Bar of Lost Souls Session (Day 4, Thursday)

Difficult day ahead. Last night’s track needs finishing – just a few bits. And then if we are to devote Friday to recording brass and still hit our 5 song target we need to do 2 today. I managed to get some lyrics finished last night on the way home and have the basis for one of the tracks on a demo but number 5 is totally fresh. Nothing to start with.

So first a very very simple track – a farewell letter to the world – very short and very simple. Piano track get added easily and then a vocal – straight to the main thing, no guide vocal. The song pretty much stands up like this but it needs a landscape, a sonic bed for it to sit in. Ed does what he does very well – gorgeous, lush landscape – drone notes, overlapping harmonies. Very easy to get lost in it. Then Hux wakes up off the sofa and adds some more dust in the form of an acoustic slide part. Done. Ends up sounding like Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

So to the final track. Decide we need something more like a classic narrative based ballad – like a track off Murder Ballads or Boatmans Call. Have a listen to some target material and then literally sit down and write a song in 10 minutes at the piano – Ed on melodica and Rich on bass and snare drum. Very simple story song – sort of northern gospel country. Upset myself with the story it’s telling – Hux says it could be the darkest lyric we’ve ever written. The song itself is sweet, innocent… the tale…

Very easy one to finish. Doesn’t sit too well with the others but I might re-record the vocal an octave down. That could help.

Home by 3am but have to set some disks backing up. Fascinating. Rain is pounding down. Bibilical.