November 2024 – Ferocious Blog

The Highs and Lows of Being Normal..

I never cease to be mesmerised by Warren Ireland.

Given that I have the privilege of spending a few hours rehearsing with him each week that might sound surprising. Despite having been privy to some of his writing process with Darwin’s Rejects, how he can conceive of, and perform, such a myriad of musical layers as one person is – frankly – mind-blowing. Even to do it in a studio, then consider the fact he can do it live with the pressure of an onlooking crowd. It’s just wow.

Here’s me generally feeling very pleased with myself for being able to lay down some very simplistic bass on our tracks, haha!

Normally an 80-odd mile round trip to the Black Market Venue in Warsop would feel like a bit of a bind on a Sunday evening but we weren’t going to miss an opportunity to see him showcase the release of his latest album, The Highs and Lows of Being Normal. Regrettably weekend faffing around meant we missed the support acts, which was sad but also necessary as we’d had a busy Saturday already. The curtains were across the room and side stage being utilised for an intimate crowd eagerly anticipating the main act.

If you get hold of a CD from Warren of the album (which you should do), then you’re treated to a book-ends and intermingled skit tracks that aren’t present on the online streaming sites – plus you can’t get it beautifully signed and dedicated on Spotify or Apple Music. So buy a CD even if like me you’ve got no means of playing them probably beyond a computer somewhere, then stream it as well! I’m not going to describe these, you’ll have to get a copy and find them out for yourself!

Paddy Said opens, such a powerful track built around an irresistibly catchy little guitar riff – but layered with chords, beatbox and of course the vocals it comes to life. Lyrically it charts sage bedside advice presumably from Paddy about acceptance and how straightforward it really ought to be to make the world a nicer and friendlier place with a bit more tolerance. Layers of backing vocals backdrop a lovely intricate instrumental picked on guitar, before into another soaring round of choruses then an outro. A strong start.

Happy in my Skin carries on the bouncy start – a long initial opening verse which, if you take a moment to think about it, as well as remembering the myriad of instrumental layers, there’s a ridiculous amount of lyrical content to remember too. More use of reverb and backing vocals on choruses than we’ve typically seen before from Warren works really well, the lyrics are an introspective examination of how we’re all flawed and have perhaps regrettable elements of our past – but ultimately we can only work from now to be the best version of ourselves!

Something So Right starts with spooky backing vocals before the gentler instrumentation kicks in, we’re onto a more chilled out section you can get lost in the lovely little picked guitar bits over a ponderous rhythm – whilst the charming lyrics are a heartfelt tribute to the challenges of developing a relationship – but ultimately the refrain of ‘I don’t want to let you walk away’ shows the underlying desire to make things work. It’s a mostly lovely sentimental track.

Make It Out takes us down a different path – acoustic guitar tricks you with gentle melodies before a full on drum and bass assault of beatbox is unleashed. You might question if he can deliver that live – he can! The impassioned singing and guitar is actually not as pacey as the beats would suggest. Backing vocal melodies are brought in with some singalongable ‘la la’s’ – who knew drum and bass with a singalong bit could be a thing? The picked guitar solo in the bridge sounds almost Spanish guitary. There’s such a lot going on here, but despite what sounds like a description of disparate things that don’t belong together blend into a beautiful absorbing creation. Writing duties here credited also to Jordan Phatboy White.

Heroes pulls us back to acoustic driven chords before gentler percussion and picking is overlaid before semi-rapped-semi-sung lyrics kick in. The over-riding feel is lighthearted but underpinned with the troubled state of the world, and a need for some kind of hero to save the day. We get more lovely finger picking for the bridge, and of course the chorus of ‘Superman or Iron Man‘ gives a nice nod to the fairly frequent appearance of Warren’s Superman dressing gown on stage!

Home is a punchy lament to something I’m sure we can all relate to at times, that overwhelming desire to go home whether it be from a workplace or another place. It’s an anthem for the disaffected, which I’m sure most of us are at least some of the time – but I can imagine when you’re a full on creative the daily grind of a typical workplace must be absolutely intolerable. This is a multi-layered foot-stomper, a steady beat and chord pattern overlaid by more intricate instrumentation and lyrics. Highly relatable but by creating something you can have a dance to it’s made a positive out of frustration.

Woke Snowflake is gentle musically with some vitriol in the lyrics, which I like. Woke is a really interesting slur, my understanding of the term is somebody with empathy for others. That sounds like a virtue not an insult to me! Backing vocals start us off, then guitars and beats before the lyrics, there’s some clever wordplay in here which appeals to me – playing back the kind of vitriolic bile you see increasingly on platforms like Twitter under the auspices of Elon Musk, it’s a creative way of addressing something that is really quite damaging.

Scrolling By is ludicrously catchy – strums back way for beats, strums and picking before the lyrics kick in. It’s a pandemic that affects all of us in the Smart Phone era – I’m definitely guilty of it, questioning the need for the latest and greatest phone – and of course, how much time we spend staring glazed face at banal crap whilst real life passes you by. This is – even by Warren’s standards – an absolute word-fest, he gives himself a nice break before the final chorus kicks in, again another that gives you an irresistible urge to tap your foot at the very least whilst it’s playing.

Letter to Heaven is a change in mood and pace, beautiful acoustic guitar work gives a simple backdrop for really heartfelt vocals. Backing vocals on the chorus heighten the emotion, there’s almost a full cycle of grief here – loss, pain, fondness and gratitude for having known them. It’s so powerful in its relative simplicity, stripped back raw and brave and allowing the narrative to take centre-stage. It was mesmerising to hear this live at the weekend too, although perhaps not one he’ll include often in shorter festival sets. Truly beautiful.

Dear Me arrives just as you’re recovering your sensibilities and threatens to tip you over the emotional edge again. Again, acoustic guitar provides the platform, this time the vocals are more impassioned, a combination of singing and rapping, interspersed with some finger-picking instrumentals. It’s Warren having a harsh word with himself, a reflection of self-worth (or lack thereof at times), reflecting on achievements he’s reached and to remember he’s his own worst critic. The vocal delivery brings Scroobius Pip to mind for me, which is a high compliment as I absolutely adore his lyrical writing and delivery. As the song builds so do the power of the vocals. It’s lovely. I hope he listens to himself!

Man Among the Damned is a beautiful arrangement with Martin Borrett providing piano along with Warren’s guitar, again we have powerful and less pacey vocals. More self-reflection, the struggle for a sense of purposes or to have a plan – but there’s metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel as the narrative builds (or maybe light through the clouds?). Backing vocals lift the choruses and I suppose it’s a neat reminder that somebody as objectively full of talent as Warren could be wracked with insecurity, it’s a relief to hear some kind of progression.

We end with a reprise of Paddy Said, but slowed and with accompaniment both from Martin Borrett on piano and also Jared Harding with some rousing trumpet as the track ends. This is slowed down and contemplative, it’s such a perfect way to close out the album – almost as it began, at least in subject if not in tone – that catchy riff slowed down becomes a beautiful melody and you’re eased back either to the beginning or the end. It’s a clever way to close out it leaves you feeling relaxed but uplifted after quite the rollercoaster of pace and sentiment.

Highs and Lows you might say, but exceptional – not mere normal.

The Highs and Lows of Being Normal is available on all the usual streaming platforms, and I strongly urge you to get yourself to one of Warren‘s gigs or contact him for a CD too.

Can you hear the bells?

I’ve been procrastinating writing this for ages, maybe it was seeing Paul over the weekend that reminded me, as well as one of those meetings being at Warren’s album launch last night adding another essential thing to muse upon being added to my queue of things to ponder about on here!

So, long overdue – musings on the new(ish) album from Shanks’ Pony, evocatively titled Whispers of Arcane and bedecked with beautiful artwork by Kezia Parsons perfectly incapsulating the contemporary folk whimsy the CD enclosed promises. It’s hard to believe it was way back in 2017 we were treated to the debut album A Song For Everyone, which has remained in regular rotation on my playlist!

The band of course have evolved since then, Pete has arrived to beef up the sound with bass, and Rob has picked up fiddle duties from Helen – so whilst undoubtedly there’s a more fulsome soundscape here, they’ve lost none of their inherent charm and earnest storytelling. What was it that the BBC were set up to do? Inform, Educate and Entertain – maybe they should be taking a leaf out of the Shanks’ Pony playbook these days!

The Bells of St Martin opens, lonely strings before the bass and percussion kick in we’re transported to Dunwich, Britain’s answer to Atlantis, a town lost to sea in medieval times. There’s local legend that the bells of St. Martin’s can still be heard which provides the hook to the song. Despite the sombre topic, it’s an upbeat song and a perfect album opener to set the tone, fading out to haunting bells chiming and sounds of the sea.

Mickey’s Bag of Tricks is probably my favourite – it’s wonderfully sleazy sounding, ponderous in rhythm and perfect in tone to evoke a bar full of folk of ill-repute, ne’erdowells who probably aren’t all that bad – the chorus lifts to another level, as does the soaring fiddle instrumentation whilst the dirty dirgy guitar, bass and cajon keep the song grounded and gritty. I wondered how this slight departure from what I’m used to would translate live, I’m happy to say it does so perfectly!

One Way Ticket feels more familiar territory, and in a very good way (I should clarify, I bloody love the diversions into new songs too!) – co-written with long time collaborator Amy Hill, it’s a charming folksy song lifted by lovely backing vocals to compliment the catchy melodies and sing-along-able choruses. Another than translates excellently to a live setting (which is kinda the point of recording songs, isn’t it, it seems like a silly thing to point out – but it’s not always something that works!).

Downtown starts with a gut punch of guitar, bass and cajon – I did as Paul if he’d used different guitars, maybe a 12 string but apparently not – but it might be one of those where he’s tuned down the low E. Thematically a sequel or continuation of High Street Sell Out from the first album – much grittier and harder hitting, with Rob finding the perfect spaces to overlay a pretty melody to lift the mood. Maybe it’s just me that gets drawn to Petunia Clark’s more optimistic song of the same name during the chorus! This one was, according to the album notes, inspired by a poem by Nick Foulds.

Park Bench Pete brings the pace and mood down, a heartfelt lament to person down on their luck – a casualty of the dreadful state of the nation. Anyone involved in our music scene would draw obvious comparisons at least in theme with Slow Motion Suicide by Ferocious Dog, but this slow paced song with plaintive and emotional fiddle throughout doesn’t reach that gig finishing climax, it remains appropriately sombre. I don’t like the term ‘album track’ – but short of full-length gigs I don’t imagine it will get many airings at festival slots. For someone like me that loves a maudlin song, that’s not always a good thing!

Self Taught is a bouncing pile of festival fun, cheerful mandolin kicks things off – you’d do well to singalong to the very wordy verses, but then you’re rewarded with a spectacularly catchy chorus you can join in with! Irresistible to have a dance to, with lovely bass climbs and fiddle melodies all underpinned with Bob’s relentless rhythm and those mandolin sections picked through it. I love it!

Rise for Revolution is darker – launching energetically will full band, the soaring fiddle taking centre stage, before it slows and quietens for the vocals, then back to intense instrumentation, then quiet then a rousing chorus. The revolution of Pentrich is the topic – which again we’ve heard documented before, this has a different slant – delving into the motivations and underlying causes. This is such a multi-textured track in terms of tone and pace. I notice something different each time I listen, which I love!

Rotherham’s Lament / Lanigan’s Ball takes us to the immediately preceding time period – Napoleonic wars and joining up to fight, as was the want of the working classes at the time, the ‘making of a man’ – it’s emotive, it’s sad – but still tunefully uplifting as you’d expect before leaping into a traditional jig which fits beautifully to the end of the song, and would definitely be difficult to resist a good stomp to!

The Green Children of Wolfpit starts with more moody drop-D guitar, I love it. It puts me in mind of 3 Daft Monkeys and Levellers, which is a high compliment indeed! It starts out ponderous and atmospheric, then a third of the way in builds in relentless instrumental intensity before dropping back to continue a frankly fascinating backstory of two children who appeared in the Suffolk village Woolpit with pale green skin, a brother and sister who spoke an unknown language and only ate green beans! Maybe it’s the ‘and they danced’ refrain that reminds me of 3 Daft Monkeys but I bloody love songs with stories attached to them. Excuse me whilst I disappear down a Wikipedia wormhole!

Special Brew ’22 is a reboot of a Shanks’ classic, so will be familiar but more fulsome territory for anyone who’s ever seen them or heard them before. A mash-up of a cautionary or celebratory tale depending on your point of view, documenting many of the pitfalls of over-indulging in festivals. A firm favourite during their live sets for many years now, although the last few times I’ve seen them the cans of the infamous brew are no longer there for folk to claim as their past festival crimes are revealed in the lyrics – so maybe as time has worn on it’s more of a cautionary tale!

Which brings us to Raise a Glass, I can remember Paul posting an early version of this possibly even during lockdown. It’s an emotional and lovely tribute to the legend that is David Bowie. It’s poignant and uplifting, riddled with references to lyrics and songs from Bowie’s back catalogue – personally I’d have liked some more Labyrinth references but perhaps that betrays my own niche interests. A fabulous way to sign off this collection of songs.

I don’t think that you’ll find the album on streaming platforms (but do have a look and prove me wrong in case!), but get in touch with them to get a copy via their Facebook page – and you shan’t be disappointed!