Interview with This Is War: ‘I love early 90’s, a punky rock ‘n’ roll tune’
Liverpool-based punk rock band This Is War is gearing up to release their single ‘Exile Poet’ next month, their tribute to Bob Dylan, and which will also appear on their forthcoming debut album later this year.
The band comprises Paul Carden (vocals), Mike Mullard (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), Jonny Roberts (lead guitar), Andy Williams (bass) and Martyn Leah (drums). Carden is also the former frontman of rock band The Black Velvets. ‘We met as we were coming out of one of the lockdowns, I’d been studying my Masters degree in London,’ Carden said. ‘Stu, our manager, got a band together and needed a vocalist.’ Their name was partly inspired by the film ‘This Means War’ – ‘I’ve never seen it!,’ Carden joked – and John Lennon’s ‘War Is Over’ t-shirt: ‘I studied his career for my Masters,’ he explained.
Lyrically, ‘Exile Poet’ is their most poetic track to date and their homage to Bob Dylan. As the song goes: “Transfigured from his forefather’s foes, camouflaging words in rows, in-between the lines they grow, cascading in their beauty. Elegant vibrations swarm, around the genius is born, to play and work with matters torn, the thieves of fascination…”
‘I love him,’ Carden enthused. ‘Andy came up with the bass line. I don’t know if you know my bass player but he plays constantly! It’s got a really catchy riff, a bit early-90’s like Blur’s ‘Girls & Boys’. I think the reason our songs are so varied is that we all love different things musically. I love early 90’s, a punky rock ‘n’ roll tune. We’ve been releasing a single every month this year.’
‘Sonically, it’s probably our most straightforward rock ‘n’ roll song’
Last month, they released their single ‘E.T.A.”. which erupts with a chuggy bass line and a jangly guitar line weaving in and out, giving it both a 60’s vibe and a fresh, punk rock feel: ‘The story behind it, the reason I called it ‘E.T.A.’ is that I have a daughter that I see every other weekend,’ Carden said. ‘She lives near south Wales and one of her mother’s phrases is “This is our E.T.A.” and it kept sticking in my head (laughs). I didn’t want to make it a “sorry for me” song. Sonically, it’s probably our most straightforward rock ‘n’ roll song.’
Their debut album, which may be self-titled, will feature the six singles that they have released so far, including ‘E.T.A.’, ‘Mona Lisa’ and ‘Ecstasy’ as well as five new tracks, including ‘Exile Poet’ and ‘I Don’t Get It’. ‘I Don’t Get It’ has enabled them to shake it up again sonically: ”I Don’t Get It’ is a poppy, catchy tune,’ he said. ‘It’s a phrase that kept cropping up. The words are about a conversation between two people but one of them isn’t listening. It’s difficult to sing, I keep writing these songs that are difficult to sing (laughs) where the spacing between the breaths is too short. The song told me to write it in that way, I have to sing it in that way.’
‘Mona Lisa’ is very drum lead, punky and defiant: ‘It has a bit more elegance to it, it’s more connected to my love and Mick’s love of American new wave punk,’ he said. ‘The band Television (a New York rock band in the 70’s) has a tune talking about ancient history. I love history, the idea of was she a prostitute or a duke’s wife? I’ve seen the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, it’s well-painted, her smile/non-smile. She’s a renaissance girl. I was trying to look at the painting but everyone was trying to look at it, you couldn’t get close to it. I like to look close up, to see the brush strokes. There’s a Leonardo da Vinci fresco behind it, no-one was looking at that, so I had a look at that instead (laughs). It’s like the Cleopatra face mask, maybe I’ll write a song about Cleopatra, she was a murderess who killed off most of her family, wasn’t she?!’
Their artwork for the singles is very distinctive, from the car driving through a flame-filled dystopian landscape for ‘E.T.A.’ to a pop art rock chick carrying an aerosol can with ‘Mona Lisa’ graffitied in big red letters and it turns out that they were all done by Scottish artist Donny. ‘We met him ‘cos his son and Stu’s son are in the same football team. My fave is his artwork for ‘Ecstasy’, it’s so Andy Warhol,’ Carden said enthusiastically. ‘I think doing the artwork is similar to writing a song, wanting to put something new into it.’
‘Singing is more entertainment but I have an antennae for melodies’
Interestingly, Carden likes to separate the music from the singing: ‘Quite a lot of us write in the band. I’m a musician and a singer but I don’t like to put them together,’ he said. ‘Singing is more entertainment but I have an antennae for melodies. Mick does backing vocals. The whole point of recording for us is to keep it clear and defined, not to track too much, we want to sound the same live.’
‘Ecstasy’, which they released as a single in March, kicks off with a heavier bass line and is probably the stompiest of their tracks so far. ‘I wanted to lean it on that, I was talking about the drug but it’s actually about the emotion of ecstasy,’ Carden said. ‘I’m not a big fan of writing songs about drugs and alcohol (laughs) but I like to twist things a little. It’s my fave song, I like the darkness in it. We used to start our set with it but now it’s in the middle. It’s both heavy and slower, which sums up ecstasy, that contained emotion before it kicks in.’
Locally, he is a fan of indie rock band The Merchants, with whom they have shared a stage: ‘They supported us in Manchester, they’re nice lads, very acoustic. I don’t particularly listen to much music, I’m a bit musicked out, it gets in the way of inspiration. If I can sense it’s getting muddy, I’ll leave my guitar for a week. I play the harmonica as well (he picks it up and starts playing), I only bought it in case I go to prison!’ His go-to guitar is a Farida: ‘I bought it with my student loan,’ he grinned. ‘All the expensive stuff I bought with my student loan!’
If he could have a pint with anyone, he picks Liberace: ‘He’d have some good stories. You could dress up and still look normal compared to him!’ His dream line would be an intriguing mix: ‘Television to headline because I love their energy, mixing punk and top quality musicians,’ he said. ‘You could throw in James Taylor, he would start it more chilled, it would be brilliant. Belle and Sebastian because I’ve always loved his melodies. Lyrically, he’s such a beautiful songwriter, very personal but funny. With The Velvets, we played our set at a festival as they were finishing, I had to run all the way across to see them, I was the only person running!’
(Photo: Martyn (back), Jonny (front left) Andy (behind in Adidas t-shirt), Paul and Mike.)