INTERVIEW: PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS

Image by: Ellen Dixon

As a heavy music fan in the early 90s I wrestled with my love for both the post-hardcore of bands like Quicksand and Helmet, and the doom metal incursions of Trouble and trailblazers Sleep (and why never the twain shall meet) with friends even ridiculing me for embracing heavy music of all denominations. Five albums deep, however, Newcastle maximalists Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs have finally found that glorious sweet spot with their latest offering Death Hilarious. I caught up with singer Matt and drummer Ewan who told me how a long bout of touring left them wanting to capture their live sound on record this time around. “We weren’t writing anything as we were touring but we were a pretty cohesive unit coming out of that cycle, so coming into this album we were ready,” they shared. “So, we just went away for a week in Wales living in each other’s pockets to get all the ideas thrashed out.”

Five albums in it is still important to the band to keep evolving their sound, Matt tells me. “Sam [guitar] produces the albums as well so he has another layer to his thinking, developing a picture of how he wants the record to sound in terms of the character in a sonic sense, and he wanted to be a bit more aggressive with a more immediate sound to things.” Ewan: “He also had some new equipment he wanted to use! Adam [lead guitar] and Johnny [bass] also write stuff and there is a social dynamic to the writing.” Matt: “It’s a really exciting process for me as we walk in at the start of the week with an album to write and then four or five days in we’ve pretty much got our whole album. I like how immediate that process feels and how fresh and exciting it is.”

It’s a really exciting process for me as we walk in at the start of the week with an album to write and then four or five days in we’ve pretty much got our whole album.

It certainly feels like there has been a shift away from the maximalist ethos of old on this record with more thought to the spaces in between the riffs – even including the appearance of some synths – while lead single Detroit was also a bit of a departure sonically. “The label threw us a curveball when they came back with Detroit first because that’s quite an abrasive song,” Matt shares. Another track, Glib Tongued, even features a guest vocal from Run The Jewels’ El-P. “Johnny had an odd riff that we were playing around with some ghost beats and things, not the way we would normally write music…” says Ewan. Matt adds “Ewan started playing this tight beat with a closed high hat which created a lot of additional space around things to rhythmically play with. We drew up a wishlist of MCs and rappers, El-P was top of the list and we took the classic shy bairns get nowt approach!”

Death Hilarious is released at the beginning of April followed by an extensive UK tour which culminates in a three-day Star & Shadow takeover dubbed the Hometown Weekender in Newcastle. Given the band’s penchant for all things at the heavier end of the sonic spectrum they told me how they were keen to make the event a diverse few days. Matt: “Adam is obsessive about films so we are using the cinema room for a film each night before the show. We will have pop-up food with DJs afterwards, including Dev from Idles. There will also be support from Melanie Baker, Smote and Marlene Ribeiro…”

Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs Pigs, Pigs release Death Hilarious on Friday 4^th April via Rocket Recordings followed by a Hometown Weekender at the Star & Shadow, Newcastle on Friday 25^th – Sunday 27^th April.