Interview with Pylon Poets: ‘I’m a sucker for a heavy guitar riff!’

Torquay, Devon-based alt rock band Pylon Poets have released their EP, Lucid Hallucinations, today, full of high octane, synthy goodness.

The band, which has been together for four years, comprises Dan Hughes (vocals, guitars, synths), Sam McIver (drums, backing vocals) and Nathan Hughes (bass and backing vocals). They know each other from school, although they weren’t all in the same year. Nathan and Dan also went to the same college and they know Sam from former bands, although Nathan joked: ‘We’re about two people away from knowing everyone in Torquay!’

Their name was inspired by The ‘Pylon Poets’, a group of British poets writing in the 1930s, whose work deals with technological modernity. 

All four tracks on the latest EP – their third album – were recorded throughout 2020, producing three singles. ‘Breathe’ was the first single to be released in March, followed in July by ‘Abandon’ and ‘Rise and Call’, which was released last month.

The album references the state of the world today and people’s mental health during the pandemic: ‘It’s a reflection of everything that’s been going on this year,’ Nathan said. ‘Write what you know, it’s about politics over here and in the US.’

‘We never really have an objective when we make an album, we normally write the melodies first,’ Sam said. Nathan nods: ‘We can work out the instrumentation in two days but the lyrics can be 50 drafts!’

Despite not being released until now, the opening track, ‘Reverie’, is actually the oldest of the four songs on the album, according to Sam: ‘We recorded it with our old producer but we weren’t happy with the result.’ Nathan jumps in: ‘Production-wise, the new version is completely different. The structure is more or less the same, although we have changed some instruments and lyrics.’ Dan nods: ‘In the first version, we didn’t use any synths, just the guitar.’

‘Breathe’ is another track that will resonate with everyone this year: ‘It was lyrically written from the idea of ‘take a deep breath’ when everything starts to become too much for you,’ Dan said. ‘It looks at everything from a down view but hopefully has an uplifting quality by the time it reaches the chorus!’

‘I can listen to a song 25 times!’

Typically, Dan writes most of the songs. ‘He comes up with an idea or a few riff ideas,’ said Sam. Their last single, ‘Rise and Call’, which came out last month, is his favourite song on the EP: ‘I like my riffs,’ he laughed. ‘I’m a sucker for a heavy guitar riff.’ I tell him I’ve had this song on a loop and he laughs. ‘So have I! I can listen to a song 25 times!’

‘Rise and Call’ is about this year in politics, according to Sam: ‘It’s about how this year has taken such a drastic turn, politically, and how it’s about time we all come to together against it.’ Nathan interjects: ‘It’s also a retelling of the political theory that collective action is necessary, it’s about bettering everyone’s community, it’s a bottom-up movement.’

Another track on the EP, ‘Abandon’, deals with the topics of loneliness and mental health, particularly during lockdown: ‘Loneliness has been a real problem for a lot of people this year,’ Sam said. ‘The song’s about wanting that person but you can’t connect.’

The track also marks a stylistic departure for them: ‘It’s my favourite,’ said Nathan. ‘It was the first time we had the interesting idea of using a short synth intro, so structurally it’s a bit different to our other songs. We’ll just try anything and if it’s good, we’ll try it again!’

‘This one’s a mantra to push yourself through your fears and to overcome them’

Their eponymous debut EP, which was released in 2018, has a slightly different feel to it, particularly the song, ‘Fear’, which is slightly poppier than their recent songs. ‘In my head, this one’s a mantra to push yourself through your fears and to overcome them,’ Nathan said.

Lockdown has kept them busy, with around new 17-18 songs being worked on. ‘I wrote an instrumental album during lockdown as well, and Dan sent us a song yesterday,’ Sam said.

With two previous UK tours and an array of festival appearances, the band has shared festival stages with  artists such as Reef, GUN, Fun Lovin’ Criminals and Scouting for Girls. 

They listen to a huge array of different music, with Sam saying that his tastes range from classical to hardcore R&B. ‘Muse, Radiohead, depressing shit,’ he laughed. ‘When we first formed this band, we wanted to incorporate the sound of bands like The Cardigans (a Swedish rock band). I’m listening to a lot of film music by Hans Zimmer and John Williams.

‘I started off with funk disco in my teens but moved onto progressive metal in college, which was a bit of a jump but it kept me sharp!,’ Nathan laughed. ‘I was in a band called Lunix and we wrote 20 minute songs. We’d do a set and just do two songs!’ For Dan, The Killers were a big influence. ‘So were The Stones, Zeppelin and Hendrix,’ he said.

If he could tour with anyone, Sam picks Muse: ‘They’re my favourite band live. Or Zeppelin back in the day, they were like the house band in Madison Square Garden!’ Dan goes with The Killers: ‘And Hendrix, so I could stand there and watch!’ Nathan goes with Foo Fighters. ‘Picking someone dead is hard, there are so many.’ Sam jumps in: ‘Shall we do a list of dead musicians?’ Nathan laughs. ‘I’m saying Prince, he was so talented, he could play any instrument. He was a force of nature that man.’

(Photo from left to right: Sam, Dan and Nathan)