Jim further added, “The album came out in April, and from mid-December up until then it was just music videos and live sessions. It was intense…The videos were next level, it was intense.” ” We will definitely give our best to the video again. But interestingly, with “No More,” I did the exact opposite. Normally it would be a total surgery, but our cinematographer Phil wrote the script for the 5 page long “Bruise Control” video. This time it was “Phil, I have an iPhone SE and I brought my old digital camera,” and he did it all in an hour. Putting out a video and knowing people are listening to it is like a physical release. ”
But after two and a half years of non-stop effort, it took personal circumstances to put the brakes on the band.
“We never took a break,” Jim admits. “We always told ourselves we needed a little break to write new songs, but before we knew it, all four of us were getting gig offers, saying yes, and the next year was over.” Tommy agrees with this opinion. “Before you know it, you say yes to a few gigs and you're like, 'Are you free this weekend?'” Then I check and find that 10 months' worth is almost booked and I'm like, “What the hell?” I mean, we were going to write that album! 'It's like that.'
That's easy to do, especially coming from the post-COVID momentum. Jim elaborates and says, “What happens is, you have eight months off and you're right in saying you have a vacation in June, we're going to do that because we're in the South. , you need to book weekenders to increase the value of your trip. Yes, we don't do one-off gigs where someone goes, “Oh, my buddy said that!” I haven't done anything. When we get to the point where some random person offers us £40 to play her 3 hours away, we think 'Will it be worth it?' No. Will I have enough money to buy gas? No. Is it the weekend? No, it’s Tuesday night, damn it, let’s do it,’” he laughed. A similar thing happened where we were right in the middle of a workout and this guy wanted us to play at his festival in Germany. So I'm planning on driving there, making a few stops along the way. If my 16-year-old self had found out that I had turned down his job in Germany because it wasn't financially viable, he would have been mad at himself. ”
Just a year after their debut full-length, Bruise Control is already an even better machine. Tommy noted their “cleaner” songwriting, and Jim's lyrical perspective evolved. “I had never been in a band in my life, never intended to be in a band, never written any songs or anything like that. Almost all the lyrics on my first album, except for Taxman, were… It was a nice fluke, but it was pretty much something I made up on the spot…some of the lyrics were just put together. Like “Disco Fury,” I love that song, but those lyrics sometimes make me kick my butt. The hole becomes round. ”
Jim candidly shares that writing lyrics is difficult. “To be honest, I'm pretty numb. Maybe it's because I'm from Wigan, but I'm very simple about my feelings. But nothing is too complicated in my head. , my mental state is as clean as a whistle, so I don't have much to write about.”
Tommy laughed at this and interjected, “He's not worried about anything!” There is nothing depressing enough to write about. It's like, “I woke up, ate a raw potato, and went to work.” It was a great day! ” Jim continues with a laugh. “That's about it! I certainly don't think every song should come from a deep emotional place, but that's what I try to do. , coming from a place of feeling tired and angry. That's the main theme: I'm so tired, so exhausted, so indifferent to everything that's going on. No matter what I try, I end up sinking even further. But I'm conscious of that, and instead of just singing about anger towards the government and things like that, I try to incorporate more happy things into my songs.''
