At last, SPQR have returned, and in some fine form as today (21st April 2021) they release their self-produced triumph of a single, ‘Fault Lines’.
After touring with HMLTD, Childcare, METZ, selling out headline shows in Liverpool, Manchester, London, and stellar sets at Sound City, Dot To Dot and Blue Dot Festival, when the pandemic hit, SPQR weren’t taking no for an answer.
Whilst the world around them was crippled the band just continued to work, and never really took a minute to stop. Between the last live show they played and now, the band have recorded their album, released an EP, released a compilation album, two (now sold out) vinyl releases, played a live stream for Waves Vienna & Music Venue Trust and, for good health, had several shouts online from their new compadres, Everything Everything.
Alongside this the band have been played several times on BBC 6 Music, Radio X and have had some pick up at BBC Radio One.
Their last EP, ‘No Brain, No Pain’, landed repeat support from Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and Deezer as well as extensive support from Vevo. The band are also now sponsored by Blackstar Amplifications.
In the same approach and attitude to their own internal work rate, things may have stopped, but the band are coming out of lockdown with more shows than they went in with. Choice slots at Liverpool Sound City, Futurama Festival and a run of support tours that are yet to be announced await the tour de force.
Originally intended for the band’s second EP, Fault Lines was recorded during the sessions that made “Low Sun, Long Shadows”. At the time it didn’t fit sonically, so the track got shelved. Now, operating out of their newly launched self-owned, Studio 27, the band revisited the track to see if it could work.
Speaking of the track, Peter Harrison, songwriter-in-chief said: “Well! It’d been around for a long time and never felt right, but everyone knew there was something there. Nothing was happening naturally so I sat down with it and just chipped away until cracks of light began to appear! It was a different approach to how I usually make songs but arguably the end result is more rewarding. Sometimes, you gotta dig for that gold! The song is about not letting yourself be yourself because yourself is not right in your idea of what a self should be!”
The result is just over 4 minutes of classic SPQR mixed with the the fresh approach and pop sensibilities developed over the course of the album sessions. It’s a minuscule nod to the past, but a hefty nudge towards what’s to come. Self-effacing subjects tied in with slight streams of consciousness make the lyrics, whilst the band have frankly never sounded tighter as a unit.
Working with Mark Rankin (Harry Styles, Bloc Party, QOTSA) on the album, has been a steep learning curve for the band. His guidance, experience and knowledge has proven to be a useful resource which the band have been able to call upon when creating their debut album. This is a band who are determined to break boundaries of genre, push the fold, and are limited only by their own ambition.
If past releases, and their reaction, are anything to go by, this is a band who will breakthrough this year. And if they don’t, they won’t take no for an answer.
Catch SPQR on tour below:
SEPTEMBER:
01 – MILTON KEYNES – CRAUFORD ARMS*
02 – CAMBRIDGE – PORTLAND ARMS*
03 – BIRMINGHAM – HARE & HOUNDS*
09 – CARDIFF – CLWB IFOR BACH*
10 – EXETER – THE CAVERN*
11 – LIVERPOOL – FUTURAMA FESTIVAL
12 – HEBDEN BRIDGE – TRADES CLUB*
19 – SHEFFIELD – 02 ACADEMY 2*
30 – TUNBRIDGE WELLS – THE FORUM*
* – W/ JOHN