In the normally dull and uninspired period between Christmas and New Year last year, NONE THE LESS decided to call it a day. One day the Watford quintet was a band, the next day it wasn’t.
While there’s nothing strange about a band deciding to call it a day, the circumstances in which None The Less decided to split were anything but ordinary. The band had been experiencing a growing fan base with some decent sized tours, shows with fellow Hertfordshire acts Gallows and Enter Shikari, as well as a Download Festival nod. What’s more, the band was sitting on a new album ready to further batter the UK underground and beyond. So why all of a sudden did everything fall apart?
Punktastic hunted down guitarist Owen Harvey to explain the situation and shed some light on whether the band’s album, ‘Time, The Healer’ will ever see the light of day.
First up, when did None The Less officially form?
Hmm…tough question surprisingly. With the complete line up, I would say three years [ago] roughly. That’s when we took it seriously as such; before that with a different line up – possibly five years all in all.
List the most significant shows the band played.
Download Festival was really special for all of us as was supporting Gallows at the Watford Colosseum. Headlining the second stage at the Enter Shikari Xmas show within a couple of weeks was great fun. The Young Guns tour was also lots of fun for partying and playing shows. There’s loads more too, but I’m trying to keep this quick!
List your favourite bands you met along the way.
To name a few: Young Guns, Proceed, Don Broco, Fate Of A Stranger, Outcry Collective, Sikth, Ispystrangers, Brides, etc. Again there are so many good guys we have had the pleasure to meet, and musically I could list a page full!
Looking at the title of the tracks recorded for the album ‘Time, The Healer’, there are certainly some that hint at a break-up (or so the conspiracy theorists would have you believe): ‘Disconnected’, ‘Bitter Taste’, ‘This Is The End’, ‘Turn The Lights Off’, ‘The Last Goodbye’; was the break-up foreseen or is it merely a case of life imitating art?
I would say the album covers a few different things. Lyrically, the theme of the album was based around time. It was about growing up, learning about yourself and I suppose a lot of the songs were about moving on from people and leaving things behind. I would say the album wasn’t directly written about the band breaking up, but the topic of the album could definitely cover the situation now.
It came as quite a surprise that the band split up (your last ever show in December wasn’t even billed that way). Was it a snap decision or was it something that had been mulled over for a while?
Things for one reason or another hadn’t been right for a considerable amount of time, issues outside of the band were affecting people’s enthusiasm, but at the same time we had written an album we were all very proud of and slowly but surely better things were happening, which made things hard. I think it had been in the back of our minds, we had a meeting on the day of the show and decided there and then that no one was very happy anymore with more than one or two issues. The final decision was made on the day of that show.
Was the split amicable?
This is a hard one to answer and I cannot really speak for the other guys in the band, but for me in any working environment that involves artistic input there is going to be things that people don’t agree on and a level of expectancy from each other. We were in each other’s pockets for a longer period of time than expected when writing the album, as we had some delays and yeah, I suppose we were pissing each other off at times. When the band split up though it was very peaceful and probably a relief more than anything. We enjoyed the last show loads and had lots of fun with people who have supported us for a long time. We couldn’t have really asked for much more than that. So the lead up to the split probably wasn’t so peaceful at times, but we all remain very good friends and have shared amazing memories together. All in all, yeah it was pretty amicable.
With the album all but ready for release, was there not the temptation to slog on for a little bit (a couple of tours maybe) just to get something out of it?
Yeah 100 %. We talked about this lots and thought why not just give it a shot – put the album out and see what the response is. We decided with that though we wouldn’t be overcoming the issues, but just delaying them. The best idea inevitably was to get the music out to the people who already cared and of course we had put loads of hard work in to it. We wanted people to hear it and then call it a day playing live shows so things didn’t turn sour.
When was the album actually recorded?
At the beginning of June 2010.
You were sat on the finished album for six months or so. Why so long? What were you planning?
We were planning on taking over the world. Rome wasn’t built in a day!
No, I joke. Everything took longer than expected. We had to do videos and then we were sending stuff around to labels etc. It was all boring stuff really that every band hates.
What can listeners expect from the new album ‘Time, The Healer’?
I think a more mature sound than the previous CD, lyrically and musically. I never like this question! The best thing to do really is just go out and listen to it, if you like it then share it and enjoy it. One thing you can definitely expect though is orchestral parts, we never did anything like this previously. We had an Axl Rose moment, but we love it and I think it really adds another element to our music.
In my opinion the album contains undoubtedly the best songs the band has written. Did you feel that the five of you had grown into a ‘one body’ band by this point?
Yes for sure. I listen to previous CDs we have produced – even back to three years ago – and love them for different reasons. But I would say that yes, when the album was written we knew this one had to count. Everything was thought about and everything was in the songs for a reason, we were tuned in together pretty solidly and had a shared vision. I think that really shows on this album more than its previous efforts.
Did the new album feel like an improvement (both in terms of recording and song-writing) to the band?
I kind of jumped in to this question on the last one! Dan Lancaster from Proceed recorded the album and did a brilliant job on it. He’s a very talented guy. As I said above the song-writing was much more controlled on this album and that was due to the fact we all knew what we wanted to produce and how we wanted it to sound when it was finished. Hopefully people will agree it worked out that way.
You’re making each individual track available for streaming on the first of the month, until all 10 have seen the light of day. What’s the thinking behind this?
We didn’t want the album to be given away overnight and then completely forgotten about by the next month. Obviously most bands do 2-3 singles within the album and we had recorded three videos due for the release of ours. We have released one as the first single, and we have another two waiting to be released. Instead of just shoving them all out straight away, why not release a video, three songs, then another video so on so forth? It gives people the time to hear about it and people something to look forward to each month who are enjoying the album. It’s a win, win situation!
Will your fans be able to obtain a copy of the full album anytime soon?
The album will be available for free download at the end of the 10 months (September). We also might then shove up some of the B-sides we recorded.
What are your future plans (as a band and as individuals)?
As a band I can’t comment on for now. We loved playing music together 99 % of the time and never say never. Maybe one day we will play a few shows again, but for now the band is six feet underground. As individuals I (Owen) am working on a project at the moment which is completely different to None The Less which is in the early development stages. Joe is in a band called Floods (check them out). Oli and Mike are just chilling out as far as I know and finishing degrees etc, and Anthony is also in a new band which I’m sure will crop up in front of some faces very soon.
So, how long until the sweet money-making reunion tour of Herts and Beds?
Ha ha! Who knows? Maybe never, maybe next year! We will be the first to let you know if it happens.
Do you have any regrets, or anything you wish the band could have achieved?
I think we achieved so many things we never thought we would and we have so many great memories. What more can anyone in a band ask for? Apart from lots of groupies, money, free drugs and headlining Wembley for 20 nights running. No honestly, we have no regrets! We had so much fun and got to meet some amazing people on the way. From all of us the biggest thanks goes to anyone who checked us out, supported us or helped in any way, the things we achieved wouldn’t have been possible if it wasn’t due to all of you!
ALEX HAMBLETON
Head over to http://www.facebook.com/nonethelessonline on Tuesday 1 March to hear ‘The Jury’, the latest track to be released from ‘Time, The Healer’. A new track will be posted on the first of each month until September.
Punktastic will post an exclusive review of the entire album at the end of March.