‘What About The Baby?’ - Furrowed Brow
Every once in a while a band comes along with an energy and presence to knock warm pints of beer over across the land. A band that seeks to challenge the norm, address the status quo and are more than happy to tear it all down. That band is Furrowed Brow.
Furrowed Brow. From left to right - Alex, Meg, Richey, Ruben and Evie. Image Credit: Ilana Xup.
We wrote about Furrowed Brow’s single ‘Punctual Punk’ in April 2021, and since the easing of lockdown measures, the band have stepped up their game. Furrowed Brow put out their follow-up single ‘The Endless Shouting Tomorrows’ in November and welcomed new band member Ruben behind the drums. The rest of the band remain with Alex on keyboards and vocals, Meg on guitar and Evie on bass and vocals, led by vocalist and songwriter Richey.
In February, Furrowed Brow released their first physical compilation with Golden Believers Records. ‘What Good’s A Hat Without A Mirror?’ is an eight-track cassette featuring their recent singles, demos, a Modern Lovers cover and a live recording. The now sold-out package included a lyric poster, badge, gig flyer, three unique photo prints and a small bottle of Old Frowzy, a home-brewed mead by the band. The vessel reads, ‘Made with the yeast from an old pair of underpants found discarded in the street.’ The Moths and Giraffes bottle remains sealed.
Alex and Meg. Image Credit: Maddie Drake.
The band have also resumed their gigging streak, playing Manchester venues such as The Castle Hotel, Big Hands Bar and Night & Day. Furrowed Brow’s launch gig for their cassette at The Peer Hat was recorded by Arron Wildman and comes highly recommended from this music fan. Most recently, the five-piece released their latest single, ‘I Threw The Bathwater Out’.
‘I chased the biggest bird of prey, it flew in such a perspicacious way, a sceptical arrangement on my face, and a desultory smile across the human race.’
The introduction to ‘I Threw The Bathwater Out’ is permeated by Wild West chants, shared by the vocalists in the band. Alex’s organ sounds are all over this song, echoing the backing vocal melody during the chorus and even taking a lead role during an instrumental break. Listen for a tiny amount of synthesizer too! On the opposing side of the mix, Meg’s guitar reinforces the sound of the old west in her crunchy twang, alternating between rhythm and lead parts.
Ruben’s drum sound is perfect for this song, with loose playing and a dry mix. Ruben is an excellent addition to Furrowed Brow’s live show too, as witnessed in their Peer Hat video. The constant thump in Bathwater is boosted by Evie’s bass guitar, whose performance is spotlighted all too briefly after the last verse.
‘What about the baby?’
The demo of the track included on Furrowed Brow’s cassette sees the bathwater thrown out in a different universe of straight drum machine and guitar more a focal point than the single version. The energy the rest of the band brings to Richey’s composition is evident in the released take, but the demo is a window into the mind of this songwriter and budding producer. Richey’s lyric is infectious, staying with you long after the concluding harmonica refrain. This is the best single Furrowed Brow has released so far, with hopefully more to come in 2022!
Continue reading for our Q&A with Furrowed Brow. We ask about the recording circumstances for this single and Richey’s demo tracks, plus questions on performing live, the fate of the baby and whether Old Frowzy is potentially hazardous to my health. All this and more below!
Furrowed Brow. Image Credit: Angus Rolland.
1. Tell me about recording 'I Threw The Bathwater Out', did you work with Sam Hunter as you did with 'Punctual Punk'?
Richey: Not this time. We ended up recording it the same way as the last single (The Endless Shouting Tomorrows) doing the bass and drums at Boxyard Studios and adding the rest at home. I mixed/produced it; I’d be the first to say I’m not very good at the technical stuff but at least I know how I don’t want it to sound.
2. This one's rare in that you've also put the demo out too, what's your home recording set-up like Richey?
Richey: I use Cubase 5 which is antiquated I know but I got it free and I know how to use it, just about. I can record pretty much everything except drums which is why we do them at Boxyard. I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a Tascam because I know it’ll sound so much better – I always do at least parts of our demos through a crappy one-track tape recorder and I love that tapey sound roughing it up a bit, the demos sound better to me than our finished recordings but there’s no way I could get them up to radio quality. A proper tape machine would be best all round but they’re well expensive and knowing my luck it’d break as soon as I started using it – I’d have to spend months getting to know how to use it too. That’s the dream though.
Richey and Ruben. Image Credit: Maddie Drake.
3. Since we last spoke, the drum stool has changed hands. Ruben, how did you come into the role? Did you know the band beforehand?
Ruben: Nah I came t’ Manchester from that there Rotherham and were reyt confused cos there weren’t no cows and that walking about and all the buildings had roofs on; I didn’t know nowt nor nob’dy. Richey cam talked to me and I be drumming a bash e’er since. Beats working down pit.
4. Evie - the bathwater is out, what happens to the baby? Is this something we should be worried about?
Evie: Who knows what goes on in Richey’s mind but I think he’s a lyrical genius, I really do. The baby has gone the same way as the bathwater – down the drain!
Evie. Image Credit: Maddie Drake.
5. It's great to see the band is playing gigs again. If Furrowed Brow were to plan a tour of the UK, where would each of you most want to play?
Richey: I’d make sure we stopped in Edinburgh because I love it. Our last band jaunt there was extremely messy.
Meg: The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill looks like a great historic venue, I saw a documentary about it the other day it’s the first modernist building in the UK or something.
Ruben: The Isle of Man.
Evie: I’d just be happy to play at Yes in Manchester to be honest. They are still scorning us.
Alex: It’d be really cool to play a gig at Avebury and combine it with a megalithic tour.
6. Meg, the video of the Peer Hat gig back in February is something else. Is this typical of Furrowed Brow gigs, or is this one of the more tame ones?
Meg: That certainly was a fun one. I'd say we were somehow even more shambolic than usual that night but the atmosphere was infectious. The Peer Hat reliably delivered a crowd of friends, foes, regulars and irregulars who were more than happy to indulge our silliness and get involved. It wouldn't have been quite so good without the fantastic acts before us (Adam & Elvis, Babel Station, Mark Corrin) who set the bar so high. Come down to our next gig at Gullivers on Saturday 11th June and try it for yourself! We’ll be playing with the Babels again.
7. I love the live recording of 'Two Finger Salute' on your recent cassette, could we see a studio recording of that track soon?
Richey: We already started recording it – twice! Did the bass and drums at Boxyard before Xmas with our last drummer but we decided to redo it with Ruben. Unfortunately that file corrupted and we lost the track... Maybe it’s not meant to be.
8. Alex, tell me about the Old Frowsy mead that came with the cassette, will this stuff kill me?
Alex: Most definitely, it’s lethal.
9. The acoustic version of 'The Endless Shouting Tomorrows' on your Instagram shows a different side to your music, would you ever consider writing music with acoustic instruments?
Richey: Oh yeah, I mean I write with acoustic guitar most of the time anyway. I’ve got some beautiful stripped down versions of some of our songs on tape but it’s just us practicing really. I’d like to do the stool-perching Nirvana-at-MTV thing one day though haha.
10. What are Furrowed Brow's plans for the rest of the year? Could we be seeing a new EP out before the end of 2022?
Richey: Not a chance, we’re only releasing singles now. We’ve got a lot more gigs in the pipeline and will be bashing our heads against this brick wall for the foreseeable future.
Ruben. Image Credit: Maddie Drake.
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Stream and download ‘I Threw The Bathwater Out’ via Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Deezer and Shazam here.
Explore the rest of the Furrowed Brow catalogue on their Bandcamp page.
Follow Furrowed Brow on Facebook and Instagram @furrowedbrowband, and on Twitter @furrowedbrowMCR.
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