Slough’s underdogs Thousand Yard Stare released their first album in twenty eight years recently. It’s firm proof that you can teach old dogs new tricks.
We caught up with frontman Stephen Barnes just after the triumphant release of ‘The Panglossian Momentum’ (full review here).
Afternoon Stephen, how has lockdown been for you?
The album is available from their Bandcamp page.
On the whole it’s been OK. My family are safe as they can be, I’ve continued to work as a lecturer, and had the album release to keep me busy. Missing going to shows (and doing some ourselves!) Others in our business and beyond have had it far worse, so I cannot complain on missing out on a few simple pleasures. Hopefully we’ll be out the other end in some capacity soon.
What music are you currently listening to?
Been delving into the current crop of off kilter post-punk protagonists quite a lot.. Mush, Snapped Ankles, Squid, LIFE… and of course my good friends IDLES who’s upcoming album is gonna be amazing based on the recent releases. On the softer side, love The Orielles and Khruangbin at the moment. Also partial to the smoke-haze outer rims of current hip-hop like Kool AD, Shabazz Palaces and Standing On The Corner when I’m wanting a drowsier fix..
Musically, this is quite the shift. Was there a moment that sparked this for the band?
Ha, 27 years of hiatus! I get what you are saying, we’ve taken on a more textural approach these days, rather than the all out kitchen sink style of our younger years. Think the original TYS DNA is still very much there, it’s more of a progression than a shift. Where once we were all up front, now you have to dive in a bit more…
During 'A Thousand Yards - A Panglossian Momentum', you sing "you synchronise with something". The open ended nature of "something" feels like a message of hope; something that runs throughout the album. Was there a deliberate intention to rouse the soul?
Nice you picked that up, and yes, I think it was. I went for a different lyrical approach on the album, much more personal, internal, less observational of others. This particular track and its partner, Spandrels are both exploring the disconnect that can happen between people, almost unknowingly… but then realising it, and trying to fix it. So it is about hope I guess, the hope for a deeper and more meaningful connection that can get lost in modern day life.
Was "please let me know, how this ending unfolds / i want you to know we just can’t ignore this anymore" on ‘Spandrels’ a defiant reaction to a political moment?
Ha no, but as ever, I try and write so it can be open to the listener’s interpretation. This is the most personal song I have ever written, but think the sentiment can work in many ways. We have all been unsure of the future at some point I’m sure, and know when things need to be changed. It’s working out what to do for the best that makes it such a conundrum…
‘Sleepsound’ has the youthful buoyancy of TYS combined with the harder edges of your Deep Dreaming EP. Was this something you were looking to achieve?
The whole album was written with every song having a purpose, we knew what we wanted to present as a whole and needed to make the pieces to fit. Sleepsound wasn’t originally going to make the cut, we recorded another track for this ’slot’ on the album, but when we pulled it all together, Sleepsound emerged as the right fit. We might release the ‘other song’ at some point, maybe as part of an EP but maybe it’ll just stay as the one that got away. It’s really good though, so we’ll probably release it at some point!
Will we have to wait another 28 years for the next album?
Yes! We’ve slated the next album for 2048, which will be created and performed by our AR avatars! It will be available in brain implant format only! In truth, I don’t know. I think this is probably the last one. It feels fitting. We’ve scratched the itch, and we’re very happy with it, and it seems to have gone down very well, so might be best to leave it there. That said, myself and Giles are really enjoying writing together, and we’ve just written three new stellar songs, so……..