London based four piece Chapter and Verse have seemingly come out of nowhere. Only last week we were blessed with their debut video, for the loud, riff heavy ‘Shelf Life’, and now this weekend, Saturday 23rd to be precise, the lads will be taking over Bath’s The Nest, having kick started their tour with a sold out show The Black Heart in Camden. We chatted to singer Josh to ask him a few questions ahead of the gig:
You’re originally from Bath, are you excited about coming back to the west country?
Definitely! I always find Bath to be a breath of fresh air. People are much more chilled out and I can’t wait to bring the show to a different setting! Not to mention my family being able to come along to the show - that’s always a plus.
On top of the Bath show, you’re embarking on a pretty serious UK tour. What three albums will you definitely be taking with you?
Well I can’t speak for the other boys but at the moment mine would be;
Crooks UK - All We All The Same Distance Apart. It’s just SO good!
Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly. Easily the most ambitious album I’ve heard in ages. I’ve got nothing but love for Kendrick.
Stray from the Path - Subliminal Criminals. I still can’t get enough of that one.
How did the recording for ‘The Wolves Back Home’ go?
Amazing! We’d spent over a year discovering exactly what kind of sound we wanted. We wrote loads of songs before deciding and felt super prepared; it meant we could just take our time and perform as best we could.
What was the biggest influence on recording?
That’s a tricky one! We went in with lots of references for particular sounds on the instruments and I’m massive stickler for getting the right tone on the vocals, but there wasn’t really one big influence; we just wanted it to sound sick across all its parts!
I saw the session you did for Live At The Lab and it feels like you’re really got the live hugeness of ‘Shelf Life’ down on record. Was that the aim when recording the songs?
Well thank you! Yeah it definitely was. We chose to record at The Ranch in Southampton because of it’s incredibly massive live room. It’s a converted barn and gave us a huge scope on what we could achieve. We wanted it to be really raw and to encapsulate the energy of our live show. Neil Kennedy (Producer) and Daly George (Engineer) are also incredibly talented dudes and we really wanted their stamp too. We’re all stoked with how it came out.
Who created the artwork for the EP and how did it come about?
We came up with the concept whilst we were recording actually. It comes from part of the story for the opening song called ‘The New Breed’. Our friend Tom Hunt is an incredible photographer, so we set up a shoot in a mate’s living room to try capture it. Was a weird experience! We were all there building the set and working with Tom to get the right vibe. We’d originally thought about paying an artist to make something for us, but it’s much more satisfying knowing that we did it ourselves.
Who would you most love to hear the EP?
For me it’d be Anthony Green from Circa Survive, All of Norma Jean and Keith Buckley from Every Time I Die. They’ve all been a huge influence on me as a person, let alone as an artist and I’ve spent my life deconstructing their work. It’d be fascinating to see what they think of mine.
Finally, what are you most looking forward to on tour?
Throwing all our energy into it and letting loose. We all find the shows really cathartic and having spent so long building up to touring we’re all stoked to finally be able to get out there and do our thing. That and being able to watch loads of other sick bands night after night - that’s a constant plus point of touring.
Catch Chapter and Verse at The Nest, Bath on April 23rd and at The Mother’s Ruin, Bristol on June 10th.
Check out ‘Shelf Life’ right here:
