“It was never ‘I’m going to be alone for this one’, that was never the way it was intended to be – it was just the way it had to be.”
Conceived from the poetic influences of the likes of Shelley and Keats yet birthed within the red bricks and smoke of Manchester – Beholder comes as the third offering from The Blinders and acts as a pillar of renaissance in the creative sound and perspective of the band. Dramatic with passion and touchy with vulnerability, the record takes listeners on a fluctuating yet structured journey through the transitions of adolescence to adulthood and further explores themes of loneliness, isolation and completely raw susceptibility.
Exclusively speaking to frontman Thomas Haywood, Holly spoke to Thomas about the writing process of Beholder and how important it was to the craft of the record.
Holly –‘When I listen to Beholder, I can’t not ask the question of what essentially are the foundations of this album? How did Beholder come about?’
Thomas – ‘I guess there is a very strong prevalence of being alone. Some of the things that are spoken I guess, the only way to get to those kinds of things are to be alone. It’s not necessarily something you can do as a collective – musically I guess sure, that’s a different ball game – but words are very precious and I guess some of the connotations you put to those words – you’ve got to mean it. The only way to get to that was to be alone for a lot of the writing process. That was my contribution to the record anyway.’
‘That was never set out though, it was never “I’m going to be alone for this one”, that was never the way it was intended to be – it was just the way it had to be.’
Holly – ‘It just felt right?’
Thomas – ‘Yeah, it came out of a pretty rough time anyway, I didn’t want to see people often anyway really. I’m a very solitary person as it is, I enjoy being alone. As I’ve got older, that’s become more of my go to – to find space alone and yeah I just started really enjoying it and would emotionally get too into it. You can hear it in the really early demos of the record – when you’re in that very early phase of a song it’s quite something. Trying to hold yourself together whilst getting the vocals down is really quite something.’
‘My only regret about this album is not recording it earlier in the writing process. By the time we went out to LA, we we’re so nervous about going out there with Nick Launay and (Atom) Greenspan the producers. We were so well rehearsed because we wanted to track it live – I wanted to get some of that raw emotion into the record. And whilst I think we did achieve that to some degree, maybe we tightened the screws a little bit too much and tried to get it perfect. I guess you’re sort of pressured to do that aren’t you – but maybe some of the expression was lost, I don’t know. It’s very easy to be critical of yourself really isn’t it?’
Holly – ‘I mean from seeing you live over the years and seeing what you as musicians bring to your performances, I think you bring a lot of emotion and I don’t think it’s that much lost. I can imagine what you’re saying in the early days – with it being a lot more raw and a lot more vulnerable…’
Thomas – ‘Well that shit doesn’t get played on the radio does it you know, that’s the way it goes.’
Holly– ‘Is that really important to you though?’
Thomas – ‘I guess at the time of making the record it was, but now looking back it’s definitely not. I think whatever I work on next, whether it be The Blinders or something else – I’ll have to be captured in the very early stages of the writing process, you know I think it’s just the way it goes.’
Personal isolation and solitude were unconsciously crucial to the art of Beholder, evident in tracks such as ‘Nocturnal Skies’, ‘Always’ and ‘At Any Hand But Hers’. The beauty of Haywood’s creative mind shines lyrically throughout this record; emotionally hitting depths the band have previously been too fearful to explore musically. Each track feels enormously intimate, as if these are extractions from personal diary entries from the character of the ‘Beholder’. Always stands out as a track that reaches levels of passion and intimacy the most. Exploring ideas of being unable to speak your true mind due to mixtures of confusion and frustration – the track explores the importance of reconnecting with your true self after previously becoming lost. Partnered with the pounding bass line of Charlie McGough, the genius musicianship of Johnny James and the intimidating percussion of Tom (Cass) Castrey, ‘Always’ is a track that will become deeply cemented in your brain and release a passion within you that may be otherwise inaccessible – a true rarity within both song writing and musicianship.
Holly – ‘Shall we talk a bit about LA?’
Thomas – ‘Yeah, what do you want to know? There are definitely things you shouldn’t know, haha.’
‘But yeah Los Angeles, we got this record deal off the back of a show we did in London and our management Raw Power had links to EMI and they eventually got talking and decided to do something – like some sort of joint record label. They came down and loved what they saw. I think the first thing asked outside was who do you want to work with and where do you want to work? And I just thought “fucking hell” you know.’
‘I think it was Charlie who came about and said have you ever heard of Nick Launey, to which I replied “who the fuck is that?” haha. He was like “Well he’s only done about five of your favourite records”, and low and behold he did all the Bad Seeds stuff (Push The Sky Away being one of my favourites), Arcade Fire’s Suburbs and stuff with Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Idles. And I guess from there I saw the venn diagram start to form and I guess I thought we can do something with this.’
Whilst the vitamin D of a sunny LA enveloped the band whilst recording and producing the record, the true depths of the album were laid down in the band’s adopted home of Manchester. Imitating similar sounds from their debut album Columbia, opening track ‘Ceremony’ breathes new life into a sound some may have thought the band had left behind. With fierce guitar riffs laced with distortion and menace and vocals reminiscent of the early days of the band – this mantra-like track is the perfect opening to an album that will with no doubt leave you obsessed.
Furtherly, tracks such as ‘Waterfalls of Venice’, ‘Brakelights’ and ‘Swallowing Static’ also embrace this meteoric sound – with intense musicality that will give you a whiplash-like sensation, as the sound of the record fluctuates through soft vulnerabilities and explosive passion. It’s as if the album is representative of a state of mind – one that wavers between many emotions, yet cannot sincerely express each one. A universal feeling that surely resonates with most.
Thomas – ‘Funnily enough, the name ‘Swallowing Static’ comes from being sat next to my cousin at a wedding, he’s like my brother right – we’ve been through thick and thin together. Anyway, we’re just getting along and drinking our champagne. I realised he wasn’t and I went “what’s wrong? you’re not drinking your champagne?” and he goes (in a Cockney accent) “I don’t drink that fucking shite, it’s like swallowing static innit, it’s like swallowing static.” and I just fucking loved that phrase, put it in my notes laughing really – not expecting it to come of anything, and I just ended up writing a song off the back of it with Eoghan.’
In my opinion, the record Beholder is the most mature piece of work the band have offered to date – cementing their sound as their own individual style, unbothered towards the media’s response. A piece of art should not be created to be commercialised, it should be created for the love and passion of doing it – a statement The Blinder’s clearly follow in their writing of Beholder. Furthermore, there is something so unique and different surrounding the band’s perusement of this record; unlike Columbia (2018), where there was a clear concept surrounding the works of Orwell and the political influences of Brexit, or Fantasies Of A Stay At Home Psychopath (2020) – Beholder isn’t just a surface concept, it’s an embodiment of raw emotion at its very best.
Holly – ‘Is it just me or does ‘All I Need’ (the closing track) feel like a door just left wide open, nothing really ties these strings together?’
Thomas – ‘We didn’t want to close anything. I think some of the stuff being said thematically felt like there was a resounding finish – a situation overcome and a decision decided. That was what was decided. Probably a lot of the lads’ favourite track on the record I think and it does what it needs to do.’
Holly – ‘I think that has always been your strong points as musicians, I mean ‘Black Glass’ (2020) is still such a prominent part of your set.’
Thomas – ‘If there was any song I had the opportunity to show to people, or pick one song to represent a good chunk of your life’s work – I’d show them ‘Black Glass’. If anyone was to ask me you know what do The Blinders mean or what do The Blinders do, I’d show them that song – I’m very proud of that one. It was extremely collaborative between the whole band – half the lyrics were mine half were Charlie’s and at the time the three of us all musically were involved in this track. It’s a pleasure now to be in a band where we have more members and can really put the songs to justice when we play them live.’
Set to head out on their UK/EU tour with Beholder ‘a closed book now being passed on to those who wish to receive it, there is much excitement surrounding the return of The Blinders and what their live shows will bring.
Thomas – ‘I love shows, it’s what we do – I’m excited. I love being out on tour – it’s who we are. The fact we’ve not done it in so long is quite jarring in a way, and it’s no secret bands don’t make a hell of a lot of money anyway, so it’s an opportunity to reap the rewards of a lot of our work. It’s something we’re all looking forward to immensely – it’s one thing we hope to do whilst we have air in our lungs to be honest.’
The Blinders are Thomas Haywood, Charlie McGough, Thomas Castrey and Johnny James. Their 3rd studio album Beholder is out on the 1st March on all streaming platforms and available to buy on CD and vinyl too.
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