On the eve of the release of Hookworms’ third LP, Microshift, The BRAG is chatting to guitarist EO. Like all members of the UK psych collective, the guitarist goes by his initials – he’s joined by drummer JN, co-guitarist JW, bassist/synth player MB and lead vocalist MJ. However, EO is a recent rechristening, having abandoned the less diplomatic SS (his designation for the band’s first two records).
But that’s hardly the most significant adjustment Hookworms have made in the three years since their last album, The Hum. Microshift – released early February via Domino – marks the Leeds quintet’s first deliberate stylistic revision since they debuted with the Hookworms EP in 2011.
We definitely did want to change the musical direction. You can’t do the same thing forever.
“We definitely did want to change the musical direction. You can’t do the same thing forever,” says EO. “We wanted to move away from rock music and move into more electronic sounds. MB is really into modular synths, so we started doing loops with his modular synths and just took it from there.”
Along with the added electronic component, Microshift reveals an increased melodic focus. This specifically relates to MJ’s vocals, with their surprisingly pristine high-register supplanting his former penchant for reverb-laden screaming. And that’s not even to mention the improved sonic clarity of the band’s sound in general, which brings the lyrics right to the fore.
“That was a conscious change as well,” EO says. “I think beforehand our singer definitely liked to cloak his vocals quite a lot – you often couldn’t hear his lyrics at all. But this album he’s really been more confident with showing them off. I’m really glad for it, because some of the lyrics are really good.”
The Hum (2014) and Hookworms’ debut LP, Pearl Mystic (2013), were both rooted in the band’s live sound, honed through constant gigging in the bars and clubs of Leeds. Microshift, by contrast, is a studio-oriented record, with no song getting a live debut prior to the album’s creation. Nevertheless, many elements of Hookworms’ established live identity – such as the utilisation of dynamics, repetitive intensity and willingness to extend sections towards a sizzling climax – are still evident.
“I think we definitely wanted to change the place we were coming from. It’s only afterwards you realise that often the place is the same,” EO says. “So we have all these electronic loops, but actually the way we used to make music – which was from drum and bass, percussive loops – now we’re just doing exactly the same thing with electronic loops instead.”
Hookworms is a proudly democratic endeavour. But, although boosting the presence of electronics was the record’s founding premise, it’s easy to imagine certain members being more insistent on instituting this stylistic shift. EO explains how the creative undertaking played out.
“Formally it is very democratic, but obviously some people have more influence in the end than others. Especially with some tracks, some people have more influence. But we did all come from the same place when it comes to the entry of electronics. [We all agreed about] bringing in other people as well.”
The inclusion of various guest musicians on Microshift is another novelty for Hookworms. In fact, a creative workshop with a fellow Leeds experimentalist essentially provided the impetus for the record’s trajectory.
“There’s a producer who lives in Leeds called Richard Formby and he has a modular synth,” EO says. “And one of our very first writing periods for this record we had him and we played one live show with him, which was an improvised piece. That was the start of this record.
“We’ve brought on a couple of other musicians on this record as well. There’s a saxophone player [Christopher Duffin of Xam Duo] and obviously there’s the vocals – we have one of our friends on.”
That friend is Alice Merida Richards of London band Virginia Wing, who joins MJ on ‘Each Time We Pass’. This track follows the eight-minute, Formby-featuring epic, ‘Opener’, together constituting the album’s most spellbinding sequence.
“She essentially helped us write that song. Beforehand the song sounded really different – very jaunty, almost happy sounding. It was only when she gave us the vocals that it did turn into the song that it is. When we work collaboratively, that’s often the most successful way of doing something new.”
Microshift’s comprehensive merging of psych-rock smarts with electronic textures occasionally calls to mind the likes of TV On The Radio, Animal Collective and LCD Soundsystem. That said, Hookworms has never been hell-bent on becoming a massive commercial success, and it’s safe to say nothing’s changed in that regard.
I think when we started out it was really difficult to do politics and music at the same time, but now I think our culture’s changing a little bit.
The band does, however, have a fervent support base and the members regularly use this platform to highlight causes they feel strongly about. In recent times Hookworms took to social media to wholeheartedly endorse Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn during the 2017 UK General Election, as well as condemning gross misogyny and backing campaigns for social justice.
“I think when we started out it was really difficult to do politics and music at the same time, but now I think our culture’s changing a little bit. It’s become a lot more acceptable and actually required if you’re of a certain mindset that you should use your platform for things like that.
“From the experiences we’ve had, we end up alienating relatively few people. We did a tweet before one of our shows to remind that landlords aren’t welcome at our shows and there was one particular fan of ours who was quite upset by that. But so be it. You can do quite a lot with politics and music and get away with it. I think most bands should be more confident.”
Microshift is out now through Domino.
