Friends in America
Friends in America’s Matthew Rawlings & Hamish Black; photographed by Stuart Downie.
Glasgow’s Friends in America sent us news of an upcoming follow-up to their recent Be in Love/Don’t Die Alone EPs with the upcoming album Old Indifference available TBD. Comprised of singer-songwriter Matthew Rawlings & tunesmith Hamish Black; the duo’s synergy pens songs of nostalgia, longing, melancholia & the most guarded & ineffable feelings.
A musical kinship that has been strong since 2010, Matthew & Hamish create cuts that are carved out of the etchings of experience and all those aspects of emotive decor that line our interiors that we can rarely express. Songs like “Bad Pint” provide something that reaches further than pub talk, the forget-me-nots of “Souvenir”, the expressive & heart appeal of “You Are”, a righteous cover of Joanna Newsom’s “Peach Plum Pear”, or some Wedding Singer flavor with an evocative & ethereal rendering of “Grow Old With You”. Don’t Die Alone opens with the synth situations of “Flat Tire (I Can Cope)”, the Mozzer tip of the hit scuzz-storm of “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” ft. Nicholas McManus, the buzzed pub strumming confessional “Trailer Trash (Slightly Drunk)”, the passionate ballad of “I’m No Captain” (Wickerman Session), the errors & engagements of “Gaffe” (STV Session), right before the bow bending holiday sparkle of “Scruffy” that will warm the heart.
Check out the Stuart Downie video for Friends in America’s single “Bad Pint” where Matthew & Hamish entertain their inner Bob Dylan circa D.A. Pennebaker’s Don’t Look Back where earnest & often humorous gesticulations & lyric cards take center stage precedence. Confessions & requests of “all I ask is that you leave before I lose you” ring out in a dialogue of unfiltered expressions where the minimalist video points attention to to the sentiments & sonic designs in play.
We had a chance to catch up with Friends in America’s own Matthew Rawlings & Hamish Black in the following candid interview:
Tell us about the sorts of bonds & stateside connections & connotations involved in the moniker Friends in America.
Matthew: To be completely honest, the name of our band is the one thing I can’t trace back to a defining point. There was no contention, nor any real thought beyond That doesn’t look entirely ridiculous when you write it out. I had considered Pots & Pans as an homage to a track on my favorite Les Savy Fav record, but then Hamish rightfully insisted that it was a stupid name.
Beyond that, our music is profoundly indebted to American culture and artistic inspirations. From literature, cinema and music to the impact America has on global discussions around sexuality, healthcare and disparity…it would be impossible for us not to tip our cap to our transatlantic sisters and brothers.
Hamish: I sincerely dislike having to name bands. It’s the worst part of the process. If you accept that there are very few good band names and just choose something you don’t hate, you can focus on the music. Friends in America felt phonetically pleasing, so we went with it and didn’t really look back.
Describe how the two of you go about developing songs that have such evocative arrangements such striking lyrics that resonate in all kinds of personal ways.
Matthew: I think having our own feedback loop of friendship, second guessing and sincerity in equal measure is pretty important to how we write. Hamish has an incredible confidence as a producer/musician that gives way to a fragility and introspection that lends our records the eccentricities that make us Friends in America. I wouldn’t feel safe enough to sing what I do if Hamish wasn’t behind this band musically and personally pushing us forward.
Lyrically, I just write until whatever I’m singing makes me feel vulnerable or hits upon a core truth. That’s how I know what I’m putting down over the music is doing justice to these arrangements. The new record is almost 100% autobiographical and with that I made the conscious decision not to dilute the important things. Sincerity is a two way street; it can be liberating or debilitating…and it should be. That’s how you know it’s worth a damn.
Hamish: At the start of the band, we were working on adapting songs Matt had already written for a full band setup. As time has gone on, however, we’ve become something of a recording project. Matt will give me an idea of what kind of feeling he wants to evoke and I’ll translate that into instrumentation and arrangements. It usually ends up as something of a collage effort—experimenting with little snippets of sound and manipulating them until they fit into a larger cacophony of thematically coherent ideas. We’re both highly influenced by electronic artists and that manifests itself in our songwriting process.
As for lyrics, that’s Matt’s department. It’s a weird feeling being in a band with your favorite lyricist! He constantly surprises me with his knack for taking these viscerally personal and eloquently written lyrics and translating them into super catchy melodies. As the producer of sorts within the band, it makes my job an absolute joy.
Friends for life—Glasgow’s Friends in America, Hamish Black & Matthew Rawlings; photographed by Stuart Downie.
When do you two feel that one of your songs are complete?
Matthew: I think it’s down to editing and focus. What’s the most efficient way to get across your ideas without either selling the narrative short or rambling on until nobody gives a shit? It’s about answering that question as best you can.
Hamish is usually the one who puts his foot down and tells me when the tinkering needs to stop. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t trust myself with finishing touches—or much of anything—but I put all my stock in Hamish knowing what should act as an ellipsis and what should stand as a definitive full stop.
Hamish: Rarely. It’s the reason our first record took almost two years to make. We’re perfectionists, often to a fault. As time has gone on, however, I’ve realized that there are more important things to spend time on than absolute rigid precision for every second of music. I play a lot of aggressive, noisy music with other bands—sometimes chance and chaos can make music feel more human. As such, I’m often the one shouting IT’S DONE! WE ARE NOT WORKING ON THIS ANYMORE, much to the worry of Matt. I think the music is actually better for it.
How do you all find the song craft process both cathartic & therapeutic in your own lives?
Matthew: Having this band as an outlet is a very necessary avenue for me to create positivity from the occasionally paralyzing negativity in my head. While it doesn’t always make sense of anything beyond the initial relief of letting some of the hurt out, sometimes that’s enough to get by.
It’s also a way of taking control of something I truly struggle with, my deep rooted anxieties and depression, and cutting it loose.
Hamish: A lot of my problems have stemmed from feeling like I have absolutely no control over my life. I think that’s probably the reason I relish my role in the band so much—it allows me to tinker and manipulate every sound to exactly the way I want it. I don’t know if that level of compulsion is necessarily healthy, but it makes me feel good so I’m happy to go with it for now.
What’s good in Glasgow right now?
Matthew: There Will Be Fireworks and Admiral Fallow are two of my all-time favorite bands who I’m privileged enough to call friends. They view the world through a lyrical lens that always catches me off guard and inspires me endlessly.
Prides are just about the best electro-pop band Scotland has created in years, with a live show that’s charming and life affirming in equal measure. They’re also so handsome it makes me sick.
As for newer bands, Crow’s Feet play gorgeous stadium songs in small rooms and routinely knock me for six with their talent.
Hamish: I tend to gravitate towards the weirder, more aggressive side of the musical spectrum. Anxiety is Crass worship at its absolute finest. Damn Teeth is a band that wouldn’t be out of place on Three One G. The Sinking Feeling is messy and emotional and immensely catchy. Kapil Seshasayee is what you’d get if Scott Walker was on Warp Records. Crow’s Feet is just a damn, damn good band.
Tell us too about all the emotion & energies that you all channeled into the making of Old Indifference.
Matthew: Old Indifference is an album about terrifying irrationality to someone who cherishes rational thought as a ballast amongst all the choppy nonsense of the day to day world. It broaches depression, love, dependency on a woman I didn’t deserve and eventually pushed away, alcohol, drugs, sex, books on tape, cognitive behavioral therapy and antidepressants, and the people I don’t deserve who pulled me out of my quicksand life.
Hamish: Old Indifference was made whilst I was falling deeper into a suicidal depression. For me, that record was fueled by thoughts of, well, not wanting to be here anymore. Crippling anxiety, aggression, existential dread, all made their way onto the record. What’s weird is that I actually found solace in creating it—I was able to control and hone in on aspects of our sound that I couldn’t before. Through the amount of time I devoted to the record, I was able to channel those negative energies into something representative of that mindset, but also something that I can be incredibly proud of. Finishing that record felt like a real achievement, like I’d conquered something. It helped that Matt’s lyrics voice somewhat similar existential concerns.
What can you tell us about future Friends in America projects & the like?
Matthew: We’ve got an entire record titled Old Indifference that we finished a while back that we’re aiming to release in the spring of 2017. It’s a chronicle of the worst year of my life, surrounded by the greatest people I’ve yet to meet. Musically and as a producer, I couldn’t be prouder of what Hamish wrangled out of that record.
Other than that, we’re aiming to play as many shows and collaborate with as any different artists as time and life permits.
Hamish: We’re constantly thinking of new and interesting ways to get our music out there. Right now the focus is on trying to play more shows and get the word out. We have a band at the moment that really energizes us, and so we’re going to make the most of that. Aside from live shows though, Old Indifference will be released hopefully early next year, and we already have a ton of material almost finished for whatever we do next. It’s a good feeling and we want to capitalize on that.
Winter plans?
Matthew: Hamish will be putting the final mixing and mastering touches on our album. I’ll be wearing knitted cardigans, reading Phillip Larkin poems and listening to Grimes pretty much exclusively.
Hamish: Being depressed that it’s winter and making sad songs about it.
Listen to more from Friends in America via Bandcamp.
