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For Scottish quartet Alburn<\/b>, their latest EP (‘Mouthful of Glass’<\/i>) has been a longtime coming. Having undergone a slight line-up since their formation in 2007, ‘Mouthful of Glass’<\/i> marks the bands first release since 2012’s ‘Engines’<\/i>. The four-track release showcases a significant amount of growth and maturity with tracks such as ‘The Nurses Can\u2019t Help Me’<\/i> and the title track displaying the bands versatility.<\/p>\n
The band, made up of original members Pete Duthie and Gee MacPhee and recent recruits Danny Kelly and Christopher Hunter, are certainly fans of American emo-infused alt rock bands like Brand New, Balance and Composure, and Thrice yet ‘Mouthful of Glass’<\/i> also displays the bands passion with the end result being a captivating release that leaves a strong impression and plenty of promise for the future.<\/p>\n
We spoke to Pete Duthie to query him about the bands background, that inevitable Brand New comparison, working with Neil Kennedy at The Ranch in Southampton, the burgeoning Scottish music scene and more.<\/p>\n
Already Heard: For starters can I get your name and role in Alburn?<\/b>
Pete: My name is Pete and I play guitar and share vocals with Gee.<\/i><\/p>\n
AH: I know the band has been together for a number of years. Can you bring up to date with the history of Alburn?<\/b>
Pete: Alburn started off as a name I\u2019d use to post up tunes on Punkdisasters.com (RIP) that I\u2019d recorded in my flat in Edinburgh. That was around 2007 and just after myself and Gee\u2019s childhood band had ceased. We started playing shows on and off for a few years with our old drummer and got to experience some pretty awesome things. In 2012 Gee and I got a bit restless, so we recorded and released the \u2018Engines EP\u2019 with our friend Tom Mitchell, in our hometown of Perth. Sean Campbell (Thin Privilege, In Wrecks) was kind enough to fill in on drums. After recruiting Danny and Chris on Drums and Bass at the start of 2013 we then started taking things a bit more seriously – we played a fair number of shows in 2013 including a couple of local festivals, then began writing for the new EP. We researched a few different studios but after hearing the Departures record and some other stuff he\u2019d done, we settled on Neil Kennedy at The Ranch. It also happened to be the other side of the country\u2026 so we did our thing there and that pretty much brings us up to where we are now! Released \u2018Mouthful Of Glass\u2019 at the end of August, played a sell out show at King Tut\u2019s with our pals wecamefromwolves and then embarked on a Scottish tour!<\/i><\/p>\n
AH: You’ve recently released your second EP (‘Mouthful of Glass’<\/i>) From reading the track-by-track it seems you pushed yourself this time round?<\/b>
Pete: We definitely pushed ourselves this time. Our older stuff was quite progressive and built up from a quiet intro into a heavy ending – we still love that kind of thing, but felt like we needed to refine our sound a bit on this EP and I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll continue to work on creating our own unique sound. We experimented more with timings and dynamics in Golden. Different drumming and vocal styles in MOG and less complicated stuff on Nurses.<\/i><\/p>\n
AH: This is the first time you’ve wrote together with this line-up. How did you adapt to this change compared to previous writing sessions?<\/b>
Pete: The writing of this EP all happened in our rehearsal room. It brings up it\u2019s challenges when you\u2019re set on an idea for a song but then the other guys have something different in mind, but in the end it makes for a better song when it\u2019s more than just one person involved. Danny, our drummer, actually wrote a guitar part for Nurses! We\u2019d all come to rehearsal with the bare bones of a song and we\u2019d work on it relentlessly. If someone didn\u2019t like a part, they\u2019d speak up. It makes it more enjoyable to play the songs live as well, knowing that everyone had a part in it and they aren\u2019t just playing someone else\u2019s songs.<\/i><\/p>\n
Mouthful Of Glass by ALBURN<\/a><\/p>\n AH: There is an obvious Brand New influence on the EP but what other bands do collectively consider as influences?<\/b> AH: Apologies for bringing up the Brand New tag again but what do you make of people using that comparison?<\/b> AH: Nevertheless the EP has been out for a few weeks now and it seems the feedback has been strong so far right?<\/b> AH: You recorded at The Ranch in Southampton with Neil Kennedy. How did you find that experience and what did he bring to the EP?<\/b> AH: You’ve recently been playing some shows in Scotland. How have they been going?<\/b> AH: Can we expect to see crossing the border anytime soon and see some shows in England?<\/b> AH: It seems Scotland is producing an array of brilliant, emerging Scottish bands at the moment (Fatherson, Bear Arms, Algernon Doll, So Many Animal Calls). How would you sum up the Scottish scene right now and are there any bands we should be listening to?<\/b> AH: Any final words you’d like to share with the Already Heard readers?<\/b> ‘Mouthful of Glass’<\/i> by Alburn<\/b> is out now on Spilt Lies Records<\/b>.<\/p>\n Read our Already Heard Track Guide<\/b> feature on ‘Mouthful of Glass’<\/i> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alburn<\/b> links: Website<\/a>|Twitter<\/a>|Facebook<\/a>|YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n
Pete: I\u2019d say a lot of our influences come from the same \u2018clique\u2019 of bands – Sainthood Reps, Balance and Composure, O\u2019Brother, Thrice and of course, Brand New. As well as bands like Moving Mountains, All Get Out, TBS, The Xcerts etc.<\/i><\/p>\n
Pete:
\nI\u2019ll never take that as an insult and we do get that comparison quite often at shows – never in a bad way though! I don\u2019t personally think we sound exactly like Brand New, if anything I\u2019d say we sound more like Sainthood Reps! We don\u2019t go out of our way to sound like them, but I guess that\u2019s what influences are all about\u2026 your favourite bands influence the way you write. It\u2019s flattering though, because they are an incredible band and it\u2019s even more incredible that they\u2019ve developed such a loyal following world wide without any sort of press\/videos or anything like that.<\/i><\/p>\n
Pete:
\nYeah! All reviews have been very kind so far and what I love even more is that the reviews of us playing these songs live are just as good! We made a point of trying to record a sound that represented the way we play live, \u2018cause that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about really isn\u2019t it? This EP so far has helped us gain some decent opportunities and it seems to be opening more doors for us now to do what we love, more often.<\/i><\/p>\n
Pete: The week we spent on that converted farm was honestly one of the best times of my life, and I\u2019m sure the other guys would agree. Gee and I have always dreamt about recording at a live-in studio after watching videos of Blink recording their untitled album at a house they rented. It was great being able to just wake up, grab a shower in the outhouse and get stuck in to recording across the courtyard. There were a lot of great things that the studio and Neil brought to the recording process. First of all, the array of great gear, guitars and pedals was awesome to play about with and the fact that Neil has a vast knowledge on the desks\/systems he uses puts a lot of confidence in you. He was able to get some great drum, bass and guitar sounds. Secondly, he brought a lot of tweaking ideas to the songs as he has a musical background. He helped us refine our songs and also add in little things that we\u2019d never think of, but really help build up the track. Aside from the recording experience, the four of us had an awesome time hanging out, as Gee and I had only really known Chris and Danny for about a year! Good bonding session.<\/i><\/p>\n
Pete: Our shows are just getting better and better. It\u2019s often the smaller towns that give you the best reception and show genuine interest but Glasgow was obviously a highlight. Playing a sold out show at King Tut\u2019s was fantastic and we literally had to turn people down at the door.<\/i><\/p>\n
Pete: Yes! I\u2019d say probably at the start of next year. We have a lot of things going on in Scotland in the next few months but we definitely want to get down South. So we\u2019d best get our passports ready\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n
Pete: There are so many great Scottish bands right now and the scene seems to be thriving. We always seem to be playing shows with friends or bands we admire these days. Other than the ones you\u2019ve mentioned, there\u2019s obviously the big hitters like The Xcerts, We Were Promised Jetpacks and Frightened Rabbit. Bands you should check out are – Frown, United Fruit, wecamefromwolves and Bad Luck. Those are the ones at the top of my head right now.<\/i><\/p>\n
Pete: Thank you for reading! It\u2019s the whole reason we do this – to engage with people who like the stuff we write and it genuinely means a lot to us when strangers show and interest in what we do.<\/i><\/p>\n