In the midst of working on the mighty Maximo Park’s third album, the band's genial guitarist Duncan Lloyd took time to speak to Gigwise about his debut solo album, 'Seeing Double', which hits the shelves through Warp Records next month.
The first notion that struck me when I picked up my copy 'Seeing Double' was that Lloyd may have used his solo venture to shake off the quintessential British-ness that is imbued through Maximo Park. The Miami photography that makes up the graphics of the CD sleeve hardly screams British authenticity, while the first track reinforces this with its mellower vibe and northern accent-free vocals. However, Duncan quickly offers an explanation as to why it might create this initial reaction.
“On tour in America I took loads of photos, that became the art work for the album. The singing is mellower, a lot of stuff with Maximo Park has been with sharper edges. I suppose it sounds more American because the calmer vocal delivery looses the (North East) accent,” he explains.
There was certainly a US aura coming from the initial 'Seeing Double' experience, this isn’t to say it was a negative one though. Importantly though, it's a very different record from both 'A Certain Trigger' and 'Our Earthly Pleasures'. The opening track 'Seven Letters', for example, exudes a smooth and (dare we say it) mature edge then to what we're perhaps used to. The double track guitars have a wonderful subtle tone to them, and the studio layering has really paid off; something that might prove tricky to reproduce live.
“Hopefully we might get another guitarist in for the live stuff to create that different sound. I’ve got a few of the lads doing backing vocals and it has been going down really well”, Duncan explains. “Double track vocals come across well and in the smaller clubs another guitar would let songs come out better”.
So how are the other Maximo Park members taking Duncan’s band side-project? “On tour in Ireland they all wanted to hear it so I stuck it on after a gig. Thankfully they all really liked it”, chuckles Duncan. “We all had other bands and have all done other stuff, but we’ve never released any of it. Tom (English, drums) has done a lot of dance stuff and Paul’s been working on his solo stuff and doing the odd gig in Newcastle. But Archis (Tiku, bass) is happy just to chill with Maximo!” he laughs.
A low-key affair, not only has Duncan written 'Seeing Double' by himself, but he has also produced it. There must be some difficulty in achieving a successful routine when playing and recording your own tunes, and then comprising it into a polished mainstream record. But it seems it wasn’t tasking at all. “I actually gradually recorded a lot of it at home on an 8 track,” Duncan reveals. “I was studying before Maximo, doing production engineering at the people’s college in Nottingham.”
Once complimented at the successful simplicity of his work, it's apparent that he's actually pretty chuffed with the end result. “I really enjoyed the sound I got. I wanted to capture the feel of something more natural. We used the first or the second take and if there is mistakes in there, you keep them.”
As the album plays through, you start to hear the sound you were initially expecting from a Maximo Park guitarist. It speeds up, gets slightly more abrasive and the Geordie accent creeps back in. The album title track is the epitome of these expectations. However, this is the third to last track and I felt I couldn’t discuss this with him before mentioning the unlikely comparisons I'd picked up on earlier in the album. The song 'Suzze' could have easily had Elvis Costello guest appearing, and Bloc Party’s Kele seemed like he could've co-produced the electronic backing beats to 'You Are Partly To Blame.'
“Yeah, somebody else said that they could hear some Elvis Costello. Also Eugene Kelly from The Vaselines was another. There’s been a couple of different comparisons,” says Duncan. “I suppose there’s something for everyone!”
Although a horrendous cliché, his comment is wholly accurate. The mixing and track layout of the album works effortlessly well and the record as a whole switches between divergent styles. I found this mix of punk to electro to acoustic made it a more rewarding listen than a straight-up guitar record. How did Duncan come up with the arrangement?
“Just experimenting with different sounds! When we were mixing it I kind of got used to acoustics at the end, it starts with driving rock and it gets frantic in parts and then you end up almost on a different record on the end, its more of a journey that way,” he beams.
A journey indeed. It’s one that I would recommend to everyone, not just Maximo Park aficionados. Speaking of journey’s, when does the tour begin for Duncan’s debut album? “I’ll be in the studio with Maximo for a while, then we’ll do four or five weeks in the States, then I will tour solo stuff,” Duncan explains. “I’ll hopefully release another single before that tour, then start doing little gigs with Maximo in the New Year!”
What a stressful life it must be? “Aye,” he laughs. “I can’t complain, like”.
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