Male Bonding are from London, yet signing to Sub Pop and recording an album that manages to combine hard grunge guitars with ethereal tuneful vocals suggests that there is not much standing in the trio’s way. Bowlegs spoke to the band whilst they were in America preparing for the release of their exciting debut.
Bowlegs: How did you three meet?
Kevin: We all worked at different branches of the same second-hand record store, Reckless Records, in London, and kept going to same shows. Then we fell in love and moved in together. The band followed.
Bowlegs: Your sound is like two genres running side by side: the tuneful vocals could be 90s pop; the loud guitars grunge or punk. Was that the idea or just the sound you three happen to make?
Kevin: We definitely aimed for something more melodic than we’d done before. But it kind of shaped itself really, because none of us had taken such a forward role in songwriting and singing – so that was a new thing for us. There were no rules when we started, we just knew what we liked and quickly knew what we didn’t like.
Bowlegs: You formed a few years back – what’s been happening?
Kevin: Michael Jackson died. Malcolm McLaren died and now Icelandic volcano dust threatens to keep us in America.
Bowlegs: Signing to Sub Pop must have been amazing. How did that come about?
Kevin: Actually Michael Jackson died on the same day we found out we were going to be on Sub Pop. We run our own label, ‘Paradise Vendors’, and Sub Pop purchased one of the 7″ we did (Male Bonding / Graffiti Island / Old Blood / Rapid Youth), and that’s how they got to us. They bought one of our records.
Bowlegs: The Vivian Girls feature on the album – did the label sort that or did you meet them and chat them up (in a collaborative sense of course!)?
Kevin: No, the label didn’t sort that. Vivian Girls are our sisters.
Bowlegs: Which bands do you associate yourselves with?
Kevin: The Wedding Present and Teenage Fanclub. But they don’t know that.
Bowlegs: The touring starts in May – are you looking forward to pushing the album?
Kevin: Looking forward to touring UK and Europe. We’ve never properly done that before. We’re ready to work now.
Bowlegs: Who thought of the band name? (Which is great by the way!)
Kevin: John Arthur Webb. It came to him in a nightmare.
Bowlegs: Are the day jobs a thing of the past?
Kevin: John quit. Robin got laid off. I’m clinging on.
Bowlegs: Where did you record the album? Was it an enjoyable process?
Kevin: Brooklyn, NY. Not particularly enjoyable – the process anyway. We love the album but before we went in to the studio we recorded things ourselves or with our friend. It was weird to have someone else call the shots. Weird to completely present yourself as a blank canvas and have someone wrestle with your vision. But we’re happy and we learned a lot.
Bowlegs: Which songs stand out for you on the album?
Kevin: The one with the acoustic guitar.
Bowlegs: With respects to your sound – is conquering America part of the game plan?
Kevin: We’re here now. It’s a big place to conquer. Big mountains to climb. We’re having a pop.
Bowlegs: What have you all been listening to lately?
Kevin: What’s the Story Morning Glory / David Cross / Patton Oswalt / Eternal Summers / Modern Life is Rubbish / Catholic Education / Ride / The Moth podcasts / Built to Spill / Stone Roses / Biggie / Gun Outfit / Campfires / absolutely no chill-wave or glow-fi.
Bowlegs: Do you have similar tastes in music?
Kevin: No. And yes.
Bowlegs: Being a three piece, is one of you always left out?
Kevin: Ménage a trois!
