Start Listening To: Pynch
Indie Rockers Pynch Their Way into Your Playlist with Debut Album
Pynch has finally unveiled their highly anticipated debut album, Howling at a Concrete Moon, after building excitement with a couple of preview tracks. First came the wistfully reflective London earlier this year, followed by the enigmatic Tin Foil. With the expert co-production of Andy Ramsay from Stereolab, the album explores the intersection of personal and political themes, taking listeners on a journey through the rocky terrain of youth and coming of age in the aftermath of austerity measures in Britain. "Howling at a Concrete Moon" is like a sonic landscape, painted with raw emotion and vibrant colours, inviting listeners to immerse themselves in the band's vivid world. We caught up with Chillburn’s finest ahead of the album’s release.
Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from, and something about the music you make
We are Spencer (Vocals/Guitar), Scott (Bass), James (Keyboards) and Julianna (Drums) and we’ve been playing together various forms since 2017. Spencer had been recording demos at home during university before meeting Julianna and James in Chillburn and forming the band. Scott and Spencer are brothers from Ealing/Ramsgate, Julianna is Anglo-Franco and James is from the Stourbridge in the Black Country.
We make sort of lo-fi coming-of-age indie to soundtrack the end of the world!
What inspired the creation of your debut album, Howling at a Concrete Moon?
Spencer: The main concept for the album was the try and document what it has been like to be young and growing up in post-austerity Britain. Lyrically, the album is full of the hopes and fears that I’ve felt in my twenties and it sort of tells the story of living through these strange times and trying to make sense of the modern world. I’d say the interplay between the inner and outer world is probably the central theme on the record. Musically, we’re inspired by lots of artists and particularly those create their own world within their music which is definitely something we try to do.
What was the most challenging aspect of creating this album?
James: Andy Ramsay.
lol Andy was lovely and challenging in the best way, encouraging us to try and make the album the best and most weird it could be.
Spencer: Doing everything ourselves and DIY was really challenging as we had to take on things that normally your label or management would handle. It was quite stressful but we learnt so much and are even more proud of what we’ve created because it.
Julianna: Trying to communicate our visual and sonic aesthetic in a way that we were completely happy with took a while to get right.
How has your music evolved since you first started out?
Julianna: There are a lot more keyboards now. There was a lot of experimenting with our sound before we released any music and we sort of figured that out as we played around London
Spencer: For a while me and James were both playing guitar and keyboard which was quite hectic onstage but eventually we settled into our respective niches. Over lockdown, me and James got very into lil synthesisers and even more into production which has definitely fed into the music
Scott: I cemented the sound and brought a certain joie de vivre when I joined
How did you come to work with Andy Ramsay of Stereolab?
Spencer: Our good friend Gabriel Stebbing (Night Works) recommended Andy and Press Play studio a while back to us. We’d recorded a lot of material for the album ourselves at my house but then needed to head into a proper studio to get everything finished so thought that was the perfect time to approach Andy!
Julianna: We love Stereolab so it seemed like a good match; we were super excited to work with Andy! I loved the fact that we could record with a drummer too as it meant we paid due attention to the drum sound.
Scott: - It was pretty crazy to work with Andy. Julianna and I had just been to Manchester to see Stereolab the summer before we started recording.
How was this album produced?
Spencer: We started with my home recordings which were made mostly using my laptop, logic pro, a pink Stratocaster and a Roland Juno. I’d been working on these for a while and had everything more-or-less arranged. We then took these into the studio with Andy and added some more polished recordings. He really knows his stuff and has some amazing equipment so it really elevated the production
James: Then once we had the bulk of the studio recordings done we recorded some more overdubs back at Chillburn HQ.
Spencer: Yeah then Tom (Carmichael) did an awesome job of mixing the record! We’re really happy with how the record has turned out!
How has your creative process been affected by the current political and cultural landscape?
Spencer: I tried to approach the songwriting on the album so that each song is a document of my life at the time of writing. The cultural and economic landscape has been pretty relentless in the last few years to be honest, it would be kind of crazy if it didn’t make its way into the lyrics in some way. I feel like we’re all at its mercy to some extent. You can’t hide from the culture.
What have been some of the most memorable moments of your career so far?
Spencer: Working with Dan Carey and releasing our first single ‘Disco Lights’ on Speedy Wunderground was amazing. Supporting The Libertines across some UK shows was very cool. Hitting 1 million streams on Spotify was also a big moment and felt pretty surreal.
Julianna: There’s been lots of cool things, we’ve played some sell out shows in Paris, and more recently finishing the album with Andy and Tom was a monumental step forwards for us as a band.
Name an artist you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why?
Spencer: I pretty much try to listen to new music or at least music that is new to me each week but there are some artists I’ll always love. My dad got me into artists like David Bowie and The Clash who both made so much amazing and forward thinking music.
James: - I still listen to the Beatles, they’re probably the first band I remember listening too but I’m still amazed by the breadth of their catalogue.
Julianna: - I still listen to a lot of The Strokes, The Cure and David Bowie, that shit never dies.
Scott: - (scrolls through Spotify) - I still give Arctic Monkeys a play, their new stuff may be a bit too complex for me though.
What do you love right now?
James: I’ve been enjoying the Adrianne Lenker album ‘songs’, it’s beautiful.
Spencer: I love that Arsenal are top of the league. I’ve also been loving the new Yo La Tengo and Caroline Polachek albums
Juliana: I’ve been loving seeing lots of shows, I don’t think I’ve ever been to as many gigs in my life as this year. Cinema too.
James: Ooh yes, I’ve been going to lots of 11am screenings at my local cinema.
Scott: Winter walks, pottery and my girlfriend.
What do you hate right now?
Spencer: Rishi’s Britain
Julianna: Shit London Guinness and… I have , and always will, hate the Roland SPDXS.
Scott: I hate the mechanic who ‘fixed’ the window of my car and in the process broke the door. Now my radio has been stolen.
James: I like everyone a lot.
What is the most meaningful track on the album for you and why?
James: I’m a big fan of ‘London’, the sing along section at the end really hits home for me. Will I ever buy a house?
Spencer: That’s a good questions! I’d maybe say ‘2009’ and ‘Karaoke’ are the most personal tracks for me but ‘Somebody Else’ is the most symbolic of the journey we’ve been on the create this album and of our music as a whole. The fact so many people from around the world have heard it and connected with its message feels really special.
Are there any other releases you’re looking forward to in 2023?
Julianna: I’m looking forward to Welly’s upcoming releases, they’re pretty cool.
Spencer: Yeah Welly are great and are releasing on our friends at Goo Records! I’m not really sure what else is coming out in 2023 to be honest lol managing the album release has been all-consuming
Thanks for speaking with us! Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?
Thanks for reading our Q&A! Check out the album, hit us up online if you dig it and come along to a gig near you! Lots of love from Pynch x