Arrows of Love (Photo: Paul Bachmann for Live4ever)
“‘Why?’ is big. I mean, I ask myself ‘Why?’ every fucking day.”
And it’s a question Live4ever are also asking Arrows of Love, guests at the ei8htball Media lounge. But as Pavement said on “Blue Hawaiian”: “it’s in how you inflect”.
The Arrows of Love are, in the modern music world, that very rare thing. So rare in fact, there’s not really a term for it yet. Like bottled lightning, they have something that can barely be contained, something frightening, but equally powerful and beautiful.
And, just like lightning, they never strike in the same place twice. Since their inception, they have been restless, frantically pursuing something, something unfathomable. Yet they continue to grow, into what, well that remains to be seen – “as long as it is evolving, otherwise I’d stop”.
So who or what are the Arrows of Love?
“Are you Punk? Are you Grunge? Are you this? And you know what? If I’m starting a song, I don’t want to come with an agenda on it and then place these limits and boundaries. I’d just rather see what comes out, and I think life’s like that.”
Like the Arrows themselves (Cleopatra, King Harold, Boudica, Ragnar Lothbrok and Attila The Hun) the answer is direct, yet somehow it’s also almost a riddle. This puzzling punch, is also reflected in their music. Music that is a powerful concoction of just about anything. With every passing day, genre becomes a vague and distant notion. The Arrows love music, and take what they want from it when they want.
“I’m kind of inspired … by people with dirty baselines and electronic music – from Ragga to Hip-Hop, and … at SXSW I feel a lot of excitement when I walk past a Hip-Hop crew doing their things in the street. There’s a bit more spit in their voice.”
Is there no spit left in rock?
“I feel like … guitar music has been doing a lot of the same stuff for a while, where people are almost too much in a bubble and blowing smoke up each other’s arses.”
So is Hip-Hop the future of the band?
“We’re just beginning to fuck with the boundaries a little bit … I’m not here to find “The New Sound”; just to push in our direction … like any good artist or band does. You just find your space, and keep walking. So, you can’t ask yourself to many questions, but a few are good.”
But, you do have to wonder what these ‘few’ questions are. With each release the Arrows sound more and more invigorated and ready for battle. That’s not to say they are a one trick pony – merely playing aggressive rock. This would be a serious misconception, as they are anything but.
The Arrows music may at times be challenging, but it is also in equal parts beautiful, witty and intelligent. They are a band that delivers their audience with a powerful statement, as to what that statement means, that’s up to them.
“For me the best art, the best poetry, the best music are the ones that take it up to about 80% and then we just ask the audience or whatever. But that last 20% completes in the eye of the viewer.”
So you’re reliant on the audience?
“The poetry reader, the listener or whatever, they’re the ones who interpret it, that’s when the art is complete. and it’s different for each person.”
This suggest that you are almost just instigators, rather than oracles. The Arrows merely there pointing like-minded souls in the direction of understanding.
“I just think there is no point trying to define anything.”
So how are you finding SXSW?
“We kind of left London with our trousers round our ankles … we came with one guitar out of five people.”
Does this mean The Arrows are unprepared? What about playing shows?
“Yeah, an Austin hero lent us the rest of our equipment – this amazing man called Brian. I put something on Facebook, like: ‘Can someone please lend me a bass?” And within a minute he was like: “Yeah, I’ll lend you a bass’. And then we had two more guitars, he’s never met us before, I then met him in the street and he handed me thousands of pounds worth of equipment. Then was just like: ‘There you go”. Just so trusting and so lovely, and that’s how we are playing our shows.”
Which is in the spirit of festival, as The Arrows are quickly finding out.
“The Austin people are the best, the people have been amazing. They’ve made SXSW, they completely make SXSW.”
But what were The Arrows expectations of the SXSW itself?
“Coming and having expectations is a bit dangerous, because SXSW feels like if I really stopped and thought about it, and took it as a business decision – you either need to be funded by someone else, to feel stress free about it. Or you need to consider it some kind of casino – and going in and putting all your money on one number.”
Why so?
“We didn’t know anything about SXSW, we thought it was a festival? And it kind of looks like a festival, and it smells like a festival, and feels like a festival. But it’s an international business conference.”
And how have you found that, surely that could be somewhat intimidating for a band?
“We’ve noticed the different sort of sides to it, and I guess that is what a drug is. You know it’s not totally good for you … wait maybe I can’t say this … but in theory you know it’s not necessarily good for you, but it feels fun when you’re doing ti.”
And possibly it’s this blunt approach that makes them such an attractive proposition. But also, it’s why they themselves appreciate the people who do support them so much.
“There’s no real reason why you should take an interest in a bunch of muppets like us … and it’s kind of nice that you see what we’re doing and do take that interest, people have been really nice.”
Coming of the back of 2014’s “Everything’s Fucked” album, it’s hard for the outsider to imagine what is next for The Arrows. The brilliance and fury of the record is entrancing, with tracks like “Addict” and “The Knife” completely mesmerizing. Their work with with Bob Weston on production of the record has resulted in something special. With Weston, more than anyone before, really capturing the essence and power of the band.
Check out their brand new video for album track: “Pretend Friends” below:
How did this collaboration come about?
“We were recording and it was all necessity. So there wasn’t money for a studio … and it was kind of coming together, … and a friend of mine from a band called Chasms … came along and heard some of the early recordings, and he was like have you listened to this band Shellac … and he made me listen to them then, and I fell in love with it.”
So how did you end up contacting them?
“A couple of days of ranting about this band, and another friend of mine drops me the bassist from Shellac’s email address. And I’m like, what am I gonna do with that, but then literally a few hours later I wrote to this guy, like a goofy fan kid: [MOCKING VOICE] ‘I’ve just discovered how amazing you are’.”
Really?
“It was the most embarrassing email. And somehow he wrote back saying he’d master the album. That was like winning the lottery, times 10. Because out of anyone in the world, there is no one i would wanna do it more with. He’s the one.”
So how then did the relationship work, was it collaborative or just a case of sending out the songs?
“I ended up having to download a ‘how to mix audio’ manual off of Amazon. And just sit there for sixteen hours a day reading it page by page. Applying it all to this one song, staring at a computer screen until my eyes were wide. Then running to the airport with a USB key, a pair of boxer shorts, a sock and a t-shirt and a soft guitar case with no guitar. i got stopped at that airport twice.”
Great tale, with a happy ending. Fairytales do still come true. The Arrows have gambled, putting themselves on the line, and stood bravely out alone willing to take whatever came their way. Standing by their work, with courage. It’s brilliant, without doubt. But on speaking to them, you realise this isn’t hubris or self-indulgence. You truly believe they would take the criticism as willingly as the praise.
“We never expect everyone in the world to love what we do – any musician who gets offended when people don’t like what they do, just really needs to grow a pair.”
What a pair The Arrows must have. Flapping defiantly in the breeze, The Arrows stand naked and exposed for all to see. They are not ashamed of what they are, they embrace every facet of their music. Willing to try anything, attack any boundary, and challenge any notion, seemingly unafraid to fail. It’s music that celebrates just what music is capable of. Music doesn’t have to be perfect, but it should always be exciting. Love them or hate them, it matters not, because either way you will be impressed.
“With us, it’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. Just come along and check it out, and if it is look forward to the next one, but I wouldn’t look forward to the first one, because you might hate it.”
But believe us, you won’t.
