Russell HughesPress to MECO are on the verge of releasing their second album Here’s to the Fatigue and drummer/vocalist Lewis Williams was kind enough to give us a few moments of his time.
PTM are one of the most exciting new wave of technical rock bands out there and are threatening to get better and better with their new album.
RUSHONROCK – From a few first listens it sounds like Here’s to the Fatigue has some heavier bits than Good Intent, is that down to Machine bringing that side out of you?
Lewis Williams – All of those heavier bits were written before we got in the studio with Machine, however he might have helped on certain bits to make those sections have more impact.
We wanted to have some more parts of this album where it was big and heavy but not necessarily as technical as some of those type of sections on Good Intent, bits that people can jump around to and let off some steam.
RUSHONROCK – Press to MECO is a term borrowed from NASA, are you guys big space nuts or does the meaning of the phrase just speak to you?
Lewis Williams – I think we’ve all got a healthy fascination with space related things. But we all just think it’s a cool phrase and lends itself to the band and what we’re trying to do.
RUSHONROCK – Have you guys taken a more melancholic outlook to writing the second album?
Lewis Williams – Yeah definitely, it’s normally the type of feeling I lean towards when writing lyrically. Especially at the time when writing this album, I think I was feeling quite nostalgic for those summers you had as a teenager.
RUSHONROCK – And I guess following on from that, what are you trying to say on it?
Lewis Williams – There’s a lot of existential angst which I think I’m just prone to focusing on. But also times where I’m just trying to say let go of that resistance and have fun with what we’ve been given.
I also wanted to convey the juxtaposition that you experience when you are having a dark time during the summer months, the feeling of flip flopping between feeling depressed in the sun when everything around you is so beautiful and flourishing.
RUSHONROCK – When you pushed the album release date back, did the general reaction of ‘oh shit that sucks’ make you feel good about it all?
Lewis Williams – It’s good that people were disappointed because that showed they care and were excited for it. Fortunately, everyone was really understanding and knew that we wouldn’t be doing it without a good reason. Lots of people guessed why we had to do it anyway.
RUSHONROCK – Here’s to the Fatigue comes out at the end of the month, if you could pick out one or two songs that encapsulates what the album is about, which ones would you chose?
Lewis Williams – I’d pick the title track Here’s To The Fatigue and Familiar Ground Both of which are singles and you can go and listen to RIGHT NOW. Those two give you a good taster of the vibe of the album.
RUSHONROCK – A Place in it All seems to me to be a bit darker and introverted than your usual material. Can you explain the song a bit more and the inspiration behind it?
Lewis Williams – It’s written from the perspective of someone who has survived a nuclear fallout and is trying to figure out what to do with their life. It’s also about how a huge life changing event can make you feel and how you can sometimes find yourself lost and wandering a bit of a psychological wasteland.
The initial idea was actually inspired by some of the surprisingly deep themes in Pendleton Ward’s Adventure Time, I was watching it a lot whilst writing, just for a little lighthearted entertainment but often found it got a lot deeper than I expected.
RUSHONROCK – I’ve heard you guys describe yourself as music geeks, but does mean you’re never satisfied with a song and you’re always looking to tweak it here and there?
Lewis Williams – Yeah, it’s funny when you’ve recorded something and then a few months later when you’ve had some time to decompress you might be listening to it and recognise a little tweak or some way you could have made it better.
It can definitely eat you up a bit inside. You’ve just got to ignore that, learn from it and be happy with what you did in the moment. C’est la vie!
RUSHONROCK – You’ve toured with such a wide range of bands and sounds, is there anyone you’ve toured with and thought ‘yup, us and them just gel so well’? Both musically and on a personal level.
Lewis Williams – The tour with Don Broco was really cool, there were just loads of people at those shows who got what we’re doing and wanted to vibe with us. I think the tour we’ve had the most fanbase crossover however would be Arcane Roots. It was mad when we announced that tour to see comments like “My two favourite bands touring together”.
RUSHONROCK – Finally, what are your plans for the rest of the year?
Lewis Williams – Release this bloody album, get out to Europe do some more support tours, write the next bloody album!