INTERVIEW: WEATHERSHIP

Image by Adam Littlemore

Teesside alt. indie outfit Weathership came together off the back of previous projects working together, including The Broken Broadcast, Methodical Beast and lead singer Jim’s solo project (J.P. Riggall), and have since spent the past couple of years refining their self-described “hook-laden atmospherics and smouldering melodic storytelling”. After a year of releasing singles offering us a glimpse into their musical world, the quintet are finally set to drop their debut album, Splendid Beast, this month.

The album is a collection of songs rich in ethereal melody and warm in tone, with notes of bands such as The Boxer Rebellion, Elbow and Radiohead being carried on the sonic breeze. The music elevates you, allowing you to gaze wondrously upon the expansive and evocative soundscapes of songs such as Golden Age, with its juxtaposition of foreboding verses and euphoric chorus, New Occupation, with its frantic jazzy rhythms, poppy guitar and soaring vocals and The Swimmer, complete with gospel beats, lingering licks and tender delivery.

In 2017 I had hypnosis, trying different avenues to deal with anxiety. One of things I remember was this big being of entity taking over and trying to look after everyone. So that’s the Splendid Beast

The themes of the album come from the far reaches of Jim’s consciousness, as he explains: “In 2017 I had hypnosis, trying different avenues to deal with anxiety. One of things I remember was this big being of entity taking over and trying to look after everyone. So that’s the Splendid Beast; the big eagle is the watcher who looks over the weather ship and its crew. The songs I wrote were all centred around this crew and their stories. Think Jaws when they’re around the table or the discussions about the entity in The Thing.”

Musically, however, the inspirations are much more from this world, as guitarist Snowy explains: “From a guitar point of view, I pick up on little things I hear in the music I listen to. For a while, I was listening heavily to Dire Straits and I think a few of those Mark Knopfler techniques made it onto the record. But then I’ll switch what I’m listening to and other things will start to trickle in. It’s kind of like a distillation of different techniques but always focusing on good tone and lots of delay.”

The record will be released via Jim’s own label Bear Love Records in collaboration with Darlington label Butterfly Effect. I ask Snowy how that collaboration came about and about the importance of indie labels for North East artists. “I think it’s vitally important for bands to have avenues to release work that is independent of the main music labels. It takes a great deal of hard work to fund these types of albums, but to be able to put it out with the help of Butterfly Effect is a godsend. For us, it’s about getting the songs out there and they provide an avenue for us to do that. We’re immensely proud of this release and without Butterfly Effect’s help it wouldn’t be released.”

To celebrate the launch of Splendid Beast the band will be performing a headline show at The Georgian Theatre in Stockton on Friday 15^th November. Guitarist Nick tells us what we can expect from the performance. “It’s going to be a chance for people to see that Weathership can put on a show. From the lighting and staging to a playlist of sounds and songs, especially curated by the band, to help keep the energy of the night simmering.”

Weathership launch Splendid Beast at The Georgian Theatre, Stockton on Friday 15^th November.