I’m actually still waiting for a Brother Louis Collective full length… first Admiral Fallow and now the Moth & the Mirror. What happens to my dream if this project really takes off?
” I don’t know how to break this to you Thor but Admiral Fallow are the Brother Louis Collective. They changed their name before the release of their first album so I’m guessing you have heard it after all.”
Are there any definite plans for another record in the future?
” No definite plans yet, but I know that we are all really keen to do another record. We’ve already started writing songs for it. So fingers crossed.”
Reviews – have you ever purchased something based on one?
” Probably not purely on a review, but the reviews will make me have a listen and if I like what I hear after that, then I’ll buy the music. So I think reviews are important as a guide. You have to have reviewers you can trust.”
From an artist’s point of view, what exactly is the point of a review? Do you ever read them?
” I guess the reviews can help with confidence. I’m not a very confident person so I will always be questioning myself and the songs I’ve written. We’ve had nice reviews so far which I never expected so it’s helped boost my confidence a bit. Some bands don’t need any help of course, they genuinely don’t care. I envy them.”
Trepidation aside, I am looking forward to starting our own Golden Gate Review series. (One week of listening while driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, to and from work; review written on the weekend. I usually cross back over the bridge by the 3rd song. That seems as good an acid test as any to guage the strength of the record.)
What do you think distinguishes a good record from a truly exceptional one?
” That’s a nice idea. I love San Fransisco, it’s really beautiful there, lucky you! To answer your question I think I’m going to go for… time. A good record will be played for a short time and then creep back out onto your stereo every now and again but a truly exceptional record stays on your player for months and is never far from hand. It should have layers so that every time you listen to it you hear something new. It will never sound dated and you will never get bored of it.”
Since ‘Honestly, this world’ will be our first ever review, can you share any production secrets that will make me sound like I know what I’m talking about?
” Ha! Erm, let me think. Davey MacAuley did a great job of making us sound passable. They are really all of his secrets. There are a few happy accidents on there, some of the crazy guitar noises were accidents we just decided to keep. In ‘Boxes’ Pete played drums with a broken arm, we are also beating fire extinguishers in that song. I got Maria Taylor drunk in a bar and sweet talked her to sing backing vocals on ‘Closing Doors’ which she did (in the bar).”
I just finished reading that Gary Lightbody said it was a great record to listen to in the car in the LA sunshine. That may well be true, but isn’t it really meant to be heard through the San Francisco fog across the Golden Gate?
“Yeah, that was nice of Gary to say that, but you’re right. Definitely in fog and even better in the dark.”
Speaking of reviews, we’ve got Martin John Henry lined up next. Have you had a chance to hear it?
“Is this the guy from De Rosa? They were a great band. I just had a listen to a couple of his tracks, it reminds me a little of early Arab Strap and Malcolm’s solo stuff mixed together. Or like a more aggressive Remember Remember.”
Germany (brilliant single) – I’ve got hand stitched bag 46/50! Why the title? I’m still trying to figure that out. Why not Locarno?
” Thank you for buying that. Those bags were cute. Maybe we’ll make some more, but a different version when we re-release ‘Fire.’ I’ve never been to Locarno. Do you have a link there? I’m afraid I can’t tell you why the song is called Germany. It’s a band secret. I can tell you that the song is about stalking. I hope that makes it up to you.”
Despite the failed attempt at a joke in the first question, I’d say that was a good precursor for our soon to be posted review attempt. I literally was caught completely by surprise by the arrival of the Admiral Fallow record. It was just suddenly there and I knew my 2 year wait for a Brother Louis Collective full length was finally over. But how did I miss it approaching completely?
T&P
A little Corner of Scotland 
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