It's grim. Grey clouds are threatening an almighty downpour and a
biting breeze makes us shiver as we climb aboard the Thames River Cruiser at Westminster.
Oily brown water laps against the boat, causing an icy spray to shower us, so we turn up
our collars, and a chirpy Cockney commentator barks out a droll commentary as we set sail.
It's grim.
OK, so we weren't expecting sunbeams and all-night drinking razzmatazz with the Bans
Featuring Thom Yorke's Brother...but this is taking the piss. It's dour, cold and
unforgiving. Perfect conditions, some might say, to chat to Andy Yorke, Nigel Powell and
Jason Moulster: the Unbelievable Truth.
"I feel sorry for Embrace who have set themselves up for this one
album. You don't leave much room for improvement, do you ?"
Nicky Wire says his fondest memory of Richey is him drunkenly moonwalking across a bar in Portugal.
And just as the Unbelievable Truth deal in melancholia, it doesn't mean they're going to be reaching for the razor blades and vodka yet. Does it ?
"Hmmm," ponders Andy as he zips his anorak up to his chin. "The music is pretty serious and, personally, I can be quite studious, but these two aren't," he says gesturing to Nigel and Jason.
"I don't think a simple soundbite can be applied to us," says Nigel. "Andy's actually quite a funny person. Obviously not 'Funny ha ha', but he is funny."
A fortnight ago, in the Maker's Readers' Lives section, one fan called Andy a genius...
"I can't argue with that!" laughs the singer (yes! laughs!). "Nah, it's rubbish, isn't it ? Everyone's a genius these days, or so it seems. A lot of bands are putting themselves up as geniuses these days far too early. The three of us are talented, but not that brilliant yet."
"It's going to take a lot of work and understanding of our art form. I feel sorry for Embrace who have set themselves up for this one album. You don't leave much room for improvement, do you ?" says Nigel. Jason sits, as he does all day, mutely nodding his head.
As the stinging breeze becomes stronger and we drift towards east
London, the spray continues to soak us. We persevere against the elements like true
troupers, while talk turns to the new single, "Solved", a song of gentle
haunting beauty which begins with the rather optimistic line: "If there's a
problem, I can solve it".
"In the context of the album, 'Solved' makes more sense
than it does as a single," explains Andy. "I'd like to defend the album against any forthcoming allegations
that it's very depressing. The song is basically rather depressing, it's
about someone in crisis. But by the end of the album, there's a sense of resolution and
coming to terms with things."
"The album exceeded my
expectations in its journey aspect. Each song feels like it goes from A to B," adds Nigel. "The songs weren't written conceptually,
they were seperate entities, but the album naturally takes you on a journey."
The waves get bigger as fellow passengers move inside. How
do you approach songwritting ?
Andy: "I write pretty much all the
lyrics, but musically it's collective."
Nigel: "I remember writing 'Solved'. Me
and Jason were at my parents'house, we'd watched a video and had an evening of doing
nothing. Jason said, 'Right! Bit tired! Better go!' and between him saying that and
getting to the door, the song was written! I think we were halfway out of the
lounge..."
That's all good and well and, so far,
Andy, Nigel and Jason are admirably proving that they're no more surly or sombre than you
or me, but what about when they take to the road. Sex? Drugs? Ginster's pasties?
"I like touring," says Andy.
"It's fun. Gigs were hard when we started because I spent the whole time focusing on
what my hands were doing and going 'Don't f*** up! Don't f*** up!' I'm no Jimi Hendrix,
but I can play my parts. I've even started to say a few things between songs now... I
suppose that's progress."
"Touring makes you think differently," says
Nigel. "It makes you realise that there's more to life than where you
are born and where you sleep. It broadens your horizons."
Andy: "What, even going to Swansea
?"
Nigel: "Yeah, of course ! It put things
into a new perspective."
The Unbelievable Truth are taking things
at their own pace, despite the praise being lavished on them by everyone from young girls
to the broadsheets. What type of fanbase do you have ?
"It's surprisingly diverse," says Andy.
"A lot of 15-year-old girls. Even more surprisingly, a lot of 15-year-olds from
Nottingham. Especially considering we've never actually played there!"
Have you been in other bands ? "I was
in a school band with Nige and his brother for one gig. We played at the Oxford Union. The
band could be described as soft metal, glam..."
"We had arena rock potential !" laughs Nigel.
"This was the Eighties, remember..."
"Yeah, and I was 16 and going through my Morrissey phase," continues Andy. "So there I was in my grandma's cardy
and my glasses singing glam rock songs ! After the gig, I said, 'Never Again!', but I
somehow got over it."
How ? By getting hideously pissed ? "Well,
my time in Russia helped. It helped me to write my first song because there was no one to
compare what I was doing with. I played people songs and they went, 'Wow! That's
brilliant!', because they knew nothing about music. I played guitar to fill a void -there
was nothing else to listen to out there."
The Unbelievable Truth's new album, "Almost
Here", relies heavily on bleak acoustic atmospherics: part Jeff Buckley, part Mark
Hollis (of Talk Talk fame), part Leonard Cohen and, inevitably, the tortured howl of
Radiohead. What was it like growing up with big brother Thom in his pre-Radiohead days ?
Did you share the same musical tastes ?
"Until I was 14 I listened to all of his records
exclusively," says Andy. "After
that, I diversified. I went through a huge 4AD phase. Me and Thom seemed to go in
different directions after that. A lot of what I bought on 4AD was actually rubbish, but I
bought everything anyway. That's what you do when you're young."
We reach Greenwich, the site of the new
Millenium Dome and leap off the boat rather than face the bleak return journey. Time to
consider the future. With a sound that recalls the bleakness of Joy Division and the
gentle strumming of Crowded House, is it possible to be truly massive ?
"I think we'd turn down the main stage at Glastonbury
to be honest," says Nigel as we sip pints in a local pub. "I don't think our music would be suited to that type of place. We
have turned down certain offers, anything that resembles an outdoor arena would be too
ambitious at this stage."
"We are doing some festivals this summer, abroad and in
Britain. Glastonbury, Reading..." adds Andy.
So you don't think that your sound will work at noon in the open-air sunshine ?
"We're only going to be playing in tents," grins Andy, looking up from his beer, his band mates catching on and
joining in the laughter. "We're certainly an in-tents kind of
band." You said it.
'Almost Here' is out now on Virgin
I don't believe it!
FIVE TRUTHS
ABOUT * Drummer Nigel
Powell wears odd shoes. |