“We’re huge Camera Obscura fans anyway, we’ve subsequently become like family and that was quite a show. I enjoyed it, I think.” Watson mused. Slow Club have been compared to many bands, Camera Obscura (wrong side of twee to be accurate) and The White Stripes (two piece with a girl on drums) among them, but each comparison falls short and does them a disservice. Slow Club are their own beast entirely.
Although they achieve an incredibly full sound as a duo, the new album Paradise is a big step up from Yeah, So?. Reigning back on the folk elements and experimenting with different instrumentation, such as glass bottles, broomsticks, water pipes and chairs, they manage to comfortably avoid the dreaded sophomore syndrome, delivering a second album largely different to the first while still unmistakably Slow Club. Unfairly labelled as twee on their first outing, Paradise is a much more mature and complex album that rewards repeat listening.
Fresh from a stint in the US, I was curious as to the response they received. “It was great!” Watson enthuses, “We were quite surprised. We were playing to a lot of Camera Obscura fans who seemed quite attracted to our music straight away. It’s not a million miles away from what they do.” He also has a theory as to what makes a gig really special. “Play some town out in the middle of nowhere, like a cairn in the Scottish highlands, and they’ll have the wildest night you’ve ever had, because they can’t have fun every night of the week.” Much the same as coming all the way here, I’d imagine. “We’re just really flattered to be able to come, you know. We’ve got a few more people in the band now.” Just a wee bit of an understatement…
Having played together as Slow Club since 2006, after the breakup of The Lonely Hearts, Charles Watson and Rebecca Taylor have clear chemistry on stage, able to anticipate each other’s every move. “We’re trying new, different things now. We’ve taken on another drummer, a bass player, a sax player and strings.” Watson informs me. I was initially fearful this would somehow change the dynamic, however I was comforted by his admission that “When you try and introduce other people to something you’ve been doing for years, you realise how in tune you’ve become.”
To hold up his end of the bargain in the studio, Charles uses a Fender Musicmaster. “I am a bit of a sucker for vintage guitars, but I’ll only buy one if I’m going to play it. I like guitars that just do one thing really well. I bought a Telecaster, to go on tour with, just because they’re harder stock. It’s the first time I bought a guitar like that, maybe in like ten years. I like weird-sounding instruments that have character straightaway.”
A quick look at their individual blogs illustrates a marked difference between the duo. While Rebecca invents words like “adorabonk” to describe cricket players she fancies, Charles’ page largely consists of photographs and paintings. “I draw quite a lot and I paint. I get a lot of pleasure from looking at nice colors. It’s probably not so much to do with the pictures; it’s got to do with the fact that I’m not a very good reader. I’m not all that interested with words… it doesn’t saturate quite as quickly as images and music.” Although they both write songs, Charles in fact directed their last music video and is certainly the more visual of the two. Ever humble, he’s quick to point out “It’s not like a real music video, just kind of footage from home. It’s something I’d love to get into. I like the idea of just making videos of us goofing around and rather than putting one of our songs to it, putting dark organs, something really ominous… where people think something horrible’s going to happen and then it doesn’t happen, but everyone seems to be like, yeah, it’s just a bit sad, isn’t it?” he laughs.
It’s hard not to like someone who speaks just as passionately abut his food as his music. “It’s a taste sensation, it’ll fucking blow your mind.” he says of a sandwich he had in Japan, the recipe for which is published on his blog. After reading that “hobnobs” helped him through writing sessions, I deliberately didn’t google them just so I could ask what they were. “Will you be at the show?” he asks. “I’ll tell you what, I’ll bring some. They’re really good with hot drinks.” Sounds suspiciously like a Tim Tam, but I’m looking forward to it almost as much as the show.
BY ROBBIE MILES
