Arriving tomorrow, July 8th, is Titanic. The new EP from The Queen’s Head. Coming three years after debut Haunt, the London five-piece will look to take their spoken word ‘indie disco’ to darker, more experimental places.
Citing the likes of Death Grips, Talking Heads and 100gecs as influences, and from the singles we’ve heard so far, it’s clear that the band are indeed pushing the boundaries of their sound. Both sonically and lyrically, the EP invites us along to explore its journey through the heavy topic of suicide, and the cascade of emotions that follow.
It’s a brutal listen, with songs that are complex in many ways. Leaving you feeling a myriad of emotions as it challenges throughout. Sure, there are moments of bright, catchy instrumentals, but they’re joined by the bleak, downtrodden minds of both Joel Douglas and Tom Butler. Either way, it’s one of the most powerful releases of the year.
For our Peeled Back series for this month, we were joined by Joel and Tom to discuss all things Titanic. In this interview, we talk about how the EP got its name, how its sound is far more honest compared to its predecessor, the progression of the ‘Atlantis’ idea, and – of course – their favourite fruits.
Pre-order Titanic via The Queen’s Head Bandcamp page.
Hello, The Queen’s Head. How’s it going? Tom: Very, very badly.
You’re about to release your new EP, Titanic. How does it feel to share it with the world? Joel: A tremendous relief. I love this record, I am very proud of it. We’ve been sitting on it for a while so I am just glad to get it out of my head.
At what point did you come up with Titanic as the name? Tom: I can pinpoint the exact moment, actually. Joel and I, as we do, went to the pub with an album’s length worth of songs in the works, all plotted out. We realised, however, that we couldn’t quite work out the ending of the album as everything proposed was too neat, too optimistic, too unhelpfully helpful. We therefore settled on what really was happening: a failure to answer the questions we needed answers to, thus decided that an incomplete record – which happened to length of a long EP – was the most fitting form for what we wanted. Something defined by such magnitude of lost potential needed a fittingly grandiose and fatal title. Titanic seemed apt.
Joel: The concept of an iceberg seemed merciful.
It seems to be the perfect metaphor for the themes discussed: mental health, anger, failure – alongside the breakdown at the end of ‘Piston Ghosts’, it shows how unrelenting life can be. Was it cathartic to put those thoughts out into music?
Joel: Yes, the writing process was certainly cathartic, performing it is certainly cathartic, and it’s been a pleasure to have a space to exorcise these plights. The whole concept of The Queen’s Head was to create a theatrical presentation of these quiet horrors, and I feel the making of it was as true to this as anything we’ve done.
You previously described the sound of your first EP, Haunt as “fun” and “somewhat horrible”. Is Titanic an extension of that direction? Joel: Somewhat, yes. While there’s glimpses of fun, I think this record is far more honest in its own fatality, and the concepts presented are less dressed up, and more direct in the darkness we’re trying to express. I think there are alleviations but, ultimately, fatally, the overall impression is not one which is fun – it’s just horrible.
I wanted to highlight the contrast between your instrumentals and lyrics. ‘Today’ is immediately catchy, but is written about the loss of a loved one. It’s a great illustration of how things are never quite what they seem. Your music harnesses the grey of everything. Joel: I knew that ‘Today’ was incredibly dark in its base subject matter, and I knew that I wanted to represent it as deceptive, and that leant itself to being costumed in the style of an ecstasy-friendly performance. However, the result of this, made blatant by the songs that surround it, only exacerbate the darkness.
Tom: The contrast you highlight is founded in the process of the record. Joel wrote the music with an intention in mind, but it was only after listening, and considering the relationship of the sonics to the rest of the songs, when decisions about lyrics could be made. Sometimes, the song demands screaming directness. Sometimes, as in the case of ‘Today’ – the moment of tension within the narrative of the EP – it requires disjunction between lyrics and music. The intended result is a true horror.
With how much society is integrated into your songwriting, do you expect certain reactions to your music? Has there been any occasions where you’ve been surprised by the response to particular releases? Tom: Genuinely, the response to both questions is no, which I appreciate isn’t helpful. At this point, its fully about expressing, be that shouting at clouds, or accidentally rallying troops.
Joel: I wouldn’t say surprised. I’d say I’m more grateful for those who connect with what we’re trying to do.
What would the state of The Queen’s Head pub be like nowadays? Tom: Empty, out of business, bar a final lock-in.
Joel: The staff are overworked, underpaid, editing their CVs.
The EP is bookended by the two parts of ‘Atlantis’ – is that a decision that came early on in the creation process? Did it help shape the flow of the record? Joel: It was part of the original form that ‘Atlantis’ would be threaded throughout, as it is an expression of sweet memory that the rest of the record would play off. When we reduced the record to a smaller format, it became important to pick the most valuable parts. This actually resulted in stripping back the initial ‘Atlantis’ track, and pushing the finale further. It was always central – ‘Atlantis’ is a love ballad, and the rest of the record is the pain left in its wake.
I also wanted to shout-out the music videos for ‘Today’ and ‘Hell‘ – they’re excellent. How important is the visual aspect of music to you? Tom: Thank you very much for shouting that out because, yes, it is important to me.
Bitterly, we always needed a greater budget to fully realise the full expanse of the universe, but we could only produce film through favours and scrimping and editing jiggery-pokery. We’ve done the whole thing between ourselves and good friends, and I am glad that something (as opposed to nothing) has been conveyed through a single camera, a few good minds, a shoestring, and our own ambitions. The ‘Piston Ghosts’ video is the best one.
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And, finally, what’s your favourite fruit? Joel: Thank you so much for asking. Traditionally I would say banana, but as I’m wisened by age, I would now answer with beer.
Tom: A good, ripe pear.
If you enjoyed reading this, you can check out last month’s Peeled Back with M(h)aol. Also, give our Dead Good Playlist a listen too.