Interview with The Clockworks
If you don’t know post-punk quartet The Clockworks, that is likely about to change. Having just released a brilliant new single (“Throw It All Away”) on Alan McGee’s It’s Creation Baby label, they were recently announced as the support for Pixies on their upcoming US tour. Although it was just postponed due to Covid they still have upcoming festival dates at Riot Fest in Chicago on September 19th and Reeperbahn Festival on 22nd September before finally supporting Inhaler on their UK Tour in December.
The band originally formed in Galway but are now based in London and features James McGregor (Vocals), Sean Connelly (guitar), Tom Freeman (bass) and Damian Greaney (drums). While comparisons with The Murder Capital and Fontaines D.C. may be apt (and not just because of the Irish connection), the band have developed their own signature sound with McGregor’s darkly poetic lyrics and intense delivery supported by the band who fire on all cylinders with equal measures of tightness and ferocity.
The band have also recently released their first livestream concert Live At The Rio, (artfully directed by Oscar J Ryan) to critical acclaim. It’s a great introduction to the band featuring three of their key songs to date – ‘The Future Is Not What It Was’, ‘Bills and Pills’ and ‘Can I Speak to a Manager?’ – and is completed by a new song, the existential slowburner ‘Hall of Fame’.
We caught up with the band to talk about touring, their single and, of course, their thoughts on the perfect pizza.
Hi Guys! How’s everything going right now?
Everything is going well thanks, taking every day as it comes.
What classic album cover is your current mood?
Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here
Getting the opportunity to support Pixies only for it to be canceled due to Covid must have been so disappointing – will you still be able to support them when the dates are rescheduled?
It was definitely disappointing, we absolutely love Pixies and were excited about our first US tour, but we’re not out of the COVID woods yet so these things will happen. Hopefully when things do pick up properly, they’ll reschedule.
You do still have Riot Fest and Reeperbahn Festival to look forward to this month though!
Yes, Riot Fest, our German dates and the UK festivals we have on the other side of that are all very exciting. We’re delighted to be able to play again, and definitely grateful for every opportunity.
If you could only listen to one record, what would it be?
This changes every day for me, but right now it’s In Rainbows – Radiohead.
You just released your excellent new single “Throw It All Away” (which we featured on our weekly playlist for the week of 8/13). Tell us about the inspiration behind it
Thanks for featuring it! The inspiration for the song was to capture the feeling of going through a “normal, working life”, thinking that you want something else, and wondering what the cost would be.
This was your 7th single release – can we expect an EP or album soon?
We’ve been thinking of an album for a while now, but as it stands we’re happy putting out singles. We’ll just have to see
You signed with Alan McGee on his “It’s Creation Baby” label after “the best rehearsal he’d seen since Oasis” – how has it been working with him?
McGee is amazing. When we first moved to London, full of ambition but not sure where to direct it, McGee came along and saved us. He’s helped us so much since we’ve met, told us so many amazing stories and he’s also just a great guy.
What would go on your signature pizza and what would it be called?
Olives of both colours, and it would be called “Olive and Let Dine”
Awesome! Finally, what are your plans for the rest of this year and heading into 2022?
We’ve got loads of gigs coming up this year, mostly in the UK, which we’re excited for. We’ll be writing lots, releasing when we can and looking to play as much as possible in every country we can get to.
You can get more info on The Clockworks as well as tour dates at https://linktr.ee/TheClockworks and you can follow them on Twitter and Instagram
