One of the toughest things to do in the Irish music industry is to stand out from the hundreds of other bands vying for the same opportunities. Luckily, being a little different has never been a problem for indie act We Cut Corners.
Conall O’Breachain and John Duignan have been writing songs for over twelve years but came to the public’s attention with the release of Today I Realised I Could Go Home Backwards. Three years and one Choice Music Prize nomination later, the duo have birthed follow-up Think Nothing to a slew of very favourable reviews and slayed a packed Electric Arena at Electric Picnic.
So, all in all, it’s a very happy Conall that takes time out of rehearsals to have a chat with us ahead of the band’s Academy date this October.
There’s an understated confidence to Think Nothing that shows the progress that the band have made in the last number of years, leaving behind the veil of effects seen in its predecessor for a cleaner and more deliberate sound that brings those inimitable vocals and instrumentals to the fore.
Conall quickly acknowledges this, saying that they headed to Donegal to work with Villagers producer Tom McLaughlin in an effort to achieve a stronger presence on the album.
“We wanted to make it a more upfront album, a brighter sounding album, with less processing and trickery involved. We wanted to be just us performing and bring the instruments to the forefront, rather than the effects,” he said.
“The good response to the first album affirmed that we were on the right track because before that, we had no idea how people were going to respond to the sound or the songs so the fact that it went down really well spurred us on more than anything.”
From the gentle melancholy of Wallflowers to the vibrant Mammals, O’Breachain and Duignan certainly achieved what they set out to and in the process, nailed a sound that certainly sets them apart from many of their contemporaries.
However, while Think Nothing may be awash with bouncing melodies, it is lyrically a much darker animal and Conall says the juxtaposition of the two immediately grabbed their attention during the inception of the album.
“That was very interesting to us, the thought of balancing bright melodic songs and having that bright sound with those dark lyrics. It’s something that we found was happening when we started writing the songs; the lyrics were in a darker vein so we found it an exciting contrast to try and create music that was almost a foil to the lyrical content,” he explains.
“I think when this sound started evolving, we were probably delighted to go with it because the first album was quite dark and this was something that may be a little more accessible. But again, we would still hold true to the fact that if we don’t find it interesting, it’s not going to make the cut. That’s the most important thing.”
Despite the success of acts like the White Stripes and Royal Blood, the two-piece formation is still quite rare and the drummer acknowledges that We Cut Corners have veered away from the typical sound that one would expect from such a set-up.
“We’re fans of two-piece bands like Blood Red Shoes and The Black Keys and what they’re doing but we wouldn’t really have been avid listeners of that blues rock type of music. It was never our aspiration to create the blues rock music that two-person bands would be known for creating.
“We wanted just to write songs that were harmonically interesting… quite melodic and lyrically interesting. The fact that we happened to be in a two-piece was just a ‘by the way’ so we found ourselves trying to create a sound with that restricted palette of instruments. We knew the type of songs that we wanted to write and we were trying to work the two-piece around the songs, rather than the other way around.”
While working in the studio allowed for the addition of some embellishments, including a string quartet, the stage holds no prisoners and the pair showed themselves to be perfectly capable of filling the sonic spectrum with their storming debut appearance at Electric Picnic.
From old favourite A Pirate’s Life through to their current material and a belter of a cover of Sinead O’Connor’s Mandinka, Conall says he was delighted with the reaction… despite some initial nerves.
“There are so many bands out there and we knew when the time was right, we’d hopefully get a call. So this year, we did and we were incredibly excited and had no idea what to anticipate. We were playing the Electric Arena, which is the second biggest stage, for our first time at the festival. We kinda walked in on the morning that we were playing and went ‘Jesus, like, this could be a disaster if nobody shows up!’. Thankfully, they did!”
Interestingly, both halves of We Cut Corners work full-time jobs as primary school teachers in addition to living the rock and roll dream and credit their second careers with the longevity of the band.
“We find we have a really good balance, which helps us. If we didn’t have that steady work, I’m not sure how long we would stick at the music because we’d find it very difficult to survive and you might find yourself getting frustrated and packing it in.
“The two things usually don’t crossover. A few pupils have shown up to gigs but they’ve been incredibly nice and supportive of what we do, which is great. If it was secondary school, that might be a different ballgame altogether. Primary school kids are cool, they don’t take much notice of what we’re at musically!”
Next up is the band’s biggest headline gig yet at The Academy, with support from Jennifer Evans, and Conall reveals they’re hard at work at the moment in order to make sure it’s a night to remember.
“It’s going to be a challenge for us. We’re thinking about this massive venue and how we’re going to fill it, both sonically and with people! As a two-piece, you need to break up your set because otherwise, it will become very static and very boring to watch if you’re just sitting at your kit and playing your guitar.
“We’ve tried to build in a sense of flow so that people will have something to break up the set. We want to make it interesting and create little ‘events’ within the gig. We’re working very hard to put a show together that people will enjoy so fingers crossed that it will go well.”
We don’t doubt it.
We Cut Corners play The Academy on Thursday October 16th. Tickets, priced at €15, are available here.
