Vocalist Jackie Purver comments on the track, “It’s about being dumbfounded by the modern world and social media. My news feed is full of suggested videos of people telling me my life will be better if I buy some leggings or get the ‘off menu’ Starbucks drink. I love an iced coffee as much as the next person but there’s a whole culture of people driving in nice cars drinking coffee and sitting making videos in carparks that I can’t get my head around. I feel like it’s opening a black hole somewhere that we’re all going to be swallowed into – a vacancy – like a Dorian Gray painting on a mass scale. I want to derail it, to take things in a different direction, to make it messy – no more manicures photographed over a BMW steering wheel. I am all for people finding joy where they can but I feel weird at the thought of that being life’s aim and that it’s targeted at young people especially. The song itself is about the repetitive nature of aspiring to things you see in an online video and thinking that’s the pinnacle and buying endless things that an influencer has been paid to sell you. The song spirals as it builds and ends in a cry of frustration at the world”.

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The accompanying video for ‘Well Well’ is a playful portrayal of the monotonous routines and seemingly never ending to-do list that comes with parenthood, a sense of humour that vocalist Jackie Purver relates to as a mother juggling her day job alongside being a musician.

She comments, “As an emerging artist, you don’t have many conversations about parenthood or often second guess doing so. You’re working towards goals like getting a booking agent, manager or label, who at the end of the day need to put food on their tables and are inevitably thinking ‘how much money can I make out of this band if they can only go on tour and be away from home for a couple of days tops at a time’. I remember reading an article by Emmy the Great where she talked openly and proudly about taking her baby on tour, and it was so refreshing to see her embrace motherhood without feeling the need to sacrifice her music goals. Sometimes it feels like there’s an unwritten rule that women in music aren’t allowed to get old and have children, and that’s one of the reasons why we wanted to do this video – the more we talk about being mothers the better, because it is obviously a massive lived experience and should be normalised”.

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Last week they released their debut album World To Me, which explores themes of identity, isolation, anxiety, motherhood and although not intentionally, the impact of the pandemic on us all. Armed with lots of new music and a bigger sound, the band are back with the bite between their teeth and ready to move.

We had a chat with Jackie all about the album’s themes, the making of the record, what they have coming up next and more. Read the Q&A below.

Hi Jackie! How have the last couple of years been for Pit Pony as a band?

“As a band they’ve been really good. We had time to write, make the album and we signed to Clue Records which are all really exciting. Despite the break of not playing any gigs during the pandemic we’ve had a good run of gigs since and supported bands like Idles and The Wedding Present which has been lush.”

For anyone discovering Pit Pony here for the first time, please gave us a brief history on the band, your sound and your influences.

“We are a five piece from various parts of the North East of England but we all live in and around Newcastle. We started gigging around 2018. Our sound is sort of post punk, garagey, alternative rock? I am terrible with genres. You will have to make your own minds up. Our influences are quite varied but mine are people like PJ Harvey, Deap Valley, The Kills.

You’ve just released your debut album World To Me. The record explores themes of identity, isolation, anxiety, motherhood and the impact of the pandemic on us all (Please expand). What do you hope fans/listeners take away from it?

“In all honesty we just hope people enjoy it. The themes have come from experience, namely the pandemic when we wrote the album but also when the pandemic hit I was on maternity leave with a 7 month old baby and suddenly there was nowhere to go, no one could come and see us etc and it did have an impact. I think that it’s important to talk about these experiences as you never know who may be able to relate to them. It is also something I feel isn’t really documented enough – being a Mother, a parent while being in a band and how you navigate that.”

Please take us through your songwriting/creative process for World To Me. What was your favourite part and what did you find most challenging?

“Pre pandemic we would almost always write songs in a room together. Someone would bring an idea of a guitar part and we’d write our own parts on top of that. In the pandemic we obviously couldn’t all get in a room together so instead we relied a lot on recording and sending things to each other via phones and laptops. Nothing flash for me, it was just voice notes on my phone mainly. We still all wrote our own parts and usually Garth, Andrew or Potter would have the initial guitar part that we built onto. When we came to practice and record when we were allowed to it meant distancing, wearing masks and sanitising everything but by that point everyone was so used to that in general life (we’ve all worked through the pandemic as ‘key workers’ anyway) that it didn’t seem too alien.”

Finally, what’s next for you guys? Do you have any gigs coming up?

“Our album launch show is one we’re looking forward to (at The Lubber Fiend in Newcastle on July 1st) and then in stores at RPM in Newcastle and Vinyl Whistle in Leeds which will be stripped back sets so something different. After that we have gigs in July supporting Pigsx7 and The Futureheads as well as Ulltra Fest in Hull. Later in the year we are planning on another run of gigs to play some places we didn’t reach in April. Lots to look forward to!”

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An album to explore tales of political ineptitude, mental health, motherhood and failed relationships, ‘Sinking’ is about struggling with wanting to escape things and wondering why you feel confused or anxious when you didn’t expect it.

“There’s a lot more layers and textures to this than most on the album and it was a welcomed contrast and learning curve as it’s not something we’d really done some much with previous tracks.”, says singer Jackie Purver. “We have a lot to thank Chris MacManus and his production for with this one. The doubled 60s girl group style vocals in particular were his idea, and it’s something we all instantly loved being such big fans of that genre and its sound.”

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World To Me is an adrenaline fuelled, full throttle soundtrack for singer Jackie Purver to explore tales of political ineptitude, mental health, motherhood and failed relationships. It’ll include last month’s track ‘Black Tar’, and the bass heavy new single ‘Supermarket’ that comes with a video about a woman reliving a past relationship.

On the new single, Jackie says, “This one is a bit more of a storytelling exercise. Spliced experience to make a bit of narrative about two people with unfinished business or perhaps things unsaid but not to be resolved, or are they? Andrew (guitarist) brought the basis of the song which has a very strong krautrock vibe with the motorik beat and same bass throughout.”

She continues, “The monotonous start and heavy repetition really leant itself to that kind of everyday kitchen sink narrative. It then slowly gets more frenetic over time and wild towards the end, like most tumultuous relationships do. In terms of influence I’d just read/watched Normal People by Sally Rooney and been listening to Taylor Swift’s Folklore album so take from that what you will.”

World To Me:

1. Tide Of Doubt
2. Black Tar
3. Sinking
4. See Me Be
5. World To Me
6. Wish You Would
7. Cold
8. Supermarket
9. Best Is Yet
10. Just That
11. Underwater
12. Profit

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