Interview with Piqued Jacks: ‘It will be one of our most varied albums…there’s a bit of everything’

Florence-based garage rock band Piqued Jacks released their galloping single ‘Golden Mine’ last month, with plans to bring out their seventh album, Synchronizer, early next year.

The band comprises Andrea (vocals and keys), Francesco, or Fra, (bass), Tommy (drums) and Marco (guitar and backing vocals). Andrea and Fra have played together since 2006, although they were childhood friends before that: ‘We played in the countryside and in the streets, so music was just another way to stay together,’ Fra said. Other members of the band have changed over the years. Tommy has been with the band since late 2016 and Marco since early 2019.

Their name has several interconnected meanings, according to Fra: ‘I bent this jack in one rehearsal,’ he laughed. ‘The episode connects to how we approach music and the human element to music. We’re outspoken and there’s also the sexual connotation.’

‘Golden Mine’ was inspired by an old man who they met on tour, according to Andrea, and is essentially saying that we have no need to fear death and should focus more on enjoying our lives. ‘We were playing at an underground theatre in Rome when we met him. The song is really about his experiences, he seemed so wise. The message is about leaving something behind when you die for future generations. You have to live your life fully with someone important in your life or it’s not worth living.’

As the song kicks off: ‘We are collecting centuries, only letters in history, an old man waving at a ship, carrying the wisdom earned and reaped.’

Their new album, Synchronizer, will comprise 11 tracks, nine of which are new, plus existing singles ‘Golden Mine’ and ‘Every Day Special’. ‘It will be one of our most varied albums,’ said Andrea. ‘A lot of the songs are quite different to each other, there’s a bit of everything.’

‘That’s where the album title comes from, the idea of synchronizing with the moment and the people around you’

Lockdown has clearly had an influence on what the album references: ‘The two main concepts of the album are to live in the moment and enjoy what you have and to connect with the people around and the love they give you,’ said Fra. ‘That’s where the album title comes from, the idea of synchronizing with the moment and the people around you. It’s like when birds migrate and synchronise their flight.’

The album is being produced by Julian Emery (Nothing But Thieves), Brett Shaw (Foals, Florence + The Machine) and Dan Weller (Enter Shikari, Bury Tomorrow).

‘Every Day Special’ is a banger about living for the here and now, rather than always hoping for an imagined future which may never materialise, as the lyrics testify to: ‘Don’t look forward to skipping to another page where the plot unveils, give meaning instead to the moments along the way before it’s too late.’

‘This year has been about the little things,’ Andrea said. ‘We had the opportunity to record the album this summer and to finish mixing it in London. Some of the songs were finished over lockdown. We’ve been in strict lockdown here for the last two weeks, so we haven’t been able to rehearse. We hope we’re about to reopen some stuff.’

‘It’s one of the most experimental ones we’ve done in terms of the sound’

One of their rockiest tracks is ‘Loner vs. Lover’, which Tommy describes as one of the most characteristic tracks in their discography. ‘It’s one of the most experimental ones we’ve done in terms of the sound, it really comes from the heart.’ The high-energy tracks morphs into a rap halfway through before building up again. ‘I’m very fond of this one,’ Andrea said. ‘I wrote the lyrics, it feels spontaneous.’

A new arrival in Metatron Group and INRI’s roster, they were the opening act for Interpol and winners of MTV’s The Freshmen. They have also performed during Indie Week Toronto and Music Showcase Greece in 2019, along with SXSW (Austin) in 2013-2015. Next year, they are due to play postponed gigs at the Canadian Music Week (Toronto), Musexpo (Los Angeles) and MMB (Bucharest).

Interestingly, for an Italian band, they have yet to pen a song in Italian: ‘We’ve thought about it,’ Tommy admits. ‘We’re trying to write something in Italian, it’s part of our baggage.’

They chat animatedly about The Rokes, a rock band formed by English expatriates in Italy in the 60’s who actually sang in Italian. ‘They are the best!,’ Fra exclaimed. ‘Piangi Con Me’ (Cry With Me) is our favourite. Whenever something bad happens, we sing it and it immediately cheers us up!’

‘Momo the Monkey’ marked their first EP back in 2010 and when I tell them I’ve been listening to it, one of them says ‘oh shit’ and they all dissolve into laughter. Andrea is the first to recover. ‘It was a long time ago. I think back in the day we were less poppy or easy listening. We were more funky, more raw than now. I think for the time, there were some good songs, it’s part of the road.’

They all cite quite diverse musical influences. Andrea is a big fan of Biffy Clyro and Mumford & Sons. Tommy is a big fan of art rock band Everything Everything and Fra likes Nothing But Thieves and electronic band The Blaze as well as GoGo Penguin, to whom he was introduced by Tommy.

If they could tour with anyone, Fra goes with The Grateful Dead: ‘Touring with them on LSD all day, I would enjoy seeing them. Or Steven Tyler in the 80’s! Andrea is mulling who to pick: ‘I would say that I would be very interested and curious to learn from people who are not with us like Chris Cornell or Prince, just to see how they’d be backstage.’ Tommy picks Ozzy Osbourne: ‘He’s the real deal, he’s not fake. Elton John is a performer, to tour with him would be beautiful.’

(Photo from left to right: Tommy, Andrea, Fra and Marco)