We Don't Just Get Drunk, Sometimes We Write Music

Hi, my name's Ben and I live in a small network of burrows underground.

This is totally more of a 'keeping you up to date' post, rather than a 'groundbreaking news' post (and so should be mercifully short). I spent the early part of this week testing both Joe's laissez-faire relationship with my writing process, as well as the eternal patience of his girlfriend, by putting together the demos for what songs are written for the new album.

Laying down even these rough guides for the songs moves them on to the next stage of songwriting - now that I can actually listen to them without having to just remember them, it frees up a little bit of brain space to start hearing harmonies or extra guitar lines. It also helps to hopefully pick out any sections of song that just aren't working; maybe a break's too long or a particular section doesn't have enough prominence.

The other obvious benefit to having demos for these songs is that I've got something to actually give to the other people who are going to be playing one part or another in the album's recording. Frank, Joe and I will be working on them live to start with, but then the demos give both of my cohorts something to mull over when they're going about their day. Of course, I've now got a version of Go Team to show to Jackie and Ellie, too - and that demo is probably one of my favourites so far. Not because the song itself is particularly a favourite (I'm still in the happily ignorant stage of having all of the songs holding on to an equal chunk of my heart), but because this is the only song that I couldn't really play by myself in anything resembling its final form. I seem to have a masochistic love for writing interweaving vocal lines - in the songs where I've done it before, those songs are all amongst the ones that still elicit a wave of pride when I listen to them now, but dear lord they can be a challenge to put together. Hearing the lines sit together and work on the demo (although admittedly with a rather manly-and-Bennish sound to the girls' voices) is almost a gift and although the three of us will more than likely tweak and rewrite it beyond current recognition, I can let out the first big breath of relief in this project.

Pictured: very talented musicians. And me.

With eight songs written and demoed, I've just started moving on to developing a couple more musical ideas to fill out the album. One has lyrics for a couple of sections already, the other is, I think, going to be a song for Joe to sing. A small part of me was worried that the kind of natural break that came in what has been a very smooth songwriting process so far meant that the creative sponge had been squozen dry for the time being. Luckily, though, these two ideas are so far shaping up just as quickly and smoothly as their brethren - and the feeling I'm writing a pretty good album is only growing with them.

YOU ARE UPDATE!

- Ben