Following on from announcing their upcoming EP Cheer Up and their decision to go solo, we caught up with the feral rock moggies Haggard Cat to see what's going on behind the twitching curtain.
“It kinda is like a big old news bust isn’t it”, states Haggard Cat’s Matt Reynolds with an infectious smile. “I guess normally you wait and do a little single first then you tease a little bit and then eventually to the shock of no one you kinda go, oh we’ve got an EP coming. But we went nah, fuck all that. Everything, all of the information, all out at once.”
Haggard Cat have long been an act to do things their in their own, completely unique way. A product born out a last minute improvisational live set, Nottingham’s dynamic duo have remained loyal to their DIY background and ethos even after almost a decade of activity. Plus much like their energetic craft, they’ve garnered a reputation of sheer unpredictability. Be it performing surprise late night sets at Glastonbury, climbing atop vendors at 2000 Trees or literally building a homemade antigravity room for their latest music video, the band have long doing things on their own, albeit reckless accord. So with that in mind, it’s no real surprise the bluesy turbo-punk act decided to announce their new EP Cheer Up and drop it’s first single ‘Quit Your Jobs’ in the fashion they did – by announcing everything all at once without any prior warning.
However, the ability to chart their career totally free of restraints is only something the band have obtained recently. In fact, if the band were to confirm Cheer Up a year or two ago, it’s likely the announcement would have likely taken an entirely different form. Following on from the release of their second record Common Sense Holiday last year, the band decided to cut all ties with their then record label. Citing hilariously misguided advice and restrictive holds as their reasons – a topic explored within the aforementioned ‘Quit Your Jobs’ – Cheer Up sees the band going totally solo and independent. For Haggard Cat there’s no label, no PR agency, and most crucially of all, no restrictions whatsoever.
“It definitely feels like a new approach for us. Obviously we come from a DIY background and that’s what we’ve always done. Two albums ago we released Challenger and then we roughed up this record deal and it was completely new to us. We were kind of balled over by it to be honest”, continues Matt when asked about the decision to go it alone. “Although it was great for a little while, and there was definitely a honeymoon period, we soon realised that we didn’t like not doing things on our own terms. That sense started to bridle what we were doing quite a bit. We were doing things focused in a way that was like “this will go out through those channels, it needs to kind of look this for this, that and the other.” All of that started to stifle us in a way.”
“So for that suddenly to have the lid lifted off, it feels like a rebirth. Everything feels fresh and we’re so lucky to do this on this group of songs because it just feels like a breakthrough for us. It just means, anything goes. Absolutely anything goes and that’s really fucking exciting. We don’t have to bite our lip a little bit. We don’t have to think if the record label is going to be upset over anything because there isn’t one. It’s true, honest and energetic.”
Despite Cheer Up ultimately being destined as a statement of total creative independence, the EP still boasts some lofty credentials, the most impressive of which being the producer in question – Adrian Bushby. Whilst the name may be new to some, it’s undoubtable that most the population has heard his work, at least unknowingly. Not only did Bushby make his mark within the UK alternative scene by producing the latest effort from Black Peaks, the London based producer and engineer is also responsible for only some of the most well known records on the planet. Owning a resume compiled of some of the most renowned artists on the planet, the producer has worked with the likes of Muse, Foo Fighters, New Order, Skunk Anansie, Everything Everything and a myriad of others. His work on Foo Fighters’ Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace and Muse’s The Resistance even led him to coming into possession of a couple of Grammys.
Certainly, his experience is just a bit of contrast against the rugged, sidewinding and just plain wild work of Haggard Cat. But as Matt explains, the collaboration came from Bushby contacting the band after finding them in a way that most of us discover new music – Spotify. “Really weirdly, we had already put out Common Sense Holiday last year and what I found out is his way of finding bands is that he’ll just be on Spotify and he’ll be clicking through and listening to loads of different music. He absolutely just adores music. As you hope a producer would”, laughs Matt. “I think he listened to ‘European Hardware’ and messaged us about it and was just like I love this, I have to record you, how do we make it happen?”
“He just got ‘it’. He went in there and started loading the gear in. We use big amps and a huge drum kit, it’s all very organic and raw but it’s loud. That’s how we do things. He saw it all and went “okay, drum kit here, but the amps here, you want to face each other when you’re recording right and you want to be stood right opposite each other.” I think everyone else is kind of scared of the guitars getting into the cymbals or the cymbals bleeding into where the bass is, or this, that and the other. But he just said to turn it up as loud as you want and have everything facing each other and he’ll make it work. That was it, within like 10 minutes of us loading the van into the studio and plugging all our shit in, we knew what we were doing and were set up as we are in our practice space. It’s like he just chucked in a few mics and went “off you go, that’s the sound.” From that, met with his positivity, it just made so much sense. It made us think we don’t we record like this all the time. This actually sounds like playing these songs in our practice room but the best version of ourselves possible. He’s a magician that knows how to make everything sound really good. Even if you break all the rules and point everything at each other. We were so comfortable and I think that was key to being creative.”
Cheer Up may mark Haggard Cat retaking the reins of their career – one they’re undoubtedly to take on an unchained ride of their own vision – but Matt isn’t afraid to say out loud that the end goal is to bring it to the masses. As something that can be attested by literally anyone who has seen the band live, Haggard Cat are an utterly feral entity when presented with an audience. Even back when the band had a leash reigning them in from the label, all regards to personal space and safety became mere afterthoughts once the band turned whatever space they were playing into their own personal playground. Understandably, after years of corporate frustration and isolation, Matt is eager to explain what carnage awaits once the band finally get back into venues later this year.
“The tour is what it’s all about. That’s what’s been keeping us going for the last year. I mean, we booked this tour before lockdown, this tour’s been on the cards for about 18 months now. I don’t think there’s even going need to be a consideration for how we’re going to top the energy. At the minute it’s like we’ve put a can of beans in the microwave sealed and it’s just kind of doing all this movement. There’s so much bubbling under the surface right now that I fear for my own health and wellbeing when I’m out there and there’s actually people around me. I’m like a fucking puppy, as soon as there’s people in the room, I’m just oh my god, energy everywhere, I’m so excited. But that’s not been there for so long now. I hasten to think what it’s going to be like. But my god it’s going to be something special.”
In all however, the central statement of Cheer Up is within the name itself. After years of sociopolitical turmoil and rampant anxiety it’s safe to say that we are # all in need of some form of escape from the culture of dread we have all been enduring. After airing their grievances at the corrupt authoritarian powers that be with their last LP, Cheer Up is a record designed to energise our gears that have been ground down through constant abuse. The name may be sarcastic in nature, with the band full well knowing that true optimism is beyond reach in our current climate, but as Matt details signing off, if the EP brings some form of mitigation then it’s achieved its purpose.
“I think what’s really important right now, we’ve kind of sarcastically echoed it in the title of the EP, is what we say in our position as of right now. It’s our responsibility to be just entertain and bring some relief to people. Music is so important in making people feel that aliveness and feeling some escape from all the shit that’s happening in the world around them. Whereas before all of this kicked off I was very much feeling in need to forward a political conversation, I feel like personally if I listen to someone banging on that for 40 minutes I just lose the will. So now I think what’s most important to take from this body of songs is music is a release and that energy is so important. What I really hope, especially from these shows, is that everyone leaves the room afterwards happy before the world hits again. Leave that room beaming and feeling those endorphins.”