They say money talks and bullshit walks. But that’s not how it is for UK-via-Canada hard rock act Gallows. As far as this quartet’s concerned, both money and bullshit can go to hell.
Earlier this month, Gallows launched their fourth album, Desolation Sounds. Unlike many high-profile rock bands, music isn’t the four members’ primary source of income, and that serves priceless creative benefits.
“Obviously being in a band’s not work, it’s fun,” says guitarist Laurent ‘Lags’ Barnard. “You get to tour the world and do all that kind of stuff. But sometimes it loses that creative spark that makes you want to do it. A lot of bands I know fall into traps of re-releasing the same record or not changing their sound because that’s what they think will keep them going. Whereas I feel like with Gallows, we’re basically the opposite.”
By virtue of maintaining Gallows’ hobby-like foundation, the band members didn’t burn themselves out touring behind 2012’s self-titled LP. Following the album’s release, they did head out on a global tour, but things slowed down in mid-2013. As a result, come 2014, everyone was enthusiastic about making a new record.
“We were like, ‘How fun would it be to write a new album and just try a few different ideas we’ve always wanted to do?’ and that’s how Desolation Sounds started. As a result, I feel like it’s the most free we’ve all felt making music together.
“It was a chance for us to try out different ideas and it’s nice to know we’ve got an audience,” Barnard adds. “Whether they’re going to accept what we’ve done or these new directions we’ve taken our music in is a different question, but we know they’re going to listen, which is awesome.”
So how does Gallows’ extra autonomy manifest itself on Desolation Sounds? For the most part, the band stays true to its heavy, aggressive trademark, but there are some notable departures. The most obvious is ‘Bonfire Season’ – an especially melodic, almost anthemic rock number, which also contains a rumbling darkness.
“When I initially wrote the music for that song I was influenced by a lot of post-punk bands like Joy Division, Siouxsie and The Banshees, Killing Joke and The Cure,” Barnard says. “At the same time, getting Wade [MacNeil] to sing on it, there’s a real swampy sound. I can imagine it being used on the True Detective soundtrack or something like that. It’s got a certain kind of Americana, which I really like.”
Straight after ‘Bonfire Season’ comes a gut-punching burst of New York hardcore called ‘Leather Crown’. Rather than a balance-restoring inclusion, Barnard says this juxtaposition is another indication of the band’s no-scruples approach to Desolation Sounds.
“It wasn’t a sense of, ‘If we’re going to water down our music in one place, we’re going to have to make it even heavier somewhere else.’ It was just a case of, ‘We really love this track, let’s make it this way.’ If you listen to the whole album, while there’s different styles and a lot of different ideas crammed into that 30 minutes, there’s a real sense of atmosphere throughout. There’s big soaring guitar sounds and it’s got a real mood to it. Whether we’re playing hard or soft, it’s haunting and weird and it’s exciting.
“From the start, Gallows was a unique band,” he adds. “I don’t feel we’ve ever tried to fit in or align ourselves with a scene or a movement. We came on the scene and we’ve always done what we wanted. We haven’t tried to pander to anything mainstream.”
Gallows have their releaseDesolation Sounds out now through Venn/Double Cross.
