Interview with The Merchants: ‘Glum Struck Fool’ is one of the first songs I wrote, after I’d had a tough day’

Wirral-based band The Merchants have released their thumping, rifftastic track, ‘Glum Struck Fool’, today, with another single, ‘Together Alone’, due out in January.

The band comprises Joe Abraham (bass), Ernesto Sandoval (guitar), Harry Bowness (vocals and guitar) and Harry Strachan (drums). Bowness and Abraham know each other from school and Strachan went to school round the corner. Sandoval, who moved from Guadalajara, Mexico to do an MA in Liverpool a couple of years ago and then stayed on for work, met them via his girlfriend, who is good friends with Abraham.

‘Glum Struck Fool’ has been inspired by the struggles of being a working-class creative in a 9 to 5 job, which is bound to resonate with anyone who has found themselves wishing their life away, waiting for the weekend.

”It was one of the first songs I wrote, after I’d had a tough day,’ Bowness laughed. ‘It rolled out of me. It was based on my experience and the experiences of friends in offices who felt the same. It’s one of our better ones live. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to play live,’ he said wistfully.

As the chorus kicks off: ‘Oh, save me, it’s not what it seems, life’s crazy, all the things you can be. You’re either living in a bubble with a pocket full of cash, or you’re a glum struck fool with your head up your ass.’

Their next single, ‘Together Alone’, was one of three tracks they recorded in London in July. ‘It’s a break-up song, it’s a bit slower,’ Bowness said. Sandoval chimes in: ‘James, our producer, pushed for it. We’d been thinking of doing another one instead.’ Abraham adds: ‘It’s changed a lot, though, hasn’t it?’ Sandoval agrees: ‘The lead guitar changed quite a lot, we added layers on it.’

As the lyrics go: ‘It’s ingrained on your face that you’re leaving with less than you came, the loose ends they’re all frayed and I’m teething with feelings the same as we call bluffs, feeling no reason to stay.’

‘It’s about situations that have happened and about people who’ve been supportive’

‘Roots Hold The Trees’, which they released in September, is a multifaceted track. ‘It’s about situations that have happened and about people who’ve been supportive,’ Bowness said. Strachan jumps in: ‘It’s also about mental health and checking up on people, especially at the moment,’ he said.

The lyrics reflect the bleaker mood of the song: ‘Never thought I’d see you fall adrift but you surrender to the game when you follow blind. You’re pretty much a pacifist but your temper can take over you sometimes. It’s impossible to talk to you because ya always right, always right. Of course you set the sights highhhhh.’

Another track, ‘Hostile’, was kickstarted by Sandoval: ‘I had the initial idea with the guitar riffs and the chords for the chorus,’ he said. ‘Actually, I found the demo I recorded years ago and played it to the others.’ Bowness nods: ‘We heard it in a session and I just jumped on it,’ he said.

They love the diversity of the music scene in Liverpool and we chat for a while about the great bands coming out of the city, including Red Rum Club, who we’re all big fans of. ‘Joe’s trumpet, it gives them an edge, doesn’t it?,’ Bowness said. Sandoval likes the mariachi flavour to their songs. ‘I really like the La’s,’ Bowness said. ‘Me and Joe listened to them a lot growing up.’

Other local bands disappear without a trace. They lament the disappearance of indie band 16 Tambourines. It turns out that they broke up in 1990 but they reunited for a gig in Liverpool a year ago to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of their debut album, How Green Is Your Valley. ‘SANKOFA was a great band, too,’ Sandoval said. ‘They were a bit of everything.’ (They have not released a single since 2017.)

Growing up, Sandoval says he was more into the music than the lyrics: ‘When I was learning guitar, it was all about the guitar, not the lyrics,’ he said. ‘Me and Strach could spend hours just jamming, we have a great balance.’

They have an anything goes approach to music. ‘We always say if anyone has an idea, we’ll give it a go,’ Bowness said. Strachan interjects: ‘We’ll give our opinion!’ Bowness is a big fan of Jim Morrison and Tom Waits. Abraham is a massive Dylan fan: ‘Basically, I just listen to Bob Dylan,’ he laughed. ‘He’s been my man on Spotify for three years. I’ve got a book of his lyrics, they’re like poems.’

If they could tour with anyone, Strachan picks Led Zeppelin and The Who: ‘That’d be quite an experience. The size of their tours, they sell out in minutes.’ Abraham and Sandoval agree: ‘I used to love watching videos of Jimmy Page play,’ Sandoval said. ‘Every time, he’d play a song a bit differently, so it would be a dream to play with him.’ Abraham goes with Tom Petty or The Libertines: ‘They’re cool. They’ll play in a pub for 10 people and 400 will show up, then they’ll play Hyde Park. ‘You can tell that they really just love to play.’ Bowness plumps for Springsteen: ‘You wouldn’t be able to hear anything afterwards, would you?!’

(photo from left to right: Joe, Ernesto, Harry Bowness and Harry Strachan)