As cool as it is to hear music from all over the world, there’s something special about an artist who lives nearby. The Penny Antics have been in our lives for years now. They’ve played a part in every incantation of this music blog, which is pretty nice, actually.
Earlier this month, the duo released their new album AN ALBUM! The imaginative title is right up their alley (a pun that…weirdly fits) and is fitting to their carefree attitude when it comes to releasing music into the world. Whoever hears it, it doesn’t matter. It’s just cool to make music.
The album showcases the duo’s ability to jam some proper Punk tunes right into your face. Taking influences from the best in the genre and openly wearing them on its sleeves, the album doesn’t care about bringing something new, but mainly showing you how it’s done.
Hello, The Penny Antics! How’s it going? Shane: It’s going good thanks!
You’ve just released your new album, AN ALBUM! What can you tell us about it? Shane: It’s a step in a more daring but focused direction – the songs leap out of the speakers straight at your face but have enough entertainment value to stop it being purely noise. The lyrics offer a snarky look at different aspects of life such as our distaste for dead-end jobs and dealing with phonies.
There is certainly a sense of anger but also moments of calm like with “Happy” (my favourite track from the album). One thing I really like is “Don’t Worry About Your Music” since as musicians we’ve all had those days where we question whether we suck and should give up trying for good but ultimately it isn’t worth worrying yourself over. (A positive, if profane, message!)
How long did it take to come up with that title? Shane: We scratched our heads for a couple years until Lewis had a breakthrough (or maybe a breakdown) and came up with the best, most original name for ‘an album’! ever… In a way, it’s exactly what it needed to be called. The album is dripping with tongue-in-cheek lyrics and almost sarcastic guitar playing so anything serious would have just come across as a bit disappointing or pretentious. I like silly album names anyway – See: Zappa’s Sheik Yerbouti (try saying that one out loud).
It follows first album Reminder, which came out eight years ago (!). Did you revisit the album before heading into the studio to record these new set of songs? Lewis: Blimey! Eight years is crazy! Truthfully, there was one guitar lick that I had in mind as part of a “solo” for “Brass Tongue” off of Reminder which never got used, but it did make an appearance on “Audio Nasty” for the new album.
I do listen to the tracks off of that album fairly frequently when I upload the weekly stories to our social media. That being said, they’re only short snippets. I haven’t given the album a full listen in quite a while (I do like it though and there are some tracks on there that still show up in our sets to this day.)
While generally the album is heavy and full of proper Punk tropes, there are additions of experimental and almost bluesy moments too. “Three Piece Suit” in particular stands out as it has a real groove to it, as well as the hard-hitting riffs. Was this something you wanted to bring into the new album or a case of what you were into at the time? Lewis: Thanks! We did try to strike a balance between a fresh yet somewhat familiar sound when writing these tunes as we wanted something that we could come back to and enjoy in the future. Personally, I think we made a lot more of an effort this time on creating “hooks” for this album – be that a tasty drum break or a repeating vocal harmony etc. Maybe I’m just on my way to becoming a dinosaur, but I’m fully convinced that a hooky chorus – particularly in Pop music – has become a thing of the past. I just want something that I can hum at the end of the day.
“Three Piece Suit” stands out as a real highlight. Its opening drum beat injects some groove into the ears as a nasty dose of feedback is layered on top, before kicking into a riff that collides against the walls. Lewis’ vocals drawl and scream above the sound – matching the tension as the band detail a real dislike against those who sell their soul to the corporate world. It’s genuinely one of my favourite songs of theirs.
“Sixteen Sick Teens” is a real throwback to 90s Punk and Grunge with its wandering melodies luring us into a distorted chorus. The title roars out of the speakers with a real venom, once again creating another anthem that ramps up the energy. “Sheep” stumbles into frame with a chugging rhythm and chanting vocals that could fit on Dream Nails’ Doom Loop, before tearing into “Fake”. Possibly the most explosive track on the album.
Can we talk about the song “Happy”? It’s a real standout as the only acoustic tune on the album, and its placement in the middle makes it almost a palate cleanser from the overall heavier sound. Was it a conscious decision to include something different, or had it existed before the songwriting process began? Shane: Lewis came to me with an album of material almost completely written and “Happy” was just “the obligatory acoustic chill one” so I guess yes and no… We never thought much of it at all but “Happy” has since become a fantastic track thanks to the skilled work of producer Barry Banks at Backwater Channel Records. It has morphed into a moment of honesty with a catchy hook that belongs in a soundtrack for a RomCom breakup montage.
There’s also the closing song, “Audio Nasty”, with its drawn-out intro sounding almost like a Stoner Rock sound. It’s also an instrumental tune – how did it come about? Lewis: I really like that tune! I think it’s mostly because I find it difficult to listen to myself sing! What’s interesting about that track is that we had the intro down and that rough solo snippet I mentioned earlier, but the rest of the song from about the 01:22 mark is almost all improvisation. It was recorded live after about three other attempts at laying down a spontaneous instrumental and it’s probably the closest you can get to experiencing one of our end-of-set noise jams without coming to one of our gigs.
How cathartic is it performing “Don’t Worry About Your Music” live? Lewis: Very! I think we’ve only performed it live once or twice so far, but we do love how meta it is. That track happens to be Shane’s brother’s favourite track which means a lot to us, as he’s been onboard since we started playing together and we really value his opinion over our stuff before we release it. I remember feeling a bit like I’d wasted what could have been a pretty fun chorus guitar part on that song as I wasn’t very happy with it for the longest time, but both Shane and his brother won me over in the end and now I’m actually quite into how tongue in cheek it is!
How is the Punk scene in Essex at the moment? Lewis: I think it’s great and has been for ages! There’s been loads of cross-pollination as of recently with loads of our friends in bands forming musical projects with other friends which has created some truly amazing stuff! The creativity’s there, I think it’s just a shame that so many of the Essex music venues that we used to frequent are now closing doors for good. Without being too bleak, I do think it’s really important that we support our local venues before they’re gone.
AN ALBUM! is a superb album that’s definitely worth the wait. The Penny Antics stick to their foundations and bring more of their noisy, chaotic sound to the forefront, but do play around with the formula to give it its own style. The almost Bluesy riff of “Three Piece Suit”, the acoustic ballad of “Happy” and the experimental, instrumental track “Audio Nasty” stand out as some of their most distinct songs, while the bulk of it is just straight up good Grunge music. It’s an album I’ll turn to when I wanna get a little angry at something, or to mask the pain when dragging myself out for a run. Either way, they’re still my favourite boys.
And finally, what’s your favourite fruit? Lewis: A ripe nectarine takes some beating if you ask me… Apparently, they’re related to peaches too which is great because “Peaches” by The Stranglers is a fantastic tune!
Shane: Technically chillis are my favourite fruits (look it up) as I put them in everything I cook! But I’d pick oranges as I’m constantly drinking orange juice.