Shabby Rogue

The original idea for Hook and by Crook was to build a suite of songs that captured a sense of release: instead what we’ve created is a dark, sprawling, internally driven piece of work. It was written over the course of a few breaks we’ve taken in the wilder fringes of the UK, ostensibly to get away from it all. But, as you know, even if you step into the quiet eye of the storm, the world goes on howling around you. The memory of what you’ve lived through and the nagging dread of what lies ahead still ring out. The bulk of the album was recorded in a studio created from scratch in a converted barn in Llangain, Brecon Beacons. Terry Green wanted to record the album entirely live, the rest of the band thought this was a damn foolish notion - what you hear is a compromise between these two positions. The complexity of some of the arrangements didn’t allow for a one-off recording, but we think the album still retains the chaotic and intense energy of the original live takes. Overdubs were laid down in snatched sessions over twelve months in Barnes, Soho, Brockley and Glasgow (with the Brass is Always Greener horn section) as and when money allowed. It's not all stygian angst, though, this is a patch of clear sky in the abyss. Northern Lights is uplifting and spirited: written as a direct response to seeing the Aurora on a trip up to Wester Ross. My Future with You was penned a year later in Carmarthen: an option for a single. Other tracks, Hook and by Crook and The Mountain were written in London, both are anthems to the times they describe. Secret Agent is built on a riff written in the studio, and is the first single from the album: a three-minute blast of surf-pop paranoia. The album will be available soon through the usual online outlets. In the meantime, we’re giving you tasters and podcasts through our myspace mix. If you’re visiting for the first time, come back in a week or so, the play list will change periodically over the next months. We’ll also be adding a lot of supplementary material: interviews, out-takes, reviews and visuals.



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