Track by Track: The Solicitors

Melbourne’s throwback power-pop quartet The Solicitors are launching their debut LP, ‘Blank Check’. Lead singer/guitarist LEE JONES gives us a guided tour.

‘If You Let Me Hold You’

We recorded this track at the last minute – we thought we had the album sewn up but the label wanted this one on the record. I’m glad we were encouraged to include it: it’s pretty catchy and the words have gotten us a lot of plaudits since its single release. It’s always really pleasing when our lyrics are recognised because a lot of care goes into them. The song is about not being able to let go of a relationship, and wanting to wean yourself off rather than go cold turkey.

‘I Need You More’

I wrote this when I was in a pretty bad place living in a squat in London with no money. The “I need you more” refrain isn’t really aimed at anyone in particular, just a pretty desperate plea for help from anyone. I was at a low ebb, and yet the song has turned out the most upbeat on the record.

‘Pretty Penny’

I read this article about an escort girl who was a sex addict and she was so happy in her job, getting paid for what she loved. I mean, there was a dark side too, but I’ve always been fascinated by finding positives in things that can generally be deemed across-the-board taboo. After reading the interview with this girl, I then started a kind of Pretty Woman-style narrative in my head, and writing the song I took on the guise of the Richard Gere character who wanted to look after this girl and give her a better life, but she just wanted to get laid. This is the song me and Laf [Zuccarello, guitarist] jammed on the first time we ever met, a couple of years ago. It hasn’t changed much from the first demo I made, aside from it’s about 30bpm faster.

‘Help Me Forget’

I base a lot of my lyrics on things I have read, and then develop it further to keep me interested as I write them. ‘Help Me Forget’ is about a guy who gets amnesia from an accident and has to live his life with no memory, blissfully unaware of the awful life he has left behind. His dutiful and loving partner spends years by his side helping him jog his memory and little by little the pieces of the puzzle come together. Once our protagonist is compos mentis again he is left to face all his past misdemeanours and what a terrible lowlife he has been, and wishes he could have just kept the slate clean.

Musically we’ve been told this song sounds like Squeeze by a number of people (which is as big a compliment as they come in my opinion) but I think that’s just because the key-change figure is an (unintentional?..) rip-off of ‘Up the Junction’.

‘For This Evening’s Entertainment’

This song is about people living unfairly on benefits and seeing that as an easy way out. It’s more so about the benefits system, and how it can be manipulated by some to screw the people who really need it. People bringing children into the world for a meal ticket is/was a real thing in the UK for some time, the product of a naïve, overgenerous government and slackers who took advantage. A lot of young, uneducated parents raising loads of children into a world of breadline poverty to keep a roof over their heads and some decent money in the bank whilst rendering themselves ineligible for work. It seems cruel to bring a child into this world, especially as the new government over in the UK (very, very similar to here in Australia) is so conservative and has really brought the hammer down now on anyone who feels they have a right to welfare, whether it be justified or not.

It’s impossible to pinpoint the cause or solution to this kind of thing because there are people genuinely in need of help from the state, and there are others who have just kind of weaselled their way into that demographic. There’s just too many people for a governing body to process on merit so it’s either ‘everything for everyone’ or ‘nothing for nobody’. When ‘the man’ moves the goalposts and parents are left holding the baby and worrying about where they’re now going to find the money to feed the kids, it’s sickening. But also, on the other hand, if you’re going to be responsible for another human life you should be thinking ahead. I’m in no position to judge anyone for the life choices they make, but I wish some humans weren’t so dumb.

‘(You Should See the) Look on Your Face’

This song started out as more of a groove number based around a repetitive riff; it soon became another spiky guitar thing though. It’s about cosmetic surgery and the potential pitfalls (and rewards) of it. I don’t think it’s wrong to get work done, I don’t think there’s anyone who isn’t slightly vain. It’s like choosing a shirt that fits you well or brings out your eyes, same thing. But I do think that sometimes it really isn’t worth the gamble when you can see how wrong it can go. There’s also a bit of social commentary about the pressure on women (and men) to conform to an idealised stereotype, but we try to stay away from too much pseudoscience by planting our tongues firmly in cheek.

‘I Love Your Love’

This song all came about from the line “I love your love, but I only trust you as far as I could throw you” and that basically sums up the whole meaning of the track. It’s about being stuck in an almost abusive relationship where you just roll with the punches because you don’t really know any better. It’s about being so reliant on someone they can treat like a doormat and get away with it. I’m sure everyone has been there. I came up with the outro to this song first and then we kind of wrote the song working backwards. In fact, it starts with the chorus so there was no clear workings, but it works.

‘Quicksand’

‘Quicksand’ is about an old friend who you always help out, and are always happy to help out, as they are your best friend; but as time goes by you realise that it’s really just a one-way street and no matter how you keep helping, they just won’t help themselves. When they’re on their feet they never call, and as soon as they’re in trouble again you’re the go-to guy. I’ve been both people in this scenario and it isn’t nice being either.

‘My Secret is Safe With Me’

I overheard some idiot misquoting the phrase in a bar and thought it would make a great song title, and from there it wrote itself. Harbouring a secret that you just can’t tell anyone because it is so incriminating is something a lot of people do. With this song I put myself in the position of someone having an affair, being deep in the throes of passion and not being able to express it. Whilst also worried sick with the level of trust you have to put in someone (who is by their very nature evidently untrustworthy) to not let the cat out of the bag. This was a fun one to record because we did it all live to capture the urgency to it, so there’s a real good energy, and a lot of mistakes.

‘Goodbye’

‘Goodbye’ is the token ballad in that it’s slow and got keys, although the sentiment is one that is a pretty recurrent theme throughout the record: one of heartbreak and bitterness.

This was recorded live in one take by our producer David Carr while I was getting levels on the mic and his Fender Rhodes. I played the song through once and when I said I was ready to record, he told me we didn’t need to. Definitely the cheapest song on the album. We stuck it at the end because it’s called ‘Goodbye’.

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‘Blank Check’ is out now on CD and digitally through Popboomerang. The Solicitors launch the album this Saturday (Oct 25) at Gasometer in Melbourne with Hunting Season, Ginkinta, The Wellingtons and The Cherry Dolls DJs; more info here.