On their debut album, ‘Horrors,’ melodic rockers All Ears Avow serve up a soaring, energetic collection of songs. Over the course of its 11 tracks, the quartet take on internal and external themes such as incompetence, self-confidence, brainwashing, and population control. While it lets them reflect on the ‘Horrors,’ All Ears Avow’s musical prowess shines through.
Leading their charge is vocalist and guitarist Claire Sutton, who also produced, mixed, and mastered the record. She can also belt out a tune or two as she shows on ‘Bird On A Wire’ and ‘Blossom’. She’s joined by a versatile unit who can deliver fun grooves on ‘Night Like This,’ to sharp riffs (‘Sinking’) to vibrant and infectious cuts such as ‘Fire‘. They can also produce their fair share of bombastic pop-rock (‘Turn The Page (Chapter Two)’ and ‘Young Horror’).
As a DIY band on the rise, they’ll be looking to venture out of their hometown and take ‘Horrors’ out on the road in the coming months. For All Ears Avow they call the Wiltshire town of Swindon home. Known for its railway heritage, it’s also home to the ‘Magic Roundabout’, which has been considered one of the scariest junctions in the UK.
However, there is much more to Swindon than trains and roundabouts. As All Ears Avow guitarist Jake Willcock explains in this edition of ‘The Place We Call Home,’ Swindon has a diverse yet tight-knit music scene, and also benefits from its location.
What town are you from, and what makes you proudest to be from there?
We’re based in Swindon (technically a town, not a city!). Claire grew up a little bit down the road, closer to Newbury, Sean (Ivens – drums) has spent most of his life in a little village just out of Swindon, and Joe (Bishop – bass) and I are proud Swindonians since birth.
Swindon is one of those places that gets a bit of stick, but it’s actually so rich in history and pop culture lore. It was the birthplace of the railway, and it’s got a really interesting industrial past – which I won’t bore you with. But we’ve also had parts of James Bond movies filmed here, Oasis got their name from one of our venues, prolific stars from across showbiz have been born and raised here, and most prominently, we’ve had Ian Beale in our Christmas Pantomime – what isn’t to love!
What’s it famous for, and what are its people known for/what character traits are they seen as having?
Swindon is (weirdly) most famous for its ‘Magic Roundabout’. It’s basically one big roundabout made of 5 mini roundabouts. It’s wild! Just be thankful you didn’t have to do your driving test around that bad boy.
Our other big claim to fame is that our old leisure centre was called ‘The Oasis’, and as well as a brilliant pool with the ‘dome-buster’ slides, it had a music venue attached. After seeing a tour poster with our leisure centre on, two Mancunians called Liam and Noel decided to name their band ‘Oasis’. I wonder what those guys are up to nowadays?
We love this town, especially its music scene. While it’s pretty big in size, it’s a really close community. People band together for good causes and support their local artists and businesses. It’s the kind of place where you’re only a few degrees of separation from anyone!
What influence has that had on the city’s music scene and the types of bands it produces?
Swindon’s music scene is pretty eclectic. We’ve always had a vibrant hardcore, rock and metal scene, as well as a long list of brilliant indie and alt artists, too! There are festivals throughout the year at local venues, many of which have different genres per day. One will have a metal day on one day, and a Ska day the next, with both days completely rammed. I think it is testimony to the versatility of our music scene.
I think another big positive for our music scene is its location – it’s a town which is easy for travel. We’re right on the M4, only two hours from Cardiff or London, and about 40 minutes from the M5, which obviously makes a touring band’s life easier! I think that helps up-and-coming new bands get out of the local scene and realise there is a whole country out there to play! In short, it’s a great place to leave!
Are there particular genres your hometown is most associated with?
Swindon’s music scene has always been so eclectic, which is really cool. Anywhere from Ska and Punk, Indie and Rock, Acoustic and Folk, all the way to the super heavy, we’ve had all manner of bands come from our scene.
To you, what are the best or most well-known bands the town has produced, and how do you feel about those bands?
The Swindon band with the most prolific legacy has to be XTC. They had a fair bit of success back in the 70s and 80s. They still have such a cult following to this day, and it’s so awesome to see how a band from our little town can resonate with so many.
Jumping to the present day, we’re also super proud of our friends Heriot, who are also 3/4 Swindoners and are currently taking the metal world by storm.
We should probably shout out Billie Piper, too – ‘Because We Want To’ is a banger.
Who do you consider the unsung heroes in your local music scene?
The first name that pops to mind is Darren Simons. Darren currently runs The Victoria, but has previously also run two other iconic Swindon venues – The Rolleston and Level 3. Darren works so hard and does the most to support bands. He’s always willing to take a punt on an out-of-town band and give them a place to play. The Victoria is crammed full of artists every night, and Darren is the reason for that. You’ll also find him behind the mixing desk at those gigs, or on the stage playing too.
On the flip side of the stage, I wanted to mention Mark Whyle. He is just a titan of the local music scene, and you’ll find him at as many gigs as he can make. He is always the first person to have purchased the latest t-shirt design, to comment on a post, to buy a ticket. You’ll also find him tagging local bands in every festival social media post, trying to raise the profile of local underground talent. He breathes the local scene in and is such a supporter of it, and of us! Every band needs a fan like Mark.
I also want to shout out some of the instrumental names in our band’s history: Dave Franklin, Ed Dyer, Kieran Moore, and the late Dave Young (RIP). These local promoters make it their mission to support new and up-and-coming bands, and they have given us space on the stage to do what we love over and over again.
What local up-and-coming bands should we be listening to?
There is so much talent in our neck of the woods, but we’d like to shout out:
Mandragora, Better Heaven, Roses, Blank Atlas and Mother Vulture. These are bands that we are honoured to call friends, whose talent constantly inspires us. Claire works as a music producer and has worked with Mandragora and Roses. She’s working with Mandragora literally today, as I type this!
What venues in the town have your band played most often, and how have they helped to shape your band
The Victoria (The Vic) is like our second home. We play The Vic a few times a year, simply because we love the owner, Darren and his team! Between headline shows and festival appearances, we are never too far from another appearance at The Vic. We love it! All our families and friends come down, and it feels so special.
We also loved playing Level 3/The Furnace over the years too, which is a great venue, but it is currently between owners and is shut. We hope to see ‘Levs’ back open again one day soon! We played Darren’s last show there when he was still running it alongside The Vic, and it was incredible! A 350-capacity room, completely sold out, and people begging at the door to come in.
If you were to write a song about where you’re from, what would the tone and message of the song be?
It would have to be ‘Potholes and the Magic Roundabouts’, with the message to the council – PLEASE FILL IN THE POT HOLES!
‘Horrors’ by All Ears Avow is out now on Western Audio Records.
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