Blaenavon have released the Let’s Pray EP featuring singles ‘I Will Be The World’ and ‘Let’s Pray’ which were produced by Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys) and are set for release on their debut album which will be out via Transgressive in February.
The EP also includes ‘Just Desserts’ recorded at Urchin Studios by Dan Cox, and ‘Something Boring’ produced by Blaenavon’s bass player, Frank Wright. You can listen to the EP in full below.
We’ve been fans of Blaenavon since they first made their mark on the industry with debut single ‘Into The Night’ in 2013. Hints of greatness were there then but the way it’s their sound now that we’re really down with. Last year’s ‘Hell Is My Head’ was the first proof they were going to climb the ranks from little known indie to a big British band. It showed they’re as good at playing delicate, heartfelt parts as they are full throttle rock with real raw energy. The new EP is further indication that they can go the extra mile.
We got to learn more about the EP, working with indie producer Jim Abbiss, and their fear of the future by talking with frontman Benjamin Gregory. Read below.
What attracted you to working with Jim Abbiss?
The records he's made, particularly the seminal indie debuts: Bombay Bicycle Club, Arctic Monkeys. In a fairly stagnant guitar music scene it can be difficult to separate yourselves and stand out. We wanted to work with someone who could capture our live sound, but also thrive when working on the more experimental areas of the record. Jim was fantastic at this.
What have you learned from him?
The area that had the strongest impact on me was recording the vocal. Before working with Jim, I'd just try to pitch it as well as possible and not worry about much else... But Jim encouraged me to develop characters to fit with the tone of the lyrics and reflect these in the singing style. This helps me express the stories across the record as accurately as possible.
You've been doing this band since school, did things nearly break when University came on to the horizon?
Hmm, I suppose we had some uncomfortable conversations. Fortunately we had the right voices in our ears, which convinced us it was worth giving this band thing a pop. We're all very glad we made this decision.
Does the EP capture a certain time in any of your lives or is it more fragmented? Is it at all autobiographical?
This EP has been stitched together from 4 very different moments over 3 years, which makes it difficult but interesting to make a cohesive work out of it. 'Just Desserts' & 'Something Boring' were written quite a long time ago, but as a key theme of both is being torn between romances, I still find them relevant. 'Let's Pray' and 'I Will Be The World' were actually written in very different circumstances: the former is incredibly satirical and self-depricating, when one feels he's lost his artistic grasp completely, whilst the other is ripe with bombastic swagger. Hopefully this makes the EP something of a journey.
What little changes bit by bit have you made to the band's sound and approach to songwriting since you put out your first single all those years ago?
When we first worked on 'Into the Night' we really just bashed it out. There's wasn't a great deal of consideration regarding structure, lyrics, delivery, but I suppose we were 15 or something. I still write songs quite quickly and just try to keep this process as regular as possible - there were about 90-100 songs in contention for the album. The key difference between our album and the previous EPs we've released is the amount of time we spent honing each track in the Blaeners HQ before taking them to Jim. Each track was crafted with extreme delicacy. I've spent a lot more time studying lyricists I'm in awe of, too - Elliott Smith, Stephen Malkmus - to try to capture each song's mood as artfully and succinctly as possible.
Does anything about the future scare you?
The short-lived nature of this career. Selling tickets. Streaming royalties. Finding love. Babies. The eternal fire and damnation that awaits us all.
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Blaenavon also gave us a playlist to listen to giving some background as to what they listen to on tour and the artists that inspire their songwriting. Check it out below.
Meanwhile, Blaenavon will play the following shows
# w/ The Sherlocks
* w/ The Hunna
16 Sep - Manchester - O2 Ritz#
17 Sep - Glasgow - O2 ABC#
18 Sep - Newcastle - Riverside#
19 Sep - Stoke - The Sugarmill#
20 Sep - Leeds - The Wardrobe#
22 Sep - Nottingham - Rescue Rooms*
25 Sep - Cardiff - The Globe*
26 Sep - Bristol - Thekla*
27 Sep - Portsmouth - Wedgewood Rooms*
28 Sep - Liverpool - Arts Club*
30 Sep - Leeds - Wardrobe*
1 Oct -Newcastle - Academy 2*
2 Oct - Glasgow - The Garage*
3 Oct - Manchester - Academy 2*
4 Oct - Birmingham - O2 Institute 2*
5 Oct - London - The Forum*
7 Oct - Norwich - The Waterfront*
8 Oct - Neighbourhood Festival
14 Oct - London - Scala (Headline show)
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