No Back Up Plans: Hanging On With The Leisure Society

We rely on certain things. For fans of sprightly folk and well-placed pop jangle, The Leisure Society have been one of them for the best part of a decade, with Nick Hemming’s deft weaving of confessional lyrics and polyphonic arrangements making the band a byword for songwriting nous. But what happens when that equilibrium is upset?

‘The Fine Art Of Hanging On’ happens. The band’s fourth album is the product of a difficult time. The writing process found Hemming, without a publishing deal or record contract, going for stopgap jobs after a few years of letting music pay the bills. He was also trading songs with a friend who would later die from cancer, using the rough sketches as an addition to their usual topic of discussion: music. Through it all, a thread emerged. Again, a Leisure Society record would be about balancing turmoil with glimmering melody.

“Without thinking about it, they [the songs] all had this common theme of trying to hold on to something: the past, memories, a career, a relationship or life,” Hemming said. “One of my friends was dealing with skin cancer and I started sending him the demos.

“I didn’t know what to say to him, basically. He was in a really bad state. You just have to be there for people. The only way that I could reach out to him was sending the demos. The way he was dealing with his life slipping away made me think: ‘Fucking hell, no matter how upset and depressed I am about having to apply for shitty day jobs, at least I’ve got my health. Stop complaining and get on with it.’”

While Hemming is quick to note how privileged he feels to have been able to keep a roof over his head thanks to his songs, there is something particularly soul-destroying about the jobs that most musicians take on between tours or records. Hamish Adams, drummer of Cornish punk trio Bangers, recently devoted part of his Lucida Console zine to it, and his stories are quite brutal in their stream-of-consciousness monotony.

“Music was always a thing I was doing, I just wasn’t making any money from it,” Hemming said. “I’ve never been able to come up with a back up plan. I did OK at school but in sixth form I started playing guitar. The moment I had that nothing else mattered anymore. That went on for years and years, just working in shops or warehouses, minimum wage jobs. I’d wait for the evenings, play gigs every night or write songs and record. It’s always been everything.

“I’m applying for these horrible jobs, but also I don’t feel that anybody deserves to just be able to make a living just out of music. I feel guilty about being able to do something I love, no matter how much time and energy I put into it. Maybe I shouldn’t be able to make a living out of this because I love it so much?”

Appropriately, the idea of maintaining a profession is writ large on Tall Black Cabins, perhaps the record’s standout song. Initially inspired by the fishermen of Hastings, it quickly took on new meaning. Their traditions have been eroded, just as independent musicians, venues and labels face uphill battles every day.

“When I started writing that song, it was purely about the fishing industry,” he said. “I was commissioned to write a song about shipbuilding, small boats. I wrote the song about the boats and also this song that ended up on the album. I was trying to write from the perspective of a fisherman, using arcane language and stuff to get this olde worlde feel to it. But as it went on, as always happens, I started writing from my own perspective as well and relating it to the music industry. I’m not very good at writing in character, I have to feel it myself otherwise I can’t really write honestly about it.”

“In your heart you know you’re worth more than you were ever told,” runs the chorus of Outside In, the album’s direct, hook-driven halfway marker. The sentiment, when placed in recent context, is clear. But the roots run deeper, back to the classroom and Hemming’s early days drifting on the margins in a string of nowhere-bound bands.

“I was writing that for this kid I went to school with, a bit of a social misfit," Hemming said. "As his life went on he became more and more removed from society and ended up in quite a bad state. Again, I ended up using my own experiences and feelings to finish the song off. As far as music goes, I played in bands for years and years and never got anywhere. I hadn’t really found my own voice at that point. I was playing in indie-pop bands that didn’t really deserve to be successful. It gives you that feeling of being an outsider.”

At first glance, its title might suggest fingernails clawing the dirt as the cliff's edge approaches, but 'The Fine Art Of Hanging On' is about strength as much as despair. Pulling back from the brink has rarely had such an ebullient soundtrack.

‘The Fine Art Of Hanging On’ is out on April 13 through Full Time Hobby.

The Leisure Society Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:

Mon April 13 2015 - BRISTOL Colston Hall
Tue April 14 2015 - OXFORD O2 Academy Oxford
Wed April 15 2015 - LONDON Islington Assembly Hall
Thu April 16 2015 - CAMBRIDGE Junction
Fri April 17 2015 - BIRMINGHAM Rainbow Bar
Sat April 18 2015 - NOTTINGHAM Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Mon April 20 2015 - MANCHESTER Manchester Deaf Institute
Wed April 22 2015 - GLASGOW Oran Mor
Thu April 23 2015 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Cluny
Fri April 24 2015 - LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
Sat April 25 2015 - NORWICH Arts Centre
Mon April 27 2015 - BRIGHTON Brighton Komedia

Click here to compare & buy The Leisure Society Tickets at Stereoboard.com.

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