Brooklyn-based Indie Rockers Deadbeat Darling Talk to Stereoboard About New Album
Friday, 18 November 2011
Written by Rob Sleigh
Earlier this year, New York’s Deadbeat Darling spent some time here in the UK working on their new album with Grammy Award-winning producer Ken Nelson. Nelson is probably known best for his work on the first three Coldplay albums and on Mercury Prize winners ‘Bring It On’ by Gomez and Badly Drawn Boy’s ‘The Hour of Bewilderbeast’. Ahead of the release of the band’s debut UK single ‘Promises’ later this month, frontman Joseph King spoke with Stereoboard to tell us more about the forthcoming album and Deadbeat Darling’s music. He was even kind enough to reveal the album’s title…
Later this month, you’ll be making your UK debut with the single ‘Promises’. How are you feeling about bringing the music of Deadbeat Darling over to the UK?
Quite excited actually. A new album, a new place an ocean away, and a new group of people who've never heard our music - sounds like an adventure. And we're quite the adventurous types, so it works out. We just hope you like us as much as we like you.
You’ve recently been over here working on your new album. What was that experience like and how did you enjoy spending time in the UK?
We're in love. We've spent a good many nights carousing about London, and have had a great time of it. Our only complaint is the pours in bars - it takes a triple whiskey and soda to equal a single in downtown New York City. Makes a beer drinker out of a whiskey drinker very quickly, you know?
What did the band get up to while you weren’t recording?
Our label sequestered us in a studio called Monnow Valley just outside of Monmouth, Wales, and it's a good thing because we actually finished the album on time. We did kill upwards of 20 bottles of Jameson and 15 bottles of Scotch out there amid the sheep and such. And then we discovered the pub where all the local young Welsh ladies hang out, and that changed the game a bit. Luckily, we were done with basic tracking by then, so no real harm was done.
You worked on the album with Ken Nelson. What was Ken like to work with and what did he help bring to the music of Deadbeat Darling?
Ken is amazing. He is such a purist in the studio. It was all about playing the songs the way they were written, on the instruments they were written on. Every guitar track was played on our own guitars through our own amps, and for Ken it was all about the performance and the essence of the songs. He kept us calm and in the moment, and any arrangement changes he made were subtle but meaningful. And that Scouse accent of his makes things quite real in the studio, especially for a bunch of Yanks like us.
What made you decide to choose Ken as the album’s producer?
The guitar tones on ‘Don't Panic’. Oh, and he and I had an amazing meeting and I knew our respective personalities and approaches to the studio would be quite compatible. We needed a calming influence in the studio, and he certainly was.
Have you given the album a title yet and, if so, can you reveal what it is?
We're calling it ‘The Angel's Share’. It’s a historical reference we stole from you guys actually, and it has to do with whiskey. Look it up.
What else can we expect from the album in terms of the music and lyrics?
A little surf rock, a touch of dub here and there, and definitely a bit of New York downtown grit and swagger. Lots of floor toms and Fender guitars. Lyrics that swing from macabre to whimsy, sometimes on a dime.
For those people in the UK who might not have come across Deadbeat Darling yet, what can they expect from your music?
Sometimes a party, sometimes a daydream, sometimes a sunrise stumble through the tear-stained streets of an abandoned city. But mostly a party.
Your earlier releases have been recognised for their broad range of musical styles. Where do you find inspiration for your music and what other artists have influenced you as a band?
Influence is found everywhere, everyday in real life experiences. We're kind of pleasure-junky soul-travellers with a knack for the absurd, so no need to make much up as far as stories go.
As far as artists, I like to talk more about our most contemporary influences than the music we grew up listening to. I think we're influenced a lot by New York City bands, whether we know it or not - The Walkmen, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Strokes, TV On The Radio. I know it's not very hip to site contemporaries, but I think it's honest to admit as an artist that you're sort of a product of your scene.
Do you all share the same influences or do you each bring your own personal tastes to the group?
Oh, we're all over the map influence-wise. Evan's [Evan Howard, drums] influences start in the brass band and jazz world of New Orleans. Ian [Everall, bass] is a sort of indie, art-rock kid from Alberta who has a taste for edgier out there sort of stuff. Mohit [Bhansali, guitar] grew up on a heavy dose of The Smiths, Depeche Mode and that type of thing, and I have an affinity for dub, trip-hop and like Mo, the dark lyrical rock of the 80's. One band we all intersect on is The Doors.
When did Deadbeat Darling first get together and how did you all meet?
We started in January of 2007, and in typical NYC fashion, we all sort of met by happenstance - through friends of friends, or by hanging out at the same bars in the same circles. We all had different projects we played in before we pieced Deadbeat Darling together a few years back.
What was it that inspired the band to decide to start making music during those early days?
I moved from Austin, Texas to NYC in October 2005 with a guitar and a laptop, and started writing and demoing songs for a new project. After I had enough songs for an album, I started looking to put together a band, and was lucky enough to fall into company with the boys that are Deadbeat Darling. Now we write everything together and it is a pretty healthy collaboration, albeit not so much for our livers and lungs sometimes.
As for you personally, how did you first start getting into music and what led you to where you are now?
I started writing songs at age 12. I put together my first band at 18, and have been in some form of a live band ever since. I've lived in San Francisco, Austin, and now New York, and never really taken any sort of break from writing, recording and releasing albums. Oh, and I guess I like attention a bit because I never spend much time away from the stage. It's just too much fun.
When can we expect the new album to be released here in the UK?
Looks like early March 2012
Can we also expect some live shows over here in the near future?
Absolutely. Looks like we will be out there in February playing shows for a bit, then once the album is out, you won't be able to get rid of us.
The new single ‘Promises’ is due for release on 21st November 2011 – Watch the video below.
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Later this month, you’ll be making your UK debut with the single ‘Promises’. How are you feeling about bringing the music of Deadbeat Darling over to the UK?
