Track By Track: Wolf & Cub

Triumph followed uncertainty on the long road to making Wolf & Cub’s third album, ‘Heavy Weight’. Singer-guitarist JOEL BYRNE celebrates the personal victory.

[Historical image is withheld pending rights review.]

‘Can’t Remember the Last Time’

When this was first demoed I instantly knew (hoped) it would open the record. We wanted the record to have this beginning that had a certain presence and a real ‘sinisterness’ to it so it would stand out a little. At one point I had hoped that the ‘pulse’ at the start of the track would be a recurring theme throughout the whole record, popping up here and there as a reprise, but it didn’t ended up happening.

We took inspiration from the first two DJ Shadow records that both featured opening tracks that were dominated by big beats; we also had ‘Angel’ by Massive Attack in mind, and Tricky’s ‘Christiansands’ was also a big influence, as was David Axelrod. Basically we wanted to make a trip-hop track. The lyrics are about an old acquaintance and the title comes from an article that I once read about the band that I assumed, at the time, was critical of us. It kind of works on a couple of levels though.

‘Salao’

After working with Burke [Reid] on the ‘See the Light’ single, we were pretty set on him coming on board to produce the rest of the record. A few circumstances (notably our financial situation, coupled with his recent relocation to Canada) prevented it from happening. When it came time to record the next single we found ourselves faced with the predicament of having to produce it ourselves, which at the time was daunting. In retrospect it feels like it was a bit of a blessing in disguise because recording and producing this track ourselves gave us the confidence to move forward with the rest of the record.

Also, I have to stress how important having Wade [Keighran] (new bass player) in the band at this point. He’s also an audio engineer so having him was a big part of how we were able to get the album made. We were aiming for a Rolling Stones-type feel on this track but when we sent it to Burke to mix he was hearing Pere Ubu. It was one of the Burke-isms that makes working with him so great! He interprets your ideas differently and it’s generally for the best.

‘John Alone’

For the lyrics on this one I experimented with characterisation, which was a first for me. Initially it felt a bit awkward and forced because I didn’t feel comfortable singing some of the lyrics in the first person. The title came from my brother, who would always refer to it is as the “John Alone” one when it was a demo. Not too sure why – probably because it had the word “alone” in the chorus, and also because he creates pseudonyms for pretty much everything.

I think the character was born out of my observations of how people sometimes use sites like Facebook and Twitter etc. to elicit sympathy. I saw John as that kind of person. Once I settled on that it flowed pretty well: it was actually pretty cathartic and came quite naturally to write the lyrics that way. There is probably more of me in ‘John Alone’ than I’d like to admit.

‘Shut Me Out’

There are two versions of this track out there; the one on the album is the preferred version. We had Burke do a different mix on it. In the context of the record as a whole, it was pretty necessary for it to have happened that way because the end result is much more subtle and suitable for the position that it sits in on the album. We originally put this out as the next single after ‘See The Light’ and while it did OK, it didn’t really keep the ball rolling like we had hoped. In retrospect it feels like it put us a back a bit on our way to getting the album finished.

The single version was the first thing we did without Burke’s involvement in either a production or mixing capacity, as he’d just relocated to Canada, so while we were excited going in to record it, there was an air of trepidation about the whole thing and I think it was reflected in the end result. This was probably one of the drawbacks of having to record the album over such a long period. Credit to Tim Whitten, who we enlisted to produce the track and mix, because he was great to work with and kind of a legend.

The track itself was our attempt at rewriting a song that was on our first record, which I’ve never been that happy with. The lyrics came about after I mistakenly presumed someone who I was trying to contact had been avoiding me. Always jumping to the wrong conclusions.

‘Lizard Skin’

This is a very old track that was written for our previous Science & Sorcery, but until now we didn’t manage to complete it. I took it to the band and we managed to nut out a decent version. It’s about conceding defeat. The song is set in a hotel in Amsterdam that had rooms that were decorated by different ‘artists’. This particular room had lizard skin wallpaper and was a pretty depressing place to be.

This track feels the most to me like older Wolf & Cub. This is neither a good nor a bad thing. I also really like the keys that Brock [Fitzgerald] played on it; he did them in one take too, which we were all fairly impressed by.

‘Only in Your Mind’

This is about self-sabotage and mental illness. It started out as a little folk track, which was going to be more acoustic and minimal. Burke really worked his magic on this one; the parts were there but he added some little nuances that really took it to a place that we’d not thought of.

‘I Need More’

We felt the album needed a faster track, and decided that we would attempt to bang an existing demo into a shape that would suit the rest of the record. I remember, when we were tracking this, there was a moment when we felt it wouldn’t make the cut. It was one of those moments that can make recording a bit tedious and uncomfortable because before it you’re all being lifted by this collective adrenaline and excitement. If things don’t go well, the mood drops quickly.

Every other track was a little more thought-out before we got to this point of the recording. Having this one come together in the studio raised our level of excitement (and our anxiety). I remember having to do a shit tonne of takes for it, as we were after a complete live take that had the right feel. If you listen at the tail end of the track, you can hear one of us breathing a sigh of relief after getting the one that felt right. I think it was Wade. We were pretty influenced by Weird War on this one.

‘See the Light’

This was the first track that was finished for the album. I’m glad it was because it felt to us like we had set the bar for the album as a whole. ‘See the Light’ is special to me and us because it really pulled us out of a bit of a creative hole. In a way it kind of re shaped my whole approach to writing and sort of redefined what kind of band we could be. The song itself is about finding a way through a fog of shit, and it really did help us do that.

‘All Through the Night’

This was recorded in the same session as ‘See the Light’ and was the second track that we did with Burke producing. It was probably the track that came together the quickest in the studio ... one of those easy ones that you hope for whenever you’re recording in an expensive studio!

The lyrics came about after an argument I was having with someone who was giving shit me for having expectations of this person that were unrealistic; unrealistic because they would never be as emotionally invested as I was so it was ridiculous of me to expect otherwise. I think it’s really about my feelings for the band and me coming to terms with the fact that no one, apart from the other guys, would ever love it or be as devoted to it as much as we are.

‘What More Could I Say’

Bowie was a big influence on this one and it has become one of my favourite tracks on the record, because it was one of those songs that made us really work for it. The vocals in particular were hard to get right, and I remember when it came time to record them I was struggling to find anything that really worked. It’s always a bit scary when it’s ‘vocals time’ because in a way it can make or break the song; with this one I was especially anxious because everyone had worked hard to get the track to a point where it was sounding good and we were all feeling really excited about it. There was this self-imposed pressure not to fuck it all up by doing a shitty vocal. I was playing around with a few melodies and tried doing it in falsetto, expecting it to be brushed aside, but when Wade heard it he kind of raised up out of his chair with this excited look on his face, so it was decided that that’s how I would sing the whole thing.

I have to say, though, it’s going to be a pain in the arse to do live so I’m fairly indifferent about the decision to do it like that; I think I’d regret it more if I didn’t enjoy the song so much. The middle section is also my own personal little victory. It was written for another song and when I showed it to the guys I expected them to hate it; they didn’t so we kept it. I also like this track because of the drums, which are in my opinion are the best thing that JC [Joel Carey] has ever done. In fact, the whole record features the best drumming he’s ever done!

‘Got a Feeling’

This track makes me very emotional because while we were doing the original demo for it, I got a call from my older brother who was calling to let me know that he had a new son. My younger brother was also with us at the time doing some photos, so it was a pretty special moment for both of us. Hearing it always takes me back to that moment, which is nice because on the whole it has a bit of a sad tone to it. Apart from that it also features this Theremin-sounding keyboard line that’s played with an iPhone app; it’s another one of my favourite things on the record.

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‘Heavy Weight’ is out now independently through MGM. Tour dates below; tickets here.

Thurs, Oct 10 – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney, NSW
Sat, Oct 12 – The Zoo, Brisbane, QLD
Thurs, Oct 17 – Republic Bar, Hobart, TAS
Sat, Oct 19 – Ed Castle, Adelaide, SA
Thurs, Oct 24 – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne, VIC
Fri, Oct 25 – Beach Hotel, Byron Bay, NSW
Sat, Oct 26 – Amplifier Hotel, Perth, WA
Sun, Oct 27 – Newport Hotel, Fremantle, WA