Stereoboard Talk To Scouting For Girls Ahead Of The Release Of New Album 'The Light Between Us'
Wednesday, 08 August 2012
Written by Katie Territt
London based pop-rockers Scouting For Girls smashed their way into the charts back in the summer of 2007 with addictive sing-a-long tune 'She's So Lovely' and their self-titled No.1 debut album. Hit single after hit single made the band a household name, and for the last two years, they've been working hard on their third album. In preparation for the release, Stereoboard caught up with the band to see if those two years have felt like a lifetime.
"Not at all. It feels like last week, literally *laughs*. 'Cause we toured our second record quite a bit, you know, we toured all round Europe, played all festivals last year and then sort of went straight into the studio. In the studio we started recording - we done about 10 different studios over the course of two years so it's been really busy for us. Everyone's like, 'Who? Scouting For Who?' *laughs* We have had a few holidays in between though."
Talking of studios, Scouting For Girls recorded their new album at 10 different studios with different producers across the world. “It's kinda' how it turned out if I'm honest. We were gonna' work with the same guy who we did the first two records with and then he wasn't available for a number of reasons from the start so we started working with some amazing guys. Guys who worked with The Script, guys who worked with Manic Street Preachers, Take That. So we were lucky enough to cajole the record company into paying for that so it's been a real experience for us making this record.”
You’d think that a change in producers and venues would’ve had an influence on the sound of the new record, but that wasn’t the case for the band. “No, to be honest. We sort of knew what kind of record we wanted to make and it was trying to find a place where we could make that. You know, we wanted to make a big sounding, classic band sounding record. And it was using these old studios; some of these studios don't really get used as much now 'cause there's not that many real instruments or real bands in the charts at the moment. So we knew what we wanted and it was about going out there and finding it from the studios. Also with the records, by the time we got to a lot of these studios, the record’s been written and it's about what sounds good.”
With a new album sometimes comes a new sound, although the band were keen to not lose their signature sound. “It's a bit of both without trying to fudge the question. Like 'Summertime...', the first single, I think is pretty much classic Scouting For Girls. I mean not everyone might think so, but it's a big obvious pop song. A lot of the record is like 'This Ain't A Love Song', more that sort of classic band sounding. I think it's still got that Scouting For Girls feeling to it. Yeah I think when you put us on a record, it sounds like Scouting For Girls, but I'd say like if 'Summertime...' is like 'She's So Lovely', a lot of the album is a bit more like 'This Ain't A Love Song.”
The first single release from the album is ‘Summertime In The City’, a typical Scouting For Girls pop classic in the making. “As soon as it was summer and as soon as we had that record, we had to release it for the summer. I don't think it's the best song on the record, but it just felt like a good calling card to come back in the summer. We're quite a summery, happy band and it felt like the right sort of song to come back with. Its fun, it's upbeat and jolly. Just what you need to perk you up on this glorious summer we're having *laughs*. The weather's waiting until the single comes out and then it'll be sunny. We thought it was all perfect until we had such a bad summer. When it comes out, it'll be a completely different story.”
So what can fans expect of the songs on the rest of the record? “I love the last song on the record called 'Make This One Last' which is probably the biggest, band'est, most epic song we've done. It's quite epic. But I really love all the songs on the record. I really like 'Rocky Balboa' which is probably the heaviest song we've ever done. I really enjoy the whole album, it's got a bit of depth to it I think.”
Not many artists get the opportunity to test out their new songs live before recording them, but the band had plenty of opportunity this time round. “We've had quite a bit of a chance. Because the record took so long, we got to try a lot of the music beforehand. I think that's always the best test of a song, if it works well live. With the second record we didn't really get a chance to do that, we literally went straight into the recording and we didn't get a chance to test it out live, test it out as a band. Whereas with this record, we've had a lot of time to try it out as a band, try it out live. If a song sounds good on a record, and it works well live, then generally it's quite a good song. That's what we think. There's a song called 'Rains In LA' which we've been playing for about 18 months. The reaction to that has always been massive when we've played it live so that definitely forced that record onto the album.”
On the subject of playing live, Scouting For Girls are really looking forward to going out on tour and playing a few small summer festivals. “It's always great getting back out on the road and playing the hits that people have heard before, but it's also great getting out and playing the new stuff. I think people always get excited when you've got new tunes, especially when you've been away for a couple of years. We've got a few tricks up our sleeve and we took time out once we'd finished recording and we just rehearsed non-stop for 6 weeks just to make sure that we're as good as we've ever been. We've always been really proud of our live show and I think we've stepped it up a gear for the new tour.
We've got a little tour in October, we're doing 5 small dates and then we'll be seeing where this record takes us over Christmas and then hopefully another tour and some of the bigger festivals in 2013. Absolutely, I think it depends how people take to the music. It dictates very much what sort of size venues you're going to play or where you're gonna' be. It's all about that reaction, yeah.”
With three albums under their belts, the band must find it easy to pick their setlist. “I always find choosing a setlist like an art form, making sure that it works. It does make it easier. We were looking at it the other day, we've got 4 top ten hits, and like 11 top 40 hits so we always stick some of the big songs in anyway. I think it depends on the gig - if it's a big summer festival, you want to play all your big hits but when it's one of your own headline shows, it's nice to play the new material for fans that have just come to see you. It just depends on what kind of show you're playing.”
With 5 impressive years behind them since they burst into the charts, Scouting For Girls still can’t believe they’ve made it to where they are. “We were just saying, we never imagined that we'd be in a pop band doing things like that. I never thought we'd ever sell as many records or be as big as we have, but I did always believe that somehow we'd be able to do this for a living. I don't think we'd have ever stopped until we'd just done it, in whatever way. Even in the smallest way, we'd have carried on. We're really lucky and we realise that. I think we realise every day how lucky we are to do what we love for a living. It took us like 10 years to get a record deal, so we really do appreciate it.”
So how about the next 5 years. Can fans expect more of the same? “It's all about the album and making the next tour, we want to make this tour the best we can. Who knows where we'll be in 6 months time, that's the thing. We're doing a small tour in October and maybe a bigger tour next year. As I said, it depends on the reaction to the album which we're very proud of.”
So there you have it, Scouting For Girls are back with another powerhouse of a pop record, full of summery, happy tunes. A humble band that are proud of the hard work they’ve put into their career and the success they’ve achieved so far. It looks like they’re on the road to more triumphs and more chart hits and it seems that they really deserve it. I imagine their die-hard fans are excited to welcome them back with open arms and praise at the ready for their new, long awaited album.
'Summertime In The City' is released on 26th August and new album 'The Light Between Us' is released on 3rd September.
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"Not at all. It feels like last week, literally *laughs*. 'Cause we toured our second record quite a bit, you know, we toured all round Europe, played all festivals last year and then sort of went straight into the studio. In the studio we started recording - we done about 10 different studios over the course of two years so it's been really busy for us. Everyone's like, 'Who? Scouting For Who?' *laughs* We have had a few holidays in between though."
