New Single: Society – ‘Can’t Go Home’

After bringing you electro-pop and indie guitar-pop on the blog this week, we find ourselves back on more familiar territory with the new single from alt-country rockers, Society.

‘Can’t Go Home’ is a strong offering from the band, who already have two albums under their buckled belts. It has a great hook, ‘I Just Can’t Go Home’, a lyric that draws you in with the promise of a compelling story and musically keeps you on your toes by taking a few unexpected directions. It exudes a confidence throughout that gives the impression of a band getting into their stride – a great sign for the album to follow later this year.

The single can be purchased via: Amazon – http://goo.gl/0tCJx  iTunes – http://goo.gl/MaAR7

We caught up with Matt from the band to talk about the single, the development of the band and how not to look cool in a cowboy shirt!

Hi Society – how are you guys doing?

Hi! We are all doing good thanks, busy working on new material for the next record.

Have you been pleased with the reception to ‘Can’t Go Home’?

Yes, so far so good. It’s been less than a week since release but we’ve had some great complimentary feedback already so that’s encouraging.

How long have you had this tune up your sleeves? How did it come about?

It’s been around and in our live set since the tail end of last summer. It was one of those songs that came fairly well formed rather than just being an idea that is built upon and turned into a song. To a large degree it was obvious how it was going to go from the start, as the bedrock was already there, so the work was really just figuring out how it was going to begin, how it fit together instrumentally then being able to perform it well. As far as the lyric goes it’s kind of a continuation of a previous song ‘Wheel’s A’ Turning which was the lead off track on our last album, I got the idea to go back to these two people a little further on down the road and pick up their story again. This is the first time we’ve released a single and this song seemed like an obvious choice.

This sets a high benchmark for the next album – is it ready to go? Tell us about it?

Thanks. We are working on it at the moment, it’s a process of bringing the raw tune in and then us all kicking it into shape, we work on the arrangements and harmonies together. With this record we have decided to work more with one song at a time rather than go in and track a load of stuff and then set about finishing it and so far it’s been a great way of focusing and not spreading yourself too thin creatively. We record as a 3 piece, which is what we are as a live performing act and then get guests in to contribute to what we’ve laid down; we like to do that and add different instruments from just guitar bass and drums but if you’re trying to do that with a big bunch of songs in one hit  it can get a bit messy and confusing…and stressful as we’re not in a position of having musicians come to the studio and track at the same time as us as we’d much prefer . This way is more fun and it’s great to have a song mixed before moving onto the next one as the satisfaction of completing it keeps the fire stoked –  so  to sum that up it’s a slightly different approach from the previous records. I can’t say what it’ll be like as a whole, as I never really know until it’s finished but I’m confident in the material that’s coming up. My only brief with doing albums is that it’s varied and colourful but has continuity so the songs hang together right. No rock operas though…yet. We’re shooting for an Autumn release.

How has your sound evolved through ‘Songs From The Brickhouse’, ‘A Crooked Mile’ and the new record?

Well ‘Songs From The Brickhouse’ was a bunch of recordings where we were trying things out and really learning how to make an album. I did have the same brief that I mentioned before but it was the first time round so all very new. We worked with a producer on a couple of tracks and I learned a lot just by watching and taking stuff in and seeing what it takes to get to the finish line. So at the end it was like, ok that’s what we sound like. I’m really proud of that record as it was our first and it meant so much just to get it done. It was well received which was great for a debut.

‘A Crooked Mile’ was recorded in a shorter time period and when I listen to it I can hear that and all the songs seem much more connected as a result. Having said that, we had material for the second record that existed at the time of the first record, so both those albums seem closely related to me. The second album is more ambitious I think. There are a few songs where I think we really nailed what we were going for and are really satisfying to hear back and maybe a couple that didn’t quite come off as I’d of hoped but some of that was due to time constraints. Again I’m proud of it and everyone involved really put in the effort. We’d obviously had more experience by then so we approached it more professionally. You never stop learning really and there are always new things to try or indeed things you listen back to and think you might approach it differently next time. We must have got something right I guess as we had some really great reviews and radio play.

With the new record so far we seem able to figure out what does and doesn’t work much more quickly just from experience and get to the nub of it. Everyone is playing great and pitching in really well. As far as how the sound has evolved I guess all that stuff will have some influence on it. There are a lot of different interesting things coming up and so at this point it’s hard to define an overall direction. We want it to be able to work well live and keep the attention of an audience in that setting so we’ve been trying to keep it fairly up and engaging so far but it could take another turn and as I mentioned previously, I never really know until it’s finished and out there. We’re really happy and buzzing with what is coming up so far.  A couple of people have said that the single is a slight departure and does it herald a new beginning, which is good to hear and which I’m quite excited by,  it does feel like a fork in the road to some degree but I’m so close to it everyone else will have to decide!  We’ll see…..

This single is your first on ‘At The Helm’ records – how did this link up come about – are you planning on working together again?

It’s our first single full stop. I met James from ‘At The Helm’ at a gig and we got chatting, we kept in touch and then later on talked about doing something which has led to this. James has been good to work with and straight up with everything as well as being energetic and a good sounding board. Our previous records were self-releases so it feels good to be involved with this label. And yes we are planning to put the album out on ‘At The Helm’ records and on all formats so there will be a physical release. This digital single is the kick off and a way to let people know we’re still here and that there is more coming.

If Society got to choose the three Glastonbury headliners who would you go for?

Deadstring Brothers, Danny & The Champions Of The World, and a Tamla Motown Revue – that stuff would be great for big happy singalongs.

Is it impossible to not look cool in a cowboy shirt? 

Ha! Not if you have a bad haircut. Maybe that’s what a stetson is for….. Get the barnet right and then everything else will fall into place. That’s my tip. There are some dodgy cowboy shirts, I should know…

I’ve not seen you play live yet – how would you describe the Society live experience?

Raw and stripped down but hopefully sweet. We play as a trio live so it’s really the bare bones but you get the essence of the songs and full three part harmonies. Guest musicians are always welcome though!

When will we get a chance to hear the new single (& album) live?

There are shows coming up in the Spring and Summer so check our webpage for dates. There are songs from the forthcoming album creeping into our live show already and we’ll be touring it on release.

Where can people go to find out more about you?

societymusic.net

facebook.com/societymusic

twitter.com/societymusic

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Society have been added to, what was already an excellent bill, the Americana extravaganza that will be Palmfest!