The Shires have long dominated the UK country landscape – now they are back with their fourth album Good Years. Imogen chats to the duo about the album, the story behind it and why now may be the right time for them to dominate America.
Hi guys. How are you all holding up?
Crissie: All good at the moment!
Just getting through day by day?
Crissie: Well I think it’s going to be different for everybody in their individual homes and stuff, the people that are going out to work must have a very different experience. It’s interesting how everybody else is getting on.
Have you found you’ve been able to be creative, because speaking to different people, some people think this is the most creative they’ve ever been as they’re just in a vacuum at home, but some people have found no inspiration.
Crissie: That’s funny, do you know what, because I’m at home and I’ve recently moved house, I have been doing a million and one things, just doing housework stuff. Only last night, I stopped and I sat down at my piano – I have been playing every single day and singing, but I feel like because I’m at home, I’ve got so much occupying myself. I completely know what people are saying about having that quiet time where there isn’t anything that you can do as such, which is amazing for creativity and just quietening the mind.
I feel like that sentiment is so prevalent in Good Years, it’s such a self-reflective album, was that the headspace you went into that album with?
Ben: Yeah definitely, we had so much time at home, in between records and we weren’t touring as much. We actually had some time to live a bit and I think that really came across in the record definitely – it wasn’t a conscious decision. I listen back to it – and you picked up on it as well – that it definitely sounds more reflective. When you’re doing what we do, you’re jumping from thing to thing and especially when you’re in promotion mode, you don’t ever get that chance to live. It’s that complete cliche that most artists go to, ‘we’re moving from hotel room to hotel room’ and it sounds a bit self indulgent but actually the songs that really resonate with people from the first records are normally the ones that you’ve written when you haven’t had any experience of that and they’re about real life. In a way, I think it was really good for us.
Accidentally on Purpose really enabled you to play those bigger venues and the Royal Albert Hall show was just incredible. This album has a much quieter feeling behind it, do you feel like the legacy of this record will be that deeper connection with your fans through that songwriting talking about real life?
Crissie: Yeah absolutely, I think that’s definitely the case with this album. I think with Accidentally on Purpose we were having such a fun time out in Nashville and a lot of those songs were inspired by that – that is so very country music, especially right now where there are a lot more drinking songs and stuff. There is that idea of ‘letting yourself go for a bit’ and having that good time feeling, but a lot of these songs are a lot more reflective and kind of closer to our first and second albums. I think they’re a lot more relatable for sure and there’s a lot more heart and meaning behind them.
You still had your first song though that had ‘whiskey’ in the title – I feel like now that you’re onto your fourth country album, you’re allowed to have a song about whiskey…
Yeah thanks, that was such a fun song to write as well. That was written with a guy from Nashville called Kipp Williams and then a guy called called Peter Hammerton as well. Kipp had literally just got off the plane from Nashville and he had these two tiny bottles with him – you know the whiskey that they give you on planes of Jack Daniels. It was a bit too early for me, but he was jet-lagged – though I’m not sure it was the right way around (laughs). I don’t really know how the song came about but you’re right, it’s nice to have a whiskey song. Again we’ve had experience of that – as Crissie said we’ve spent a lot of time in Nashville and we had our first Fireball, the cinnamon whiskey.
What a moment in any artist’s life – their first Fireball!
Crissie: (laughs)
Ben: Yeah we did a little tour in January – it was called Young Voices – UK schools and stuff, it was actually a lot of fun, and we introduced a lot of the crew to Fireball. It’s funny, the second it sort of hits your lips it just tastes like Nashville to us.
It seems like you guys have really tapped into the Nashville songwriting scene, in a way that not everyone does. A lot of people go over once or twice but I feel like you’ve made sure with all your records to really nurture those relationships and ingrain yourself over there. Has that always been really important to you?
Crissie: Yeah, pretty much, I mean we do love working there. When we first met, neither of us had ever been into the United States and so the first time that we went to the States was going to Nashville and going together as well. It was very much a theme park to us at that point and we kind of just soaked it all in. We went down Broadway and went to the Opry and did all the stereotypical things you do. It’s such an amazing place to go and visit, but also we feel very immersed in it all now. We’ve got so many friends out there, songwriters, that we know and we can go out and write. We often go out for three weeks at a time and have writing sessions every single day. There’s just such an amazing scene over there for songwriting and the bars are filled with songwriters and music at nighttimes. We absolutely love it over there and it’s definitely a big part of what we do.
Yeah, and now obviously you’ve got your label over there and you’ve properly got a homebase. You’ve been quite vocal with this record that you want to pursue America a bit more, is that still the case?
Ben: Yeah totally and that was part of the reason why we really wanted to sign with BMG and Broken Bow. It’s funny that this is definitely our second record deal. You get kind of – I don’t want to say ‘promised’ a lot of things – but there’s a lot of lip service when you’re negotiating a deal. They were like ‘no America, we really believe in you and we really want to break an international country act.’ It seemed like the right home for us anyway. They’ve stepped up already, we’ve had a trip out there a few weeks ago before everything shut down. I mean none of us saw it coming. We were sat in the label playing them all these new songs – they even brought in Hattie B’s, which is just my favourite chicken place in Nashville as a complete coincidence. I knew it was meant to be when I saw Hattie B’s, it was meant to be for us. (laughs) It’s funny how for this record we didn’t really try to make a record for America, whereas I think it’s fair to say for Accidentally on Purpose we probably did a bit. Obviously you’ve touched on how we wanted to play bigger venues, but it was also America in the back of our heads as well. It’s funny how this one seems to be resonating a lot more with the Americans already.
It does feel kind of aligned with that movement at the moment toward more relatable songs and lyrics – the songwriting and story element seems to be coming back – and that’s at the core of this record.
Ben: I think with everything kind of going on at the moment. Obviously these songs were written before we all went on lockdown but it’s amazing how – I personally have on massive ups and downs emotionally over the past five or six weeks – a lot of the songs are so apt. ‘Crazy Days’ obviously really talked to me, ‘Good Years’ as well just in terms of being grateful for what you have.
‘Independence Day’ too – that’s going to be a big one when we finally get released!
Ben: (laughs) Yeah and ‘About Last Night’ – I know its a lovesong, but I think this whole time is making people reflect differently. I think you’re right, hopefully there’ll be a lot more songwriting coming back around. It was interesting, the ‘One World Live’ show – there were a lot of real songs on there and I think there is that appetite for songs coming back.
Completely. One of my favourite tracks on the album was ‘People Like Us.’ There’s so many different ways you can interpret that song, but what was the inspiration in the writing room when you wrote that track?
Ben: We were in Nashville, Crissie and I. With a trip like that we make sure to take loads and loads of titles with us, that’s kind of the Nashville way. That one though, we’d been writing for about three or four days really full on and then I just woke up in the hotel room and had this idea ‘People Like Us.’ We took it into a writing room with a guy called Bob DiPiero who’s had just hundreds of hits. It was just that celebration of ‘I’m just happy with the way we are, I love you.’ You’re right, you can interpret it other ways, I’m sure. If we’re playing it live, it can be a song for the whole audience – country in the UK is a bit marginalised but we don’t care we love this. You can interpret it a lot of ways but I think it’s a very relatable sort of thing in this generation. It’s cheesy but just be who you are. Crissie and I, we found each other and found that country audience and I’ve never felt more at home in my life.
There is something really special about the UK country audience and the fandom that’s been created around you guys. You guys were at the forefront of this birth of UK country music and bringing country music to the mainstream.
Crissie: Thank you, yeah the fans are definitely the best. We are very grateful for them. I know when we toured with Canaan Smith a few years back, he came off stage after the first show and he was like ‘I don’t know how that went,’ because everyone was just super quiet and clapping after each song. The fact is that here in the UK we really listen and we love to hear what the artist has to say and what’s been said in the song. As an audience we sit there in complete awe of these artists and listen to all the words but in the States it’s a very different story – they’re very loud and drink-heavy and having a good time. It’s great that over here we’re so appreciative of the songs.
The last track I wanted to talk to you guys about was ‘About Last Night,’ which was another stand out. You guys have talked about being such huge fans of Lady Antebellum and this does feel like your ‘Need You Now.’ Was that a conscious decision?
Crissie: Absolutely. We do love ‘Need You Now’ by Lady A, they’ve been a big inspiration for us. This was actually an outsourced song, so this song was sent to us and we heard it – initially it was just a female singer doing the demo – and the both of us just fell in love with the song because you could totally hear the sound of it. We took it to our producer and he completely got it as well, just loved that conversational aspect of it, talking his side and her side and bringing it together in the chorus – it’s just such a great melody, a great storyline and a real fun one to sing.
Ben: It’s such a simple song. We talk about ‘Need You Now’ and that one I’m sure lots of people can relate to because we talk ‘About Last Night’ and it’s such a simple concept. I think we spend a lot of time trying to be clever and Rachel and Katya who wrote that song, just made it so relatable. As Crissie said, it just spoke to us.
Crissie: Another point with that one, I remember hearing that one and thinking ‘my goodness, that’s very high’ and when we kind of worked it all out, it turns out that it’s literally at the bottom of my working vocal range and the very top. So, if there’s ever a day that my voice isn’t feeling great there is not an opportunity to lose it down a semitone, because it literally covers the whole of my range – so it’s a really great vocal challenge for me.
Just constantly testing yourself…
Crissie: All the time (laughs).
Well the one thing we do all have to look forward to is your tour which has been rescheduled to later this year, so all fingers crossed.
Final Few
Wine or whiskey?
Crissie: Wine!
Ben: Oh gosh that’s so hard, wine daily (laughs).
If there was a biopic about The Shires, what would be the opening track be?
Ben: I’d say Nashville Grey Skies.
Crissie: Ooh yes, good one.
Would you rather give up songwriting or performing?
Ben: I think we’ll have different answers here.
Crissie: Yeah I come from more a performing background, so I’d appreciate if someone gave me their songs and I could go out and perform them, for sure definitely all the way.
Ben: I couldn’t live without songwriting, as much as I love performing, I couldn’t live without it.
Crissie: We could still work together that way!
Complete the sentence…
Music is…
Crissie: healing.
Ben: my life.
Country music is…
Ben: my life (laughs).
The Shires are…
Ben: The Shires are best friends!
Crissie: Bestest friends!
Thanks so much for taking the time to chat!
