To the typical pre-gig sounds I caught up with singer Sam Gotley and bassist Finn McNulty from Carousels & Limousines for a chat and a beer at Moles in Bath before their album launch show.
TSOC: It's a big night for you then?
Finn: Yeah it's good, we haven't done anything locally for about a month to put everything into this. It'll be good.
TSOC: You're Bath boys aren't you?
Sam: Yeah, lived here our whole lives apart from spending a couple of years in Manchester, which was cool. But yeah, came back here with the intention of being here for six months. Then found that things just took longer than we expected to get it all together.
Finn: We originally planned to do the album in August, September of last year. Do it in two months. We originally recorded ten tracks. Then took one off and put two others in and it just gave the album a better flow. We're well happy with it.
Sam: It ended up being about a six month process.
TSOC: Your producer Richard Causon has worked with some notable people. If you had your pick of anyone to work with either as producer or collaborate who would you choose?
Finn: I personally would pick Jon Landau. I know it's a bit out there, but for the work he did with Springsteen. Meet him, be in the studio with him. Then to be honest, we're so happy with Richard that we can't see working with anyone else. He's brought so much to us. He brought the keys in.
Sam: We owe a lot to him for the sound we have now. He brought such knowledge and experience with him, and he's an awesome keys player.
Finn: For each member of the band we'd all say very different collaborators, Jay our guitar player he would say Kings of Leon. Martyn our drummer would probably say Bruce.
Sam: Yeah, Bruce Springsteen to be on stage or in the same studio with him. Then Brian Fallon would just be the best to sit with have a couple of acoustics and jam with him.
TSOC: Where do you see yourself heading with this? What are your plans/ambitions?
Finn: We could hit the studio right now and bang out twenty songs.
Sam: Obviously we'd love to do another album. Hopefully get signed in the next year, write a load of songs, spend a loads of time in pre-production, then narrow it down to twenty songs, then hammer the next album.
Finn: We'd love to headline the Pyramid Stage, but if we could just do this full time. Do it for a living, be a successful touring band then that would be awesome.
TSOC: What is your writing dynamic?
Sam: I write the lyrics, then outside of that it's totally collaborative. I may bring a riff, or parts of a song in, then the others would bring their thing in. Jam on it. The four of us, then see what happens. We learned from Richard to go really deep into the songs. Before I would bring the whole song in, we'd play it, then done. This is a much better way of writing.
TSOC: He sounds like a real mentor for you?
Finn: Before we recorded the album with him, we were at a certain level, then he just took us to the next step up and beyond. He's worked with so many people like the Kings of Leon, that he brought so much to us.
TSOC: Would like a career that grows organically like the Kings?
Sam: Yeah, who wouldn't!
TSOC: Can you give us an interesting fact about yourselves?
Finn: It's not much, but Sam and I, we share exactly the same birthday.
TSOC: Any bands that you see yourselves alongside at the moment?
Finn: Not really. No one is saying that we sound like anyone. People say we have an American sound, but we're a British band, but no-one is comparing us to anyone about in Britain. So I think that's a good thing.
TSOC: Last few questions. Any new bands who you would recommend?
Finn: We're lucky enough to be playing with them tonight. We had the chance to pick the bill tonight as it's our show, so we picked our favourite bands around to play with tonight.
Sam: There's loads of great bands around at the moment around Bath. And it feels like something is really happening. We all support each other, and everyone is really good, so that just pushes you on. If we were all shit, it would make you lazy. But everyone watches and supports each other, and it makes you work harder. Everyone writing good stuff just gives you that want to write better yourself.
Finn: There's a proper Bath movement going on now. Gabreil Aplin, Pylo, us, The Heavy, Family Rain. A lot of stuff. Hoping that someone just takes notice of it now.
TSOC: Final question. Fantasy festival. Your headlining a festival. You can pick any five bands to play with you. Who would they be?
Finn: Ah, everyone else is here so we can have one each. I'm going to go for Bruce.
Martyn: Foo Fighters
Rhys: Lynyrd Skynyrd
Sam: The Gaslight Anthem
Finn: And Guns N' Roses
Thanks to Sam and Finn for there time, and that lead us into a great show with quite special supports and a class headline set. Read the gig review.
Carousels & Limousines' website
Stream or buy the album
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