Sludge Factory (AU) Interview

This Town Needs Guns: shooting from the hip

THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS may not be the most familiar name, but these lads from Oxford in the UK make an impression on those who encounter them. Vocalist Stuart Smith explains to Robyn Morrison how the band came together, whether they really fit into the math rock genre and their upcoming visit to Australia.

Let’s just clear one point up straight away. Of all the sub genres of rock, math rock is tagged to those musical pieces which are rhythmically complex and contain atypical rhythmic structures. You could be forgiven for thinking this is some type of nerd music. In fact, math rock’s origin occurred almost three decades ago in the American Midwest and concentrated on angular melodies and time signatures that weren’t as straight forward as your usual 4/4 beat. It’s not usual to find yourself foot tapping to a 7/8, 11/8 or even 13/8 beat when listening to music which falls into the math rock category. History and music lessons aside, Smith shares his thoughts on whether THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS fits the description and how the band came together. “I started the band way back when I was in Uni. I always wanted to play in a band and when I came to university I thought that this was a good chance to meet people who might be interested in that kind of thing and it’s gone through lots of different variations and stages.

The first few years were pretty dire and not really worth mentioning and then about five years ago, we started the line-up that has been producing the kind of music that we’re known for now. Our motivation now is to just write music that’s more challenging and more interesting for people to listen to while still maintaining some kind of pop element.” Smith’s musical background started rather late in life. “I was always more into visual arts when I was growing up,” explains Smith. “At around the age of 18 I started picking up a guitar and trying to learn how to play. I always enjoyed singing and that’s more what I am known for in the band. I’m more of a singer than a guitarist. It was all about picking things up here and there and learning NIRVANA songs,” he laughs.

On the topic of the math rock tag, Smith hesitates to agree with this label. “I think it’s a name that’s been branded upon us rather than something we’ve gone for ourselves. I can understand where people are coming from in that we do odd time signatures and we’re certainly big fans of math rock bands, but I don’t know that we’re rock enough to warrant the moniker.” With such complex rhythms to THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS’ compositions, Smith explains how the song writing process unfolds. “It usually starts out with a riff or a series of guitar riffs then we sit in a sweaty or ultimately cold room depending on what time of year it is and deconstruct everything and put it back together again a couple of times and see which way we like it best, if we like it at all. In some instances, we’ll pretty much write a whole song and say, it’s not working and start all over again.”

Smith says that even though the band constructs their tunes in complicated time signatures, it doesn’t mean that they haven’t dabbled in traditional rock beats. But it’s their guitarist, Tim Collis who cannot seem to move past the math rock equation. “I don’t think our guitarist’s brain works in 4/4 anymore. I think when he does try he doesn’t seem to be able to manage it anymore. He just gets bored too quickly.”

In their early days, Smith says the band fell into the indie rock category then more of the math elements came into it. “Around the time we were doing our EP and mini album, and then with Animals, it evolved again. We stripped everything down to its bare basic elements and just had a very raw sound – guitars, bass drums and vocals and not much else. Our sound has evolved over time and hopefully with our next album it will change again and be interesting.” And speaking of their debut album, Animals, Smith says the writing process for the album took approximately four months. “A number of real life jobs and commitments; our bass player was about to be a dad in a matter of months and we thought that this could be our last chance to write something and record it together. It was all really quite quick. Instead of giving them names like ‘New Song 1’ and ‘New Song 2’…we found it easier to give them animal names. We always had the idea of giving them proper names but when it came to it we thought we were always going to call them the animal names regardless of what we decided to change the name to. It seemed strange to do it, so we just left everything as it was. I think it’s quite fun and part of being in this band is accepting that it doesn’t really matter what the songs are called, what you look like or who you are, it’s just about the music.”

THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS will be heading to Australia for the very first time as a touring band, even though Smith has ventured to our shores previously as a tourist. When questioned on his thoughts about how the Aussie audiences will receive the band, his response was blunt. “I’ve absolutely no idea. I’m hoping they’ll be open minded and just give us chance. There are certainly a lot of bands in Australia who share similar influences; MY DISCO, TO THE NORTH and ARROWS, who all seem to be similar, but of course, none of them are playing Soundwave. Hopefully we’ll be something a bit different that people can get into.” The live set will be, by and large, a combination of their releases. “The good thing about doing Animals so stripped back is that in a live performance, we don’t have to rely on a backing track or any extra people to come on the road with us. It’s just the four of us. Personally, I think (the live set) is a bit more punchier and a bit more aggressive and as we’ve gotten better playing the songs through constant touring. It’s a lot faster and up tempo. It’s a different experience to the album which I think can be a bit more laid back.”

Smith says that the live set of THIS TOWN NEEDS GUNS is completely different at a festival than it might be in a club or pub environment. “I like indoor shows because generally I feel that the sound is more reliable. You don’t have to worry about wind affecting the sound or worry about rain. The atmosphere at a smaller show is definitely fun. Then equally, playing in front of a lot of people on a festival stage can be really fun as well.”

THIS TOWN HAS GUNS has plans for another album release in 2011 and after the Soundwave Festival, they’ll be taking a bit of time out to try and finish that album. “Hopefully we’ll finish recording in the (UK) summer and release the album in October and then back to touring again. I can’t wait for the new album. Whilst we love playing the old songs, it’s really fun to play the new songs.” Smith says they’ll treat us to maybe one or two of those new songs during the Soundwave Festival tour. “It would be a bit unfair if we didn’t try and fit in as many old, perhaps known, tracks. I know there are people in Australia who are fans and if they’re going to spend money to see us, it would be pretty harsh if we played a whole bunch of songs that they’d never heard before.”