. The musicianship of the five, again often overlooked in tales of late night parties and wild behaviour, shines through, the dual vocals of Phil and Saunders developed beyond the call and response of the debut album into a genuine partnership, whilst guitarist Stu continues to weave glorious melodies around the fluid rhythms of bassist and co-songwriter Jon and drummer Matty.

 

In many ways, The Twang that approach the release of ‘Jewellery Quarter’ are a far more relaxed and contented group than the gang of the popular imagination prior to the launching of that debut album. No longer the focus of so much opinion – informed and not informed – no longer needing to live up to ridiculous expectations, Phil, Saunders, Jon, Stu and Matty are, in many ways, back where they started but with a lot more experience. The five of them, with their tunes, are ready to do it again and happy to be underdogs this time around. A recent short tour saw sold out dates and not just the great reception you would expect for old favourites but a similar roar of approval for the tunes that make up this new album. And, for The Twang, it’s never really been about anything more than that, just them, the tunes and the fans. The rest is just window dressing

 

“We made mistakes and we’ve learnt from them – but, I wouldn’t change anything.  The last two years have been amazing. I’ve got a gold disc, an NME cover on my wall and I get messages from fans every day saying how much they love our music. This time we did things the way we wanted them. It’s a good place for us. It feels good to be back.”

 

PHIL ETHERIDGE, THE TWANG, April 2009