Mudlow: Sawyer’s Hope

photo credit: Nhung Dang

 

This past spring, I was honored to be asked to edit the liner notes Rick Saunders was writing for the new Mudlow album, Sawyer’s Hope, and there couldn’t be a more evocative description of not only the music, but also the feel of the album than Rick’s words.

 

 

The music of Mudlow has been referred to as “noir blues”, and like any good noir story, their songs are packed with colorful characters. And like any good blues, their songs are packed with emotions that can scrape out the bottom of your soul, an effect achieved sometimes with the most simple but telling phrase and sometimes with the sound that spreads between the moment the blade pierces your heart and the moment you begin to feel the sting.

 

 

This album is one of the most gorgeous I’ve heard in a long while, and I was pleased to get a few words with band members, and damn fine people, Matt (drums) and Tobias (vocals, guitar) about the band and their new album.

 


 

Let’s give the readers some background: where are you all from and how did you get together?

(Matt) Me and Tobias have known each other for years and have played in bands together for most of that time, when our previous band ‘Crawl Limbo’ folded Tobias moved to Brighton and decided to start a new band. We had always played on the gig circuit in Brighton so knew most of the other local band members and had become friends with quite a few of them so finding a new line-up actually wasn’t too difficult, Trimble was there from the start with another Sax player Jules, our first bassist could only play ska because of his unusually fat fingers so we had to let him go. We asked Paul to join and Mudlow was born. We’re definitely a ‘Brighton‘ band and we all live in the city or surrounding area.

 

Based on the 8-year span between full-length albums, I’d guess the band isn’t what keeps food on the table. What are your daytime alter egos (day jobs)?

(M) Me and Tobias work for a friend in the heating trade. Paul works as a sound recording engineer/producer at Church Road Studios in Brighton (which is where the Mudlow magic happens!). Not sure what Trimble does, I think he’s either a pirate or a spy, depending on what he’s wearing.

 

Where does the title Sawyer’s Hope come from?

(Tobias) It’s a partly-imagined place that crops up as a lyric in a couple of our songs. I use maps and place names for inspiration and this came from combining the name of a farm and a wood. To me ‘Sawyer’s Hope’ sounds like an old man’s lifelong aspirations, did he achieve or fail? or is it just a name on a map?

 

 

I know you were shopping around for a label to release this album for a while. What was that process like? How did the deal come together with Motor Sounds Records?

(M) It wasn’t really a ‘process’ as such. We had in mind quite a few labels that we liked so we sent them copies/press etc but didn’t hear much back. We’d pretty successfully self-released our first record but we really wanted to work with someone else on this one and kinda have a labels name on which to hang our hat. We know the guys at Motor Sounds so we approached them to see if they would assist with putting this one out. Thankfully they were really keen to be involved so that was that. I guess you could say it’s a self-release but via an independent label.

 

Your songs are so cinematic and contain so many interesting stories. How do you approach songwriting? Any thoughts about writing a novel?

(T) The songs approach me. You can’t write anything until it’s ready to be written. Sitting and trying to force ideas doesn’t work. A train of thought might be triggered by one line that pops in to your head and then once it gets going let it flow and write down everything, then scrub out the crap and join the dots. The lyrics are mine but we work on the music as a band, we don’t have a formula for creating the songs and we approach each song differently so each has it’s own individuality.

I think about writing a book a lot but who has the time to do that?!

 

What’s next for the band? Any chance of an American tour in the foreseeable future?

(M) We will be playing some shows in support of the new record and will most likely tour here and in Europe. We have already ear-marked band funds for a return trip to the States so we’ll have to see how well Sawyer’s Hope sells. We definitely want to come back.

 

And because I get some of my best music recommendations from musicians, what have you been listening to lately?

(T) I like that Bruce Peninsula band, they’re like a choir trying to upset God.
(M) I vote for The Bonnevilles.
(T) Wait… I want to choose the Bonnevilles
(M) Well, you can’t. I did.
(T) Right! I’m leaving the band. [stomps out]

 


 

In addition to Sawyer’s Hope, Mudlow is generously offering an EP of bits and bobs called The Last Rung Down to Hell, which you can listen to and download right here.

 

Mudlow Official Website

Mudlow @ Bandcamp

Mudlow @ Google+

Mudlow @ Facebook

A Good Read, a Good Listen, and a Good Drink: Mudlow

photo credit: Nhung Dang

 

It’s a simple yet sublime pleasure, and just thinking about it can make you feel a little calmer, a little more content. Imagine: You bring out one of the good rocks glasses (or your favorite mug or a special occasion tea cup) and pour a couple fingers of amber liquid (or something dark and strong or just some whole milk). You drop the needle on the jazz platter (or pull up a blues album on your mp3 player or dig out that mixtape from college). Ensconcing yourself in the coziest seat in the house, you crack the spine on a classic (or find your place in that sci-fi paperback or pull up a biography on your e-book reader). And then, you go away for a while. Ah, bliss.

In this series, some of NTSIB’s friends share beloved albums, books and drinks to recommend or inspire.


Much like my appreciation for Skip James, my interest in Mudlow was originally piqued not by their music, but by a photo of the band. The photo you see above, in fact – taken by Nhung Dang with a pinhole camera made from a biscuit tin. Anyone who has ever purchased a record by an artist they’ve never heard before based solely on the sleeve art knows that art/graphics/image can convey much about sound. When I saw this blurred, rough photo of a bunch of hard men, holding big knives and wearing spattered aprons, I knew they made music I had to hear.

And, well, not only can you sometimes judge a book by its cover, you can also occasionally judge a band by their press photo because I can now put a Mudlow album in the player and happily leave it there for days of repeated listening. The noir grit of their music sits perfectly in that spot where all my favorite music hits me, somewhere between the gut and the pelvis – music for fucking and fighting. All the Mudlow elements, from Trimble’s sinuous saxophone to Tobias’ one-more-whiskey vocals, combine to create a sound that nearly dislocates your jaw with a strong uppercut before confidently seducing you into bed… or vice versa.

The men of Mudlow have favored us with some great recommendations. If these aren’t men you’d like to raise a glass with… well then, I’ll just take your place at the bar.

 

“Zane Merite” – Mudlow

 

TOBIAS

Good Read:
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy.
Amid the staggering brutality and violence in this book I love the way ‘the kid’ keeps on surviving. The descriptive way in which McCarthy writes is epic beyond anything else I’ve read. Also it’s a western and who doesn’t love a western!

Good Listen:
Big Time – Tom Waits
This is like a ‘best-of’ from his most creative period. I think that the re-worked songs, recorded live with a full band (one hell of a band too) are better versions than most of the studio originals.

Good Drink:
Wild Turkey bourbon
It picks you up when you’re down and knocks you down when you’re up. Cheers!

 

MATT

Good Read:
Jolie Blon’s Bounce by James Lee Burke
I hadn’t read any James Lee Burke novels before this one, I picked it up at a second-hand store because I liked the cover. It’s the last book that I read more than once and it’s still my favourite of his.

Good Listen:
Burnside on Burnside – R.L. Burnside
For me, there’s two really great live albums that I listen to regularly (Tobias chose the other one) and R.L. Burnside tears me a new earhole every time I put this one on. Superb sound and a ferocious set from R.L., Kenny and Cedric. It begs to be played really LOUD every time.

Good Drink:
Brooklyn Lager
Ice cold and from the bottle, this is my new favourite lager, flavourful but not too sweet. (there may be a slight emotional bias…my girlfriend is from Brooklyn too!)

 

PAUL

Good Read:
In Cold Blood – Truman Capote
This is my current read. A ‘true crime’ classic. Hmm… Seems like we choose books with rather dark themes, huh.

Good Listen:
The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground
I have way too many (ever-changing) musical ‘likes’ to choose just one but I re-visit this album more than most and it’s a good one to drink and read to.

Good Drink:
Metaxa
I regularly go on holiday to visit my Dad in Corfu and this sweet, Greek brandy is my drink of choice when I’m there.

 

TRIMBLE

Good Read:
The Life of Lee – Lee Evans (autobiography)
I tend to read factual stuff on the whole, so I don’t really have a favourite but this is what I’m reading at the minute and it’s pretty funny.

Good Listen:
Smell of Female – The Cramps
It’s EP length really but it’s the Cramps at their best, it always makes me want to go out for a good time, as a result this record has got me into a lot of trouble over the years!

Good Drink:
Tequila Sunrise
It’s a ‘boat drink’. The kind of drink that puts you somewhere better, somewhere with the sun on your face. I hardly ever drink it coz I never go on holiday and you wouldn’t ask for this in the kind of english pubs i go to.

 

“Evol” – Mudlow

 

Mudlow Official Website

Mudlow @ ReverbNation

Mudlow @ Google+

Mudlow @ Facebook