After a five-year wait, Brighton indie math-pop favourites Orchards released their second album, ‘Bicker’, this past Friday (March 28th). The trio of vocalist Lucy Evers, bassist Dan Fane, and guitarist Sam Rushton have delivered a vibrant record that reflects on the intervening years.
Their debut full-length, ‘Lovecore’, was released just as a global pandemic began. Its follow-up sees the three-piece reflect on a tumultuous period. Beyond its pastel gloss and poppy exterior, ‘Bicker’ is rooted in vulnerable themes around break-ups, heartbreak, chronic illness, and depression. It’s no surprise that Orchards describes it as a “quintessential break-up album.”
From the sugar rush of ‘Say It’ to ‘Bethnal Green’s tender introspection, to ‘Gerl’s disco stomp, ‘Bicker’ sees Orchards provide an abundance of fun-filled hooks with a hefty amount of emotional substance. The mix of feel-good and downbeat songs is relatable.
To give us an insight into the creation of ‘Bicker’, Orchards have penned a detailed track-by-track breakdown of the record. Lucy, Dan and Sam share how the album’s 10 songs transformed from demos to fully realised songs with producer Jack Wilson (Fickle Friends).
Say It
Dan Fane: As soon as we finished this song, we knew it had to be the album opener because it perfectly captures the essence of the Bicker world, both sonically and thematically. While writing and recording, we were heavily inspired by a guitarist called Mk.Gee from the project Dijon, which I think comes through in the tone of the verses and pre-choruses, as well as the choice of baritone guitar playing in the main lick.
I clearly remember the first time we listened through the whole thing after finishing the tracking. We were all absolutely buzzing with excitement, knowing we had just created something we’d be proud of for years to come.
Lyrically, this song kickstarts the emotional content of the album. It’s almost like a declaration, asking for honesty in its purist form.
Bicker
Dan Fane: This was the only one on the album that came together entirely in the studio, there was no existing demo or concept. One day, we decided to start something fresh, just vibing and jamming on instruments. The only goal we set for ourselves was to create a song that was faster than anything else we had done up until that point.
As soon as we locked in that verse riff on the guitar, the song essentially wrote itself within a couple of hours.
Lucy Evers: Knowing that this would be near the beginning of the album and that we needed a title track, the lyrics almost wrote themselves. I had a clear idea of what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it, so it just flowed. Sometimes, the best songs are the ones that come naturally, from a place inside your mind you didn’t even realise was there. It’s those tracks that become your favourites.
I Feel Terrible
Dan: This was the first song we wrote with Jack Wilson, and it also marked the beginning of the entire ‘Bicker’ project. We’ve known Jack for years and had always talked about collaborating on a song, but it was tough to find the right time. Eventually, we managed to make it happen and headed down to his place in Shoreham with Natti from his band, Fickle Friends.
Lucy brought in some lyrics she’d written earlier, and I had a brief demo idea he thought we could build on. The song came together so effortlessly. All five of us just clicked, and without much discussion, we were all in sync, almost like we were on the same wavelength.
Listen out for the hidden Jaguar roar on this track that I’m proud of sneaking in there, haha!
Good For You, Good For Me
Dan: Sam and I started this song just after the first lockdown, when you could finally venture out and see your mates again. Sam would head over to mine, beers would be had, and riffs would be written. During that time, we made loads of little demos on our laptops, and this track was one of them.
The finished song didn’t stray too far from the demo; some of those original guitars even made it into the final version. We spent a lot of time arranging the different parts, as several layers overlap in most sections, but I reckon it was time well spent.
One of our favourite touches was transforming Lucy’s vocals into a synth on the main hook, and it was something we’d wanted to experiment with for a while. We love how it turned out!
Lucy: Lyrically, this one was tough for me. I had a clear sense of the feeling I wanted to convey and where it fit within the story of ‘Bicker’. This might be the most straightforward I’ve ever been in my writing; asking myself and the other person involved, ‘Is this good for either of us?’ but already knowing the answer deep down. Sometimes, admitting to yourself that you know things are falling apart and not knowing how to fix it is one of the hardest things to do.
Sweetie Pie
Dan: Ahhh, ‘Sweetie Pie’ – another one of the old lockdown demos! I originally wrote the idea on my own and then worked through it with Sam before we brought it to Lucy.
It’s a pretty straight-up rock song but in a very Orchards way. We experimented a bit with changing things up, but in the end, we realised we were overcomplicating it just for the sake of it. So, we let the song speak for itself and kept it fairly straightforward.
While recording, we were listening to a lot of Darwin Deez and really wanted to capture some of that signature guitar tone. We referenced it heavily, especially for the verse guitars.
Oh, and keep an ear out for the Wilhelm Scream sample in this one…just another little Easter egg we managed to sneak into the album.
Bethnal Green
Dan: This is the song on the album that changed the most from its original demo. Initially, it was in the same vein as ‘Groan,’ ‘Sweetie Pie,’ and ‘Good For You, Good For Me,’ but by the time we got to recording, we realised we’d explored that style enough and wanted to switch things up.
With the genius mind of Jack Wilson, we completely flipped the song on its head. It was tough at first since we’d lived with the demo for so long, but looking back, it was absolutely the right decision.
To reimagine the track, we pulled a lot of inspiration from Bon Iver and Incubus. We slowed the tempo way down, stripped out most of the bass guitar and chord structure, and leaned heavily into the acoustic drone at the start. It’s actually triple-tracked with a few differently tuned guitars. I even managed to dust off my old Mandolin and get that in there too.
One of our favorite little touches? Lucy recorded the Central Line train announcer herself while in London, and we love how it found its way onto the track.
Gerl
Dan: The disco/dance track of the album. At least, that’s how I see it. If I remember right, this one started with a vocal idea from Lucy that she brought to the table. We worked out some basic chords to go with it, went through a few different versions, and eventually landed on this one.
Once again, the guitar tones were heavily influenced by Darwin Deez and that early 2000s indie vibe. I remember we got stuck on a guitar part for the chorus, and then Sam just started jamming and suddenly, he played the part. We all shouted, “That’s it!” He had no idea what he’d just done, but it was perfect.
Sam Rushton: The middle-eight section was another puzzle. At first, we tried to go big and dynamic, almost leaning into a heavy breakdown. But then Dan had the idea to strip it back with some jazzy chords, and Lucy’s vocal idea tied it all together beautifully. All the feels.
Mug Song
Dan: This track started as one of Sam’s first demos during lockdown. We had been sitting on the idea since our ‘Trust Issue’s EP, and it originally had a very Bombay Bicycle Club feel, quite different from how it turned out in the end. At one point, we almost decided not to move forward with it, but then Jack came in one day after experimenting with it over the weekend, and he showed us a version he had worked on.
That’s when we realised that changing the direction from the original demo was definitely the right move. The track came together pretty quickly after that.
One of my favorite parts of recording this was the intro. It was a stormy day when we arrived at the studio, and we tracked the vocals and guitar live together. If you listen closely, you can hear how loud the wind was outside. There’s something special about the raw energy that day.
The track definitely has those classic Orchards vibes, but the way we changed up the arrangement gave it new life. We also had the idea for the riff-heavy outro to be a breakdown that we thought would be a lot of fun to play live. After about 12 hours of being in the studio, in a delirious moment, Sam just started rapping or speaking over the outro. It was such a random but brilliant moment that we couldn’t take it out. And that’s Sam’s first vocal appearance on an Orchards track!
Groan
Lucy: This was the second song we recorded for the album, even before we knew we were making an album! It started as a demo that Sam and Dan had been working on for a while, and we could already feel the energy in it. We knew there was potential to take the song somewhere really fun.
Dan: We spent quite a bit of time trying to nail the guitars in the chorus. That hook needed to be something special, so we experimented with different tones to make it stand out. Sam played around with delays, and it gave the guitars a whole new life.
At one point, we had the topline that eventually ended up in the middle 8 as the chorus melody. It wasn’t until later in the process that we realized the chorus melody should align more with the guitar riff. We didn’t want to lose that original melody, though, so we moved it into the middle 8, and it worked perfectly.
One of my favorite elements of the song is the synths. I brought my Critter & Guitari pocket piano to pretty much every session, and it’s on almost every track on the album. I think it really shines in this one, adding a uniqueness that ties everything together.
You Can Get Used To Anything
Sam: This was the last track we wrote and recorded for the album, and of course, it ended up being the final song. It all started with an idea that Dan had been sitting on for a while without bringing it to the table. We knew we needed a 10th song for the album, but we were getting stuck trying to figure out what direction we wanted to take it in.
When Dan finally brought the idea to us, we immediately knew we had to work on it and turn it into something special for the album.
When you break it down, this song is actually pretty different for us. It’s quite synth-heavy, and stylistically, it’s a departure from most of our other music. We were aiming for an Echo & The Bunnymen, Tears for Fears vibe with the production, but we also took a lot of inspiration from Bon Iver, especially with the Juno-style synth sounds.
Lyrically, this song is one that I think most people can relate to, it captures that feeling of knowing someone you care about deeply is leaving and won’t be coming back. You feel stuck in this endless loop of missing them, where everyone you see starts to remind you of them, and every thought somehow circles back to them.
Recording the guitar solo was a highlight for me, it was so much fun. Guitar solos aren’t something we do a lot, but for this one, we just looped the section and let Sam jam over it. The rest of us just cheered him on and hyped him up until he nailed the final take. It was such a great moment.
‘Bicker’ by Orchards is out now on Big Scary Monsters Records (order here).
Orchards will be touring the UK next month.
April
22nd Hug & Pint, Glasgow
23rd Yellow Arch, Sheffield
24th Kazimer Stockroom, Liverpool
25th The Lodge, Manchester
26th Noizze Fest, Cardiff
27th Rough Trade, Nottingham
28th The Jericho, Oxford
29th The Flapper, Birmingham
30th Voodoo Daddys, Norwich
May
1st The Exchange, Bristol
2nd Moth Club, London
3rd Alphabet, Brighton
Purchase tickets here
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