HAGGARD CAT recently released the intense and thrashy new single ‘Quit Your Jobs’ earlier this month along with an inspired dizzying new music video. It was the band’s first DIY release since its formation in 2013. The band has also unveiled news of the mammoth new EP ‘Cheer Up’ set for release September 3rd – the first collection of new music to come from the band since the critically acclaimed 2020 album ‘Common Sense Holiday’.
Haggard Cat will head off on an expansive UK tour in support of the EP throughout September 2021, tickets are on sale now. Check out ‘Quit Your Jobs’ below!
We caught up with Haggard Cat as they talked about their latest single and more!
So you’ve recently released a surprise single earlier this month titled ‘Quit Your Jobs’, how has the initial response been so far?
We sure did! And it’s been an absolute ride so far. I don’t think we’ve received such an instant response as this so far in our career; it’s been absolutely ace, and a huge relief after all the down time that’s been forced on everybody. It’s just good to finally be sharing something positive that’s not full of doom – it feels like a big step forward into the future.
Can you tell us something about the single no one else knows?
I think me and Tom have spoken quite openly so far about what the lyrics to the song are about (ridiculous cyclic conversations with our old label). But we haven’t spoken so much about making the track. It was honestly the best recording experience of our lives and I really think the joy bleeds through onto the sound of the track. Although the majority of it was recorded live, together in the same room, there is one part that you might not notice in the second verse. The studio we were recording in had this BEAUTIFUL 12-string Rickenbacker that I was just dying to use. Generally there’s not a lot of space in typical Haggard Cat songs for a lovely jangly guitar section, but I saw the perfect opportunity in Quit Your Jobs, so the arpeggio guitar you hear in that second verse where the sound really opens out is me merrily picking away on that guitar. There’s also a bunch of heavy-guitar sounding synths in the middle-8 that I’m really looking forward to recreating live.
So you’re releasing an EP also later this year in September titled ‘Cheer Up’, how much are you looking forward to sharing this with fans?
It’s like the excitement of sharing this short snippet times a million. we’re so proud of these songs. It’s a real positive step for us. We’ve taken back our independence and are doing everything DIY on our own terms which is such a freeing feeling. I can tell it’s just where we’re supposed to be as a band. The song writing in particular feels like we’ve really honed the sound we’re creating into something undeniably ours, it’s like the perfect mix of our two previous albums with a little extra spice. Had the last year not panned out the way it did we probably wouldn’t be releasing new music just yet, and would instead still be touring Common Sense Holiday. Having that enforced time where we had to sit and reflect meant we actually took the time to weigh up our options and I’m so glad that this is the path we chose to take. I know it’s going to open out into a very exciting new era for us.
Is there any track in particular to look out for in the EP?
I’m immensely proud of the whole body of work as whole, there’s some absolute bangers on there. I think my current favourite is the last track “Cow”. It’s such a weird song, I think it’s one of those magic tracks that you would only get on an EP because it lives in a complete world of its own. I just love it and I’m looking forward to seeing how it messes with people.
If you could work with any band or artist on a new song, who would it be and why?
I absolutely love that question! It’s not actually something I’ve thought of before – but I think it should be someone that would bring something completely different to the table. I’d love to work with a hip hop artist – I think Run the Jewels or Clipping would be an absolute dream. I just think we could probably come up with something really fucked up together. The music they make probably isn’t ground we’re able to cover on our own, so it would be an awesome opportunity to explore that.
How has lockdown been for you all? Was there ever a time you lost motivation?
It’s been up and down, which I think is the same story for a lot of people. However, a majority of the time has been very creative for me personally. I’ve ended up being miraculously prolific for a lot of it, I think generally tapping into the rollercoaster of emotions that it has brought with it has helped with that. However it does flip on an absolute knife edge to periods of hibernation. I’ve really relied on some very good close friends to pull me out of episodes like that, I’m very lucky to have them otherwise this year could be a completely different story for me.
Will you be touring at all this year?
YES! (fingers crossed). We have a headline run in the diary for September which is looking more and more like it can happen the closer we get so i’m finally allowing myself to get a little excited about that. This tour has been moved back several times now, so it’s actually happening 18 months later than it was intended. We have so much material that’s never been played in front of an audience, we’re really struggling to write the set list because cramming it all in is impossible. What I do know, is when we do get there it’s going to be very special. As a very cheeky plug, the tickets are on sale now over at www.haggardcat.com/tickets